Best Airports

· 10. Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Anne Arundel County, MD (BWI)

o Being a major Southwest hub, I’ve flown in and out of this airport nearly 100 times. It feels pretty modern, getting through security is smooth and there are plenty of solid food options. At the center of the airport is a food court with Chick Fil A, Pinkberry and Chipotle. Plus they have both Dunkin’ and Starbucks. If you can get that at an airport in the middle of nowhere Maryland then there’s really not much more you can ask. There’s also plenty of space at the gates in most of the area except for the ones down by the food court which are kind of tight. But hey, at least you’re about to leave Baltimore.

· 9. Dallas-Love Field, Dallas, TX (DAL)

o It’s the HQ for Southwest so when I lived in Tampa I was in and out of here a ton. Outside of one extremely bad flying experience due to tornadoes in the area, I have no complaints. You do have to take a shuttle to your rental car company but it’s not a central one so they aren’t usually as crowded unless it’s a Monday morning. Not only do they have a Chick-Fil-A, Dunkin’ and Starbucks but they also have a Whataburger! The Cool River restaurant at the center of the airport is pretty good too. But, they have a Whataburger so just go there.

· 8. Nashville International Airport, Nashville, TN (BNA)

o Another big Southwest airport and it was always decent but is improving further with renovations underway. I recently went here during the renovations arriving in a new gate area and it feels like a different airport in that section. It was kind of dated but it’s Nashville so I can forgive them. Nothing sticks out to me for food but there are some cool places to hang at while you wait like Tootsies, Vino Volo and Tennessee Tavern. You also don’t have to take a shuttle to their rental car facility which I’m always a huge fan of as you can see.

· 7. T.F. Green International Airport, Warwick, RI (PVD)

o There really isn’t anything to brag about with this one other than it’s a simple, smaller airport that does the job. It’s easy to get to, you can park in nice garages within a walking distance for cheap and security is a breeze. Not a whole lot of food options other than Dunkin’ and Starbucks though. Unfortunately, you have to drive through Rhode Island to get to it, but when you think about all the hassle of getting in and out of Logan you’ll feel much better.

· 6. Denver International Airport, Denver, CO (DEN)

o I’m a huge fan of this airport mainly because it looks really cool. It is completely out in the middle of nowhere but is picturesque with the Rocky Mountains as a backdrop. There are also a bunch of crazy conspiracy theories behind it if that’s your thing. Security is kind of overwhelming like a Disney queue but it’s not terrible. They’ve got Caribou Coffee locations in addition to Dunkin’ here so that gives it a boost in my rankings. Their Delta Sky Club is nice and I hear Cale Makar welcomes people over the intercom on that underground train. Nice work DIA.

· 5. Austin International Airport, Austin, TX (AUS)

o This is a really nice mid-size airport in an awesome, fun city. It’s laid out simply as one main terminal with a bunch of non-chain food and drink options to boot. The rental car facility is great and guess what…no shuttle to get to it! It’s a solid, modern airport in one of my favorite cities so it earns the top 5 spot.

· 4. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Ft. Snelling, MN (MSP)

o MSP is a Delta hub and when you compare it to any of the Delta hubs in the Northeast, it comes off looking amazing. It has a lot of decent food options, is modern and clean, and you have a good amount of space at the gate areas. The National Car rental here has a solid section normally. Plus it’s another cool region to visit.

· 3. Indianapolis International Airport, Indianapolis, IN (IND)

o I’ve only been here a couple of times but it is a world class airport. In Indianapolis, who knew? The terminal is around 10 years old and was beautiful, clean and there was so much room at the gates. That really is all I remember because if I can go sit hundreds of feet away from people, it’s paradise. It really could have a single coffee shop serving Folgers out of cups they are pulling out of the trash can and I wouldn’t care. It’s virtually sitting in luxury waiting to board a plane to take me anywhere but Indianapolis. That’s a win for all of us.

· 2. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Atlanta, GA (ATL)

o It’s always ranked as one of the busiest airports in the world which alone should be reason for me to hate it. I did early on in my travels too but just like the city itself, this airport grew on me. It’s extremely large, with over half a dozen terminals connected by long tunnels underground that are perfect to walk if you have time to kill. It’s Delta’s HQ so you can fly anywhere in the world from here. There are tons of restaurants, bars, stores and people frantically running to go from A to F terminals for their 25-minute layover. Entertainment for everyone. They’ve got TGI Friday’s, Popeyes, Chick-Fil-A, Buffalo Wild Wings, Gordon Biersch, Shake Shack, and more that I’m just not thinking of. Plus there’s a monorail to take you to their rental car facility which is the best of all the airports I’ve been to. This National always has the best selection. It routinely has several rows of cars, trucks, SUVs and convertibles to choose from. These include luxury brands like Audi, BMW and Mercedez. Not to mention, Atlanta is a great city with plenty of things to do and some of my all-time favorite restaurants. This one also underwent significant renovations so it’s cleaner and modernized inside now.

· 1. Tampa International Airport, Tampa, FL (TPA)

o Last but not least, my home airport for a few years. This truly is a world class airport in an underrated city. It’s always clean, the workers are very friendly and their airside/landside setup is a classic. When I moved there in 2015, they began Phase 1 of a massive renovation project that I got to see almost to completion by the time I moved out. Before the renovations it was nice but a bit cramped and dark in the main terminal but now it’s that much better. The Southwest airside terminal has a Cigar City Brewing restaurant, Ulele, PDQ and Goody Goody all right there. The Delta airside terminal has a Columbian Restaurant, Potbelly, Four Green Fields and Panda Express along with a small, but solid Delta Sky Club. They opened their new Rental Car Facility in 2018 which is like a mini version of Atlanta’s which is also connected to the airport by a monorail. This is a huge improvement over the old rental car facilities adjacent to the main terminal. The music playing in the airport is always awesome too except for when they play that Dan Fogelberg Christmas song in May. Just an all-around perfect airport that I got to call home for over 3 years that sets the gold standard for airports in my rankings.