Philadelphia Airport

I read some concerning comments on this forum about PHL Airport. Therefore I was not too happy travelling through Philadelphia. Fortunately none of my fears were confirmed! Short Queuing times very helpful employees easy to find your way through and enough shopping possibilities. Unlike many others my impression on PHL was pleasant!

Flew in and out of here on trip to Kansas City via Delta. Pretty bare bones terminal. Check in downstairs then upstairs for security. A very long line but in all honesty went rather quickly. Once airside kind of meagre offering as the airport focus mainly on US Air so Delta rather scant. Not pleasant not painful just adequate.

Oh dear how bad is PHL? We have to arrive here when travelling with US Airways and are always so badly treated. The immigration halls and TSA are the worst I have ever encountered. It regularly takes an hour and a half to be "processed" for onward travel which usually ends up with us running from Terminal A to Terminal C in order to catch our next flight. The security lines are horrendous and even when you explain to the lazy miserable staff that you have another flight to catch they couldn't care less. Mostly they just chat amongst themselves and don't manage the lines of passengers. This is a management problem and one that needs addressing now. We can't comment on the facilities as we never have time to use them.

PHL is my home airport and has served me well. Check in for my flight was very quick including the extra layer of security for my TLV flight. A West where most overseas flights depart is the most pleasant terminal. On return at 5am from my TL flight. I did find passport control a bit slow but I was out of the airport within the hour. The best feature of the airport by far is the rail access for center city Philadelphia with rail connections all over the region.

Awful! The 1 hour queue for immigration was ridiculous. The immigration officer was surly and obstructive and after submitting us to further status checks (another hour) they gave us another traveller's passport as well as our own (lucky for him we spotted this before we left). Welcome to America? - No thanks! I would sooner visit the third world's worst airport before I use Philadelphia again.

Gate occupied? Takes 30 minutes or more to get another gate and find the Skyway operators? Welcome to Philly! Seriously this is common for on time flights in clear weather at PHL. It is the worst run airport you will likely experience. Consistently!

Flew into PHL en route to SFO from Manchester. If US Airways and the airport authorities want to make the place more appealing then they need to get customs and TSA sorted. Customs - 3rd time to the US and the longest wait by far. We all complete ESTA but then stand in a long queue with people who seem to have a library of documents that need to be checked. When we eventually get to a desk we breeze through. TSA - are they providing a service or do they think they run the show. They are amongst the rudest people I have encountered and need to be told so and told to sharpen up their act and their "customer" skills. It would also help if they didn't randomly bark out orders and could speak in a language that at least approximates to English. I couldn't wait to leave the place - felt and treated like a criminal from the moment we landed. What a welcome to the US. As for the airport - no real complaints - enjoyed the food court and some decent shops to occupy the layover time. Although the kids tell me the toilets there (M&F) are a disgrace - I took their word for it and went elsewhere (have to say the toilets I used were very clean). I've read other posts complaining about the size of the airport - well it is a US hub and it is big but no different to London Schiphol etc. My only gripe is the poor signage (what are you supposed to do with your bags for the onward flight where do you go). This needs improvement. Was a bit taken aback to find the baggage dumped on the floor (after a long wait for customs) so had to wander about looking for cases - and there was a lot to get around. It is a bit dated (international terminal is more modern) and a bit drab. But I've been in a lot worse.

This is the worst airport I have ever had the misfortune to use. It took over 2 hours to clear customs by which time we had missed our connecting flight. Have now been here for 5 hourse we will probably be here another 5 given that there is no one willing to help. The place is full of staff doing nothing! Its also filthy. Will never come here again. I honestly wouldn't mind if I felt that we had acted irresponsibly but the queues were horrendous. They clearly don't organise more customs officers when its busy as not all the lanes were in use.

We flew from Manchester to Philadelphia on 11 August and I have to say that after reading the reviews of PHL on this forum we were not looking forward to the immigration experience on arrival. However I have to say that it was nothing like most of the negative comments that have been submitted. The time from our plane touching down to us clearing customs was exactly one hour - I have waited longer at Nottingham East Midlands returning from Spain. The queue at immigration was probably about 20 minutes and the woman who processed us actually smiled and wished us an enjoyable visit. For the return we found the departure area very comfortable and not at all crowded.

The worst airport I have ever gone through security coming in on an international flight. Immigration was great very safe and efficient. But then we got to the security line in which we waited and waited and waited. Only two people (a male and a female) checked boarding passes and IDs. Of which the man began carrying on a conversation with someone else and stopped checking boarding passes and IDs leaving only one person to do the work of two people. More than half of the passengers from the international flight missed their connection due to the incredibly slow security. New measures must be taken because every passenger wants to get to their final destination. Many employees do not do their jobs at this airport and that's a huge shame.