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

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review :  19 July 2010 by H Collins   (USA)

Customer Rating :  3/5

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They've done about as good a job as possible to make Philadelphia airport as pleasant as possible, but I had to post my two cents here about a human pileup at the base of an escalator that almost occurred during a recent layover there. In order to get to Concourse F, you have to use a downward escalator - there were too many people going to that area at the time I was there, so there was a very long line (Disney-style!) to go down the escalator, waiting for buses. Once the line started moving, the person who was supposed to control the flow of humanity completely failed, because too many people were queuing up at the base of the escalator, and people were stopping at the bottom! There would have been a pileup if I hadn't said loudly, "Move, move, move, move, move!!" and people at the bottom moved. But she completely failed. Airport security really needs to look at this to ensure this never happens again.

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review :  13 May 2010 by S Garac   (France)

Customer Rating :  4/5

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I found the airport clean, I only went to the transit side, and once through security, as I was coming from France. The airport is quite well organised, in the transit zone you got everything that is needed. I was amazed also by the promotion made for "philly" in that airport, as we got some shouts of each most known movie which was filmed in PHL like rocky. The wrong point is the time that it takes to get into the transit zone while you are coming from a transatlantic flight, you have to be sure that you got more than 2 hours for transit in order to catch your flight - and more than it if you want to have a look at the duty free. Anyway I loved that airport on my return flights, as you got many shops bars/restaurant in order to spend time. The airside part that you can see through windows when you are either in transit of when living your international flight, looked also nice, but I never went there.

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review :  12 May 2010 by Bill Atkins   (USA)

Customer Rating :  1/5

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After several visits where it appeared PHL had become a proper airport, they have now apparently taken several steps back. Connecting from international to domestic, sole ID checker was involved in lengthy flirting session with female passenger as we all waited. Bag X-ray machine operative was doing loud stand-up comedy routine as we all waited. This kind of behaviour must surely detract from the efficiency of security procedures we are forced to endure.

PHILADELPHIA AIRPORT customer review :  22 March 2010 by S Krasner   (USA)

Customer Rating :  1/5

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Philadelphia is one of the worst airports in the United States. I regularly suffer here. It can take up to 2 hours to get your bags back (3 hours during the holidays). The interior is dark, drab and smelly, Most of the plane flight monitors malfunction, and the amenities are few and expensive. The worst part about this airport is the service. The people working at Philadelphia airport are the laziest, meanest people around. I remember trying to ask one of the attendants a question about where my gate was and the lady at the desk just stared right past me and started talking with someone else. The better parts of the airport are ample parking, a working train to the city (albeit, slow/ wait hours between cars) and lots of teller desks.

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

Customer Rating :  4/5

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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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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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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.