Philadelphia Int'l Airport Passenger Reviews and Philadelphia Airport Traveller Reports

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review :  14 February 2010 by Tony McLaughlin   (UK)

Customer Rating :  4/5

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Cleanliness

Facilities

Arrived from UK at Terminal A, and 20 minutes after disembarcation, I was in the land of the free. Very modern terminal. Departed from same terminal. It is worth noting that if you are early for check in there are no facilities landside (apart from 2 toilets). However everything you need is available airside. I found the security to be less officious than other US airports I have used (JFK & BOS). Much improved from my last visit 6 years ago.

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review :  11 February 2010 by W Ryan   (USA)

Customer Rating :  3/5

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Cleanliness

Facilities

Recently flew US Airways PHL -SJU (San Juan, PR) - PHL. Departure from PHL went smoothy, except that it took longer than expected to go thru the TSA checkpoint. (We did make our flight.) However, on return to PHL, plane arrived at Terminal A, but (as is procedure), bags are sent to Terminal B. Saw no signs indicating how to get from Terminal A to Terminal B. When we finally realized we were "lost", we asked the Info Desk. She told us we had to walk outside to get to Terminal B. Having come from PR, we were in only shirtsleeves, and it was 19 degrees out! She said it's about a 3 minute walk, and she was right! If somebody knows that there is an "inside" connector hall between A and B, please post on this PHL chain. (I tried to see if there was an A-B Term. connector hall on the US Air website, but couldn't see one, for sure.) The other problem we had, and have had it almost every time we've flown into PHL, is that they rarely put the correct flight numbers on the monitors over the baggage carousels. And there are 6 carousels in Terminal B. So, you don't know which one of 6 carousels your bags might be on. (Or else, they'll put the flight # and say "Carousel 2", but, in fact, the bags from that flight end up on Carousel 4." (Kind of an on-going April Fool's joke!) Fortunately, our bags are fairly easy to spot. Choice of restaurants is good, and food prices are not a rip-off. Prices were a good bit higher at SJU airport than at PHL. Except for the gripes above, PHL is a fairly decent airport.

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review :  20 December 2009 by M Barbara   (USA)

Customer Rating :  4/5

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Cleanliness

Facilities

Live in South Jersey and fly out of and back to PHL almost weekly. While the airport seems to always be under construction and isnt always the easiest for those transferring from one plane to another (especially if you come in on an international flight Terminal A and have to get to a regional connection in F) it is very easy to get in and out fo if you know some tricks. Always park in C or D garage and dont even try any floor below 4. Then use the new TSA checkpoint. DOnt even think about going in the through the checkpoint in B or you will be in line for a while. Philly finally is letting Southwest Business Select in the first class line in that main new TSA checkpoint so if you have fly-by or first class there you go, 10 people in line at the most. As for being a busy airport; I dont know where some of these other people fly to that call philly busy. Have you been to Atlanta or Minneapolis? Philly is probably ~40% on the crowded scale. I mean go to terminal E and look at how many NW and SW gates are empty most of the day. Its no Manchester, NH but on the other hand its no where near as crowded as Atlanta. Now for what sucks with PHL - if there is a drop of rain dont even think about landing in PHL on time. Overall I think PHL isnt too bad an airport, especially if you live in the area as if is located pretty central to everything and easily gotten to off 95. Aside from the sprawl from terminals A-F and how fragile it is to weather delays its an easy airport to go in and out of.

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review : 16 December 2009 : by J Segal

Customer Rating : 4/5

Arrived from Madrid. No flights in front of us, so despite seeing only 4 people in front of me, still took 20 minutes to get through customs. This was the only negative I can say. Airport has many choices to eat and shop while waiting. Walks can be long between gates so be careful.

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review : 12 November 2009 : by R King

Customer Rating : 2/5

Very poor airport. You can arrive 2 hours before your flight and still not make it to your plane. I think much of the problem is US Air which chronically understaffs its check-in areas. The TSA screening stations are also understaffed and move very slowly. At PHL, flight information for airlines other than USAir are not posted on the information monitors! My recent flight using AA an example. Flight information is often not posted at the gate check in desks, the gate information on the monitors is often incorrect or not updated. Not nearly enough seats for people to sit on while waiting for flights. Other problems with PHL - poor signage within the airport, poor signage as to how to enter and exit the airport and get to the parking lots, and generally disorganized drop-off and pickup areas. The food prices inside the airport are not too bad however.

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review : 17 June  2009 : by B Peters

Customer Rating : 3/5

A generally pretty airport, but deceivingly big and at times incredibly overcrowded. Depending on the time of day, you may need three hours (if you walk fast) to connect international to domestic, and at least an hour and a half to connect domestic to international or domestic to domestic (walking times to international terminal A can easily be half an hour from terminal D, again if you walk fast). Average taxi times hit 45 minutes to an hour at peak travel times (5 am - 8:30 am and 3:30 pm to 6 pm), so never expect your flight to be completely on time.

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review : 20 March  2009 : by Simon Channon

Customer Rating : 5/5

A breeze - the best gateway I've experienced into the US. Lots of immigration desks open and the officer processing my wife and myself even had a sense of humour! Security checks reasonably quick, too. The airport is well laid out and decently signed - even though it's a long walk from Terminal B to Terminal A.

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review : 10 March  2009 : by G Lee

Customer Rating : 4/5

Our recent departure from Terminal D turned out to be relatively hassle-free. Thanks to TSA's new and improved checking lanes at Connector D-E, the lines were much shorter than we had expected. And we found the staff on duty to be more courteous too. Our UA flight left very early in the morning -- perhaps things could get more difficult during the peak hours .

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review : 17 February  2009 : by Bill Atkins

Customer Rating : 3/5

I must amend my January review - Philadelphia has gone back in time and the whole international to domestic transfer was every bit as awful as it used to be. Chaotic waiting lines, rude TSA with lots of shouting - just a general mess.

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review : 5 February  2009 : by Adam Morris

Customer Rating : 5/5

PHL must have done some work because my experience were far from the nightmares I have heard. Coming in from PIT going to JAX the walk from C to A is a bit of a long one but got to our gate at C. Found out our flight was delayed but the gate agents were very helpful. Many food options.

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review : 27 January 2009 : by J Segal

Customer Rating : 4/5

Connected from terminal A to terminal C. Could this walk be any longer? Felt bad for people that needed help- heard a cart driver tell a pax 'that their cart could not go to another concourse' - isn't that what they are there for? Plenty of stores and food, and the terminals are nice.

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review : 6 January 2009 : by Bill Atkins

Customer Rating : 5/5

Philadelphia has been transformed - not sure if partially because of less travellers, but it is most welcome for whatever reason. Arrived on BA recently and within 7 minutes of leaving the plane (I was first off) I was sitting in my car in the (very expensive) terminal parking.

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review : 24 December 2008 : by D Shapiro

Customer Rating : 3/5

Not too bad, but I refer to Terminal F in Philly (and Concourse F at O'Hare) as the Twilight Zone terminals. Dirty and it feels like you are out somewhere away from everything else. The only reason I like flying in and out of Philly is if they cancel my flight (again!), I can rent a car, drive home, and then return to pick up my car and baggage from Allentown! On the upside - we landed without nose gear and the emergency crews were great!

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review : 12 November 2008 : by J Callaghan

Customer Rating : 4/5

Flew in and out this week with US Airways from Dublin. Dublin Immigration pre-clearance was great. On arrival in Philly, we were ushered past immigration and straight out. I have never seen it so easy. Baggage trolleys were three dollars each but they machine does take credit cards. On our flight back, the check-in clerk was a little unhelpful but did his job. Security for Terminal A took about 5 minutes and they were pleasant and to the point. No problems there. The whole airport was very clean and well organised. It was a fair walk to our gate, A6, but again this was not a problem. I like Philly and it was quite reasonable for food - unlike Dublin !

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review : 6 November 2008 : by N Chester

Customer Rating : 5/5

After having read some comments about PHL was worried when travelling through PHL on way from Manchester UK to Las Vegas on US Airways. However, no need to have worried. The transfer was a wonderful experience. The airport is very comfortable, the security and immigration staff excellent and it took just 25 minutes from the aircraft reaching the gate to being through immigration and customs and inside the terminal.

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review : 27 August 2008 : by Bill Atkins

Customer Rating : 4/5

From two recent experiences, I am pleased to see that there has been a great improvement in the Int'l/domestic transfer in Terminal A. It has been re-organized, so lines are not as long and there has clearly been a re-arrangement of the TSA attitude, which makes the experience very much more pleasant.

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review : 7 August 2008 : by J Hamilton

Customer Rating : 4/5

Flew to Orlando via Philadelphia from the UK at the beginning of July '08. We got into Philly around 1800hrs local time and went straight through Homeland Security without waiting. There are quite a few shops to browse in whilst you are waiting for your connecting flight and the pick up and transfer of our luggage was seamless - no lost bags here! I would fly through this airport again, I didn't experience any unpleasant staff and all my luggage made it there and back in one piece.

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review : 11 July 2008 : by Paula Hutchins

Customer Rating : 2/5

I've only been through this airport once, and they were in the middle of renovating. It was very disorganized with long lines and lots of waiting. I had 4 hours between flights and I barely made the connecting flight. I came off an international flight and then waited almost an hour in line just to have my passport checked. Then it took 2 hours to pick up my baggage and recheck it. The line was incredibly long. When one man asked the personnel if he could go ahead of the others because his flight was in 15 minutes, the lady told him she didn't care, but he'd have to ask the other passengers. Of course that led to chaos as he tried to manuever his way through the entire line asking permission from every person. And when other people saw that, they wanted to do that too. And then the other passengers started getting irritated and wouldn't let anybody in front (and rightly so). The only part that wasn't chaos was agricultural customs, and that's because there were about 3 people including me in this line. I would only fly through here again if i absolutely had to. The staff was ok, no one was outright rude, but there were too many irritated people and not enough space, and no it wasn't Christmas or any other high-traffic season.

Philadelphia Airport review by Bill Atkins

23 April 2008   Customer Rating :

Sad to say after my experience on April 13, Philadelphia still merits a negative review. Came in on international - very quick immigration as no other plane being processed at the time. Had only hand baggage - PHL does a lousy job of luggage so I always try to travel without check-ins. As always, security was like the descent into hell - rude, lazy employees yelling at everyone and basically making the whole process much harder than it needs to be - which is about the same story as every other airport in the US. For an airport so recently modernized everything looks dirty and run-down. Clearly very badly managed and no pride on the part of the employees.

Philadelphia Airport review by L Becque

19 March 2008   Customer Rating :

The worst airport in the USA for losing your baggage or bags not making your connecting flight. Baggage problems are especially bad if you are connecting through a commuter / small plane out of Terminal F. I fly almost every week and Philadelphia is the only airport where I have had this problem. Last year they lost my bag at least twice, once for 3-4 days. The other issue is that the Terminal F flights can experience much worse flight delays than the big planes. I've experienced 2-4 hour delays due to incoming flight delays stacking up on top of outgoing delays. This last Friday I told them to put me in a hotel overnight rather than waiting 3 hours to leave and arriving at my destination at 3am. They couldn't divert my bag but I said that was OK - my bag didn't arrive till the next morning anyway so if I had taken the late flight the previous night I would have been missing my bag anyway!

Philadelphia Airport review by Bill Atkins

21 February 2008   Customer Rating :

What is it about the TSA in PHL? They are hard to deal with in most US airports, but in Philly it seems their aim in life is to slow the airport experience as much as possible and enhance it with a generous dose of rudeness. All the shouting and marshalling of passengers makes it feel like animals in a slaughterhouse.

Philadelphia Airport review by William Kelly

18 October 2007   Customer Rating :

Living in the Detroit area, my business and family trips to Philadelphia are always via Northwest Airlines, which practically has a monopoly in Detroit. In PHL, the terminal that Northwest uses is narrow, horribly crowded, sorely in need of serious upgrades. Worse still, the TSA area is very narrow, crowded and obviously temporary, consisting of painted plywood walls and serpentine cattle chute lines. Lines at this terminal's TSA almost always back up down the long corridor connecting the terminal with baggage claim and the parking garage. On my last trip (early Oct 2007), I had to wait in line 35 minutes to clear security. At this location, TSA personnel like to shout directions at passengers, all of which is totally unnecessary and adds to passenger stress and confusion, mainly because most passengers can't hear what is being said amid the background noise. While connected to the other terminals, for some reason PHL doesn't permit passengers to move around. If you arrive early and want a better selection of restaurants than the terrible ones on offer at the terminal used by Northwest, PHL forces you to go through TSA twice! A major construction project is now underway and, when completed in 2008, may cause me to redo my review. For now, there isn't a lot to recommend.

Philadelphia Airport review by Edgar Fedorkao

28 August 2007   Customer Rating :

PHL can be a pleasant to travel through but not always. Traffic on the taxiways can lead to long delays on the ground when your waiting to depart the runway. The facilities are updated yet cramped and there are plenty of food and shopping selections. Using Atlantic City, BWI, or Newark may fair better in the future but for now, I'm sticking with PHL.

Philadelphia Airport review by Steve Maier

9 August 2007   Customer Rating :

Philly has improved a lot. It is still the most crowded of all airports, but security waiting time was improved since I flew last. What I liked most is the new Business Lounge of US Airways in Terminal 1A. Large and open, nice seating and good food. If only the planes would be half as good as the lounge, US Air would be a nice choice. What I like also about Philly is the nice shopping and food court in the C concourse.

Philadelphia Airport review by A Johnson

9 August 2007   Customer Rating :

During peak times, the narrow concourses and insufficient seating areas become clogged with passengers. Walking between concourses takes a while. Not all concourses are connected both airside and landside, which often requires you to walk outdoors to go to another terminal. Queues for TSA grow quite long at peak times, and since there isn't much room for people to wait near the checkpoints, the queues snake back down the corridors toward the ticket counters. PHL has only two parallel runways, which are insufficient for a major domestic hub and increasingly popular low fare destination, especially when bad weather hits. Even when the weather is perfect though, delays can quickly stack up.

Philadelphia Airport review by Olivier Fernandez

27 July 2007   Customer Rating :

All the US Airways flight must be landing within a 2 hour window not counting AF, LH and BA flights. Therefore, the passport control took over 2 hours if you landed between 02:30PM to 04:30PM A nightmare... add another 45 minutes to 60 minutes for security check. Please do allow 3 hours in between your connecting flights.

Philadelphia Airport review by Peter Roozemaal

23 July 2007   Customer Rating :

Used PHL yesterday for a BA flight PHL-LHR-AMS. Facilities on the land side of terminal A-west checkin could be better. I went to international arrivals for a seat and a cup of tea to pass the time till BA counters would open. Facilities in the A (international) terminal are good, sufficient seating, selection of restaurants and shops. TSA check was certainly not worse than at other US airports (they say "please" nowadays). I like the Philly "one terminal" concept.

Philadelphia Airport review by David Guenthner

30 June 2007   Customer Rating :

The ticketing and baggage claim areas were cramped and outdated, and the baggage claim for my airline (Southwest) was in a different terminal than where my flight arrived. The line for security extended back into the skybridge connecting the terminal to the parking garage. Terminal food selections were mediocre although not too horribly overpriced by airport standards. Passenger lounges mediocre. There is a train that connects the airport to downtown, but its primary passengers appeared to be airport employees. On my train to downtown, the air conditioning unit was soaking the first three rows. The worst part about Philadelphia is that, despite its status as a major low-fare hub and international entry point, it only has two runways for commercial service. If there is any kind of bad weather - as happened the morning I flew home - the flight delays just compound. When I left for the airport three hours before my scheduled departure, my flight was supposed to leave 30 minutes late. When I got to the airport, the delay had increased to 70 minutes. Once the delay got bumped to three hours - - meaning that I would be stuck in Nashville overnight if I got out of Philly - they re-routed me through Chicago. However, that meant switching concourses - and having to go through another clogged TSA checkpoint. I didn't even have time to re-tie my shoes before having to run onto the jetbridge of my new flight. The next time I have to go to Philadelphia on business, I'm flying to Baltimore and taking a train.

Philadelphia Airport review by David Thornton

29 March 2007   Customer Rating : n/a

Flew into PHL from MAN (US Airways) then connected to RSW. Have to disagree with previous comments. One of the most efficient American airports I have visited. Through immigration, baggage and customs in 15 minutes. Easy connection (on foot rather than train or bus) to Terminal C. Return just as easy. Good food and shopping options. Significantly better experience than ATL, LAX or JFK - would travel via PHL again.

Philadelphia Airport review by Bill Atkins

20 March 2007

A third world country could be proud of this airport. Every aspect is wrong and reflects apalling managment. Arrived from overseas - only one INS agent for all US citizens - at least this delay meant that we were not waiting in the baggage hall as long - an hour in PHL is not unusual. Toilets all disgusting. Employess surly and inactive - mostly standing around in groups talking, which is presumable why the bags take so long and the toilets are dirty - no-one seems in any way accountable for what they are paid to do. The city of Philadelphia should be ashamed of this place as the first aspect of their city many people see.

Philadelphia Airport review by Kuhan Kandiah

26 January 2007

Although there was a terrible delay on my flight out of this airport while on transit, I managed to study a little of Terminal F and I think it was a great terminal with several bookshops, cafes and toilets. However, it lacked internet facilities such as an internet kiosk which can be handy when on delay such as my flight.

Philadelphia Airport review by David Stein

18 July 2006

Having flown out of Philadelphia International Airport for many years to both domestic and international destinations, I have noticed many improvements. If you arrive up to2 hours early, check in is painless and takes all of 10 minutes. I found security no more or less crowded than in other airports. Access to the airport by train is a wonderful convenience. There is room for improvement The baggage areas can use substantial upgrading and sections of the airport seem like they are under construction. PHL is not a beautiful ultra modern airport but is very practical and user friendly.

Philadelphia Airport review by Mark Arnold

8 July 2006

I've used PHL several times now, on flights to and from MAN with US Airways. I could not disagree more with the previous correspondents. The route from the gate to the Homeland Security desks was very swift, as they all are from A West. The Security was very swift; no stupid questions or anything silly. On my return to MAN the folks at check in were very polite and very, very quick. The TSA were, well, TSA, but they could have been a lot worse (have you flown international into SEA or DFW lately?) . The US Airways exec lounge was a cash bar though which was a shock and a major downer.

Philadelphia Airport review by Dorothy Tonks

3 February 2006

Having been a resident of NJ for 30+ years and traveling all over the country using both Newark Airport and Philadelphia airport, I always wondered why everything was always so much more difficult dealing with the employees at Philadelphia airport. Now having moved away but still flying in to Philadelphia because of the convenience to where I am going, I find everything remains the same. The nickname City of Brotherly Love sure didn't come going and coming through the airport. Security employees both inside and the police outside are horrible. What's the saying about a give someone a little power and it goes to their head? I now have the opportunity to travel quite a bit and there is nothing that can compare with the utter disregard for decent treatment of the people that use the airport in Philadelphia to the many airport facilities within the US lumped all together. I have no problem going through the security checks, taking off my shoes, my coat and following the rules, but for someone to go through that because some big strong man has a power complex or a bad day! Whoever is responsible for these employees should be ashamed. I know the public can be rude, but do employees have to take their frustrations out on those who are not.

Philadelphia Airport review by Richard Walder

5 December 2005

I have to say, that using PHL for the first time, it was appallling. We arrived on a US aIr flight from LGW and had a connecting US Air flight to SFO later in the afternoon. Arrival after a 9+ flight was on time, but chaos ensued from the moment we left the aircraft. Poor signs, cramped walkways and little info. Immigration was, I must say painless and efficiently handled by a friendly officer, and only a short queue, but as to getting our luggage & the changeover to internal flight was painful. After depositing our luggage, we then found we had to go through another security check, why, we had already been through two very good checks at LGW. The line was about half a mile long, moving slowly and even the staff trying to administer this chaos admitted it was ridiculous. We were lucky we had nearly three hours connection, but other poor people stood no chance to get through this connection and security. Why have only two or three machines working and being ridiculous about shoes off, belts off and then a full slow personal body search by a very unfriendly security guard, while all your property is just left lying around unattended at the end of the conveyor belt. This needs to be improved for international passengers who have already been through proven efficient security checks in Europe. Getting between terminals might be good if you want, or indeed need the shops, but after a 9+ hours transatlantic flight a mile walk seems very hard work. More moving walkways would help or a "buggy shuttle service". Returning to LGW, from SFO via PHL was even more painful. The US AIr flight landed on time, but was held for over 40 minutes on the taxiway, due to terminal congestion and when we eventually got off the flight we only had minutes to make the long, long trek to the international gate. No help from US Air ground staff, not interested in advising the other gate staff we were on our way, despite asking specifically. After walking quickly about half way to our gate, I managed to stop an empty buggie and asked the friendly woman driver if there was a chance in getting dropped at our gate as we were rushing to make the connection. She willingly obliged and we made our connection, just, as last passengers boarding. Our luggage did not make it, but followed us to England 24 hours later. Having rushed to board, we then left the gate on time, to sit in traffic on the taxiways and waste nearly an hour before finally taking off. I would not make plans to use PHL again for any trips to the USA where connections were concerned based on these two experiences, preferring other hubs who seem from our experience to handle transatlantic and domestic flights much more efficiently. Shame as it looks a pleasant modern airport, what we did see of it.