The Best Airports in the U.S.: 2023 Readers’ Choice Awards
Now in its 36th iteration, our annual Readers’ Choice Awards continues to capture the travel experiences our readers love best, from hotels and airlines to cruises, islands, and luggage. This year, you traveled farther and deeper; seeking out remote properties; sailing on smaller, more intimate ships; and prioritizing destinations you’ve been waiting years to visit. At least that’s what a staggering 526,518 of you told us in our annual Readers’ Choice Awards survey. Now, you can use the results to decide where you’re going next.
Some of these world's best airports had already undergone dramatic transformations, with starchitects creating bright and airy airports with amenities ranging from spas and yoga rooms to lush outdoor gardens and swimming pools. Here are the best airports in the US, as voted by Traveler readers.
View the Readers' Choice Award winners for best airports in the world here.
This gallery has been updated with new information since its original publish date.
Westhoff/Getty10. Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW)
Detroit's state-of-the-art airport blew our readers away this year for a variety of reasons—fine restaurants, extensive shopping options, cleanliness, efficiency. But it's the major, futuristic touches—like the ExpressTram, an automated train painted cherry red, that carries passengers along a stretch of Edward H. McNamara terminal (a helpful touch considering this is the world's second-longest airport concourse)—that put DTW on the list this year. At the center of that same terminal sits a 39-foot-wide fountain that shoots water in sporadic arcs and darts, inspired by the lines of a flight map.
Courtesy Portland International Airport9. Portland (Oregon) International Airport (PDX)
PDX gets a lot of love from readers for being easy to access—and not just by roads. Bike paths and a MAX light rail line make it one of the best-connected airports in the US. Its food and shopping choices offer fliers a chance to sample Portland specialties, like java from Stumptown Coffee Roasters, local whiskeys at the House Spirits Tasting Room, and handmade goods from Tender Loving Empire. In a nod to the city's creative side, the airport has a 17-seat movie theater that screens short films 24/7, free of charge. Great local shops (yes, Nike counts as local) and free Wi-Fi, too, make this one of the most traveler-friendly airports around.
8. Long Beach Airport (LGB)
It’s easy to fall for this charming little Art Deco terminal, which debuted in 1941. The airport only got more beautiful during a 2012 renovation that uncovered a series of murals and mosaics by WPA artist Grace Clements, which depict everything from seagulls and zodiac signs to maritime shipping motifs. LGB gets bonus points for its surprising use of outdoor spaces, which take advantage of the perpetually perfect Southern California weather: There’s a palm-lined, open-air concourse which sprawls over 20,000 square feet and includes such amenities as fire pits and a wine bar. Who says airports have to be stressful?
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7. Minneapolis St. Paul (MSP)
MSP has continued to score high with readers for its extensive food, dining, and entertainment options—so much so that it may make you forget you're here to, you know, leave. No fewer than 50 stores sell brand-name clothing and shoes, and there’s even a special Prince pop-up shop, where you can stock up on books, vinyl records, apparel, and tickets to tour the High Priest of Pop’s Minnesota estate and studio, Paisley Park. On the dining front, standouts include Smack Shack, which began in 2010 as a food truck and now serves a menu that includes lobster rolls (including a vegetarian version made with oyster mushrooms!) and fried shrimp po’boys, while the Blue Door Pub is a great place to try a Twin Cities staple, the cheese-stuffed Juicy Lucy.
6. Hartford Bradley International Airport (BDL)
More travelers have discovered Hartford, Connecticut’s airport—now New England’s second-busiest airfield after Boston Logan—thanks to a recent surge in new flights, including the arrival of Breeze Airways, the latest startup from JetBlue founder David Neeleman. Customers praise the airport's convenient on-site parking, plentiful charging stations, free Wi-Fi, and an overall relaxed atmosphere, making this mid-sized facility an attractive alternative to flying out of New York’s and Boston’s monster hubs.
Seamus Payne/Courtesy Tampa International Airport5. Tampa International Airport (TPA)
Tampa's airport has long felt like a vision of the future from 50 years ago—because it was. But thanks to $1 billion worth of upgrades, TPA is poised to jet into this century and beyond. A new SkyConnect people-mover system, with high-tech trains from Japan, is making this already convenient airport (which is very close to downtown) more accessible than ever. Also new: automated e-gates that allow fliers to scan their own boarding passes at the shuttles leading to airside concourses and new public artworks, including an Instagram-friendly, 21-foot-tall flamingo sculpture poking its head below the surface of the water (aka the ceiling).
Alamy4. Palm Beach International Airport (PBI)
Palm Beach’s airport is tiny next to busy rival Ft. Lauderdale; even before the pandemic, the annual passenger count was under 7 million. But that’s why it’s beloved by regulars, with some online reviewers even calling it “quaint.” Fliers like the ease of getting in and out, the lack of lines and crowded gates, and the plentiful food and beverage options, and thanks to expanded service from airlines like Frontier and Breeze Airways, even more travelers will be able to enjoy its abundant charms. For amusement, there’s a putting green beyond security, and even a full-service spa to ease the stress of flying—though, at PBI, you may not need it.
RaksyBH / Alamy Stock Photo3. Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport (PVD)
Rhode Island’s T.F. Green Airport gets kudos from fliers as a “great little airport” that’s easy to reach and to navigate: More than two-thirds of New England’s population lives within a 75-minute drive of the Providence airfield. Long favored by budget carriers as a less expensive alternative to Boston Logan, the airport has been growing steadily in recent years and is well-positioned to benefit from a resurgence in domestic air travel. Next year, in fact, PVD will become a hub for the new Breeze Airways, with 44 weekly departures expected by 2027.
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Courtesy Indianapolis International Airport2. Indianapolis International Airport (IND)
Indianapolis's airport has long been one of the top-scorers in our survey, and there’s no secret why. Even as it grew to accommodate nearly 10 million passengers a year—a sizable increase for this mid-sized facility—it has retained the qualities that have made it a perennial favorite. Travelers praise its outstanding design features (it was the first airport in the U.S. to earn LEED certification for an entire terminal campus), as well as its convenient shopping and dining options, including outposts of Indy favorites like Sun King Brewery and Tinker Coffee Co.
Courtesy Savannah Hilton Head International Airport1. Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV)
SAV is not a particularly busy airport, but it’s that smallness, not to mention its town square–inspired layout, that makes it feel intimate and inviting. Travelers might feel as if they’ve been transported back in time to a historic Southern street, complete with benches and a large clock. Here, they can shop for cigars or golfing gear and dine at the PGA Tour Grill. It might come as little surprise that this Georgia airport was once named the “happiest” in the country—in a survey by a dating site, no less.
