Philadelphia Airport

Stopped here for a three hour layover between Roanoke and San Francisco. After landing outside Terminal F the regional terminal I feared all the horror stories I heard were true. However staff were not rude in fact quite polite and helpful. The shuttle arrived almost the instant I got to it and then the main US Airways Terminal was also clean including the bathrooms. Although the outlets and WiFi left a little to be desired. Not a bad place to be if you need to stop for a while.

After not flying to the USA for a very long time I dreaded my arrival and the alleged border control and customs harassment. However Philadelphia airport was a breeze slick and easy to use Terminal well signed and after a 5 minute queue I was through full security checks in 5 minutes with friendly staff.

We travelled through Philadelphia because of connecting flights Europe-PHL and PHL-Miami. We had 3 hours for connection but were lucky our flights arrived 30 mins early. We waited at customs for 1.5 hrs as 4 planes arrived at the same time. Only half of counters were open on a Monday afternoon. If you plan to make connection between international and domestic flights than you should allow at least 4 hrs to transfer. Airport itself is quite good it is huge lot of shops plenty of eating possibilities even cleanliness is ok. Also perfect connection to the city centre as the train SEPTA has a station right in front of the terminal.

Terminal F employees and their managers should be retrained. Weekly traveller through PHL. Rude employees that have no consideration for customers. Bathrooms are always filthy towel dispensers rarely work and no water pressure. Gate agents always making announcements over each other and at the same time as airport announcements so nobody can understand a word. Not enough time to list all of the bad experiences at PHL.

Travel advice: arrange your international flight to connect through any American city other than Philadelphia. Our experience last night was the single worst we've had and we travel a fair amount. Two hours between flights should be ample time to make a connection but customs took an hour and a quarter (the agent apologized - he was frustrated too but wasted our time talking about it). Security took another 20 minutes. There is no allowance for connecting passengers. The official refused to rush us through saying everybody was in the same boat. If that's the case this airport clearly has a problem. After security we had just minutes to make it from A gates to B gates something the TSA guy said would take 5 minutes. Well it is only 5 minutes - if you're in a flat-out dead run which we were. My husband ran in his socks still holding his shoes and belt. We asked for a ride from two separate drivers of those electric carts. Both carts were empty but neither driver would help. One was actually sitting in a chair near his cart legs sprawled in front of him. He didn't even respond to us! USAirways is partly to blame. Knowing that a glut of international flights arrive simultaneously at an understaffed customs office they should automatically allow a minimum of 3 hours to connect. This airport its US Customs office and its TSA operation are mismanaged and the staff are rude.

Long queues at immigration and security check between connection flights - hence mis-connected. Staff unhelpful no fast lane/fast tracking to help you catch the connection flight. Avoid if you have a choice or allow 4-6 hours of gap between connections if there is no other choice.

Filthy terminals spread out over too much space with no people movers like at TPA. PHL needs a lot of help and quickly to complete on an international level.

KPHL is my hometown airport and I like the fact it is accessible via regional rail. SEPTA regularly offers train service from Center City to each of the airport terminals. The airport is clean and well-kept and the staff are friendly. Due to it's location there is a lot that needs to be done in order for the airport to expand. Therefore until expansions are completed it may sometimes become overly congested especially during the holiday travel period. I recently flew AirTran to Orlando and the AirTran/Southwest terminal was easily and quickly accessible from its given train stop. The baggage claim was efficient my family and I were able to pick up our bags just minutes after getting off the plane.

This airport looks and is operated like an old Bus Station. Those responsible for running it must hate their jobs and the poor people who are forced to use their facility. It has repeatedly been by far the worst large airport experience in the country time after time. It's not that big but getting from point to point is cumbersome. It's location in the Eastern travel corridor seems to crowd its airspace and even the tiniest bit of weather cripples it operationally. How much of that is FAA and how much is PHL is hard to tell but the result is a disaster that should be avoided if possible.

What a fiasco this place is. They have it planned that almost every international widebody arrives within a very short time. Huge lines for immigration. Though plenty of desks open - makes you wonder what they do for the rest of the day when there is virtually no activity. Them long lines again to turn in the customs forms. This place is a perfect example why not to let local government run an airport.