Salt Lake City Airport

Not Verified | How to gauge if an airport is a good airport? Average walk time to a gate from the entry? Average walk time from gate to gate? Food options? Average distance of food/drinks from a gate? The new SLC airport fails at all of these. I've listened and talked to airline personnel, strangers, and friends about how painful it is to walk such long distances and the limited food/drink options. I read a Deseret article where they talk about it a "cathedral to transportation". I think that might be the problem, they thought they were building a church not an airport people need to use.

Not Verified | Worst renovation ever and will only get worse as more people travel. TSA struggled when few people there with new equipment. Can hardly imagine a busy day. The ingress and egress into the airport will lead to multiple accidents and already unsafe conditions driving into the airport. Laughable that anyone thought this was a good design.

✅ Trip Verified | Someone should be fired over this airport design. It is not reasonable to expect the average person to walk this distance dragging a 30 pound suitcase. If you don’t need to fly into SLC, don’t.

Not Verified | This airport is a disaster! This was the least friendly airport for its patrons that I have ever been in, and I have traveled a lot. I was excited to try out the new airport since I'd heard so many things about how streamlined and efficient it would be. That is absolutely not the case. When we first departed from the airport, I was very disappointed with how humongous it is, with no concessions for people to move through it easily (except a few slow moving walkways). It is so large it's difficult to get from one place to another, and it takes forever to get anywhere. It seems as if you're walking for miles before you get to your destination, and the signage is not clear, you're not sure where to go. It was a disappointing experience. However, our return experience was even worse! We are 65 and 70 years old. Although we're on the older side, we're in pretty good shape, having just returned from a dive trip. After traveling all day and being worn out from travel, we thought we were going to die of exhaustion before we got out of there. I'm sure we must have walked over two miles just to get out! I have a bad right hip which is usually manageable, but after walking and walking and walking, and walking some more, I thought I was going to die before I got out of there. There are no accommodations for those with health difficulties - how did they ever pass ADA regulations? I didn't see one vehicle that could move elderly or disabled people from one place to another. The design is horrendous - it is so spread out, it's definitely not conducive to anyone that has difficulties ambulating. There is no tram system, as is used in most other airports to move people from one section of the airport to another. Although there is a place for a future tram, it needs to be put in place immediately, not years down the road. And, the way it's laid out, I'm not sure it will decrease the walk time for the patrons. Who designed this thing, and did the city actually sign off on the design? Did they not care about whether it was doable for its patrons? Obviously, no one thought about those that cannot easily walk several miles. And, they have cast the parking shuttles into outer darkness, probably to benefit themselves and their own parking garage. After picking up baggage, you used to be able to walk out the door and pick up the parking shuttles. Now, after walking through the whole airport, you then have to walk another half mile to get to the outside rim of the parking lot to a small designated spot for the parking shuttles. It appears they're trying to drive them out of business and inconvenience their customers! It is really a travesty! The next morning I was almost lame with pain from trying to navigate the airport with my sore hip the night before. I will do everything I can to avoid this airport, I will be driving whenever possible simply to avoid this airport.

Not Verified | Agree with the poor reviews regarding layout and design. Whoever designed this and whatever board approved said design are clueless. The tight connections that Delta was known for here are still present, yet you have to strap on your Hokas and be ready to run a marathon. It really is a joke. I’ll take extra flights to avoid this airport.

✅ Trip Verified | I can not complain enough, swear enough or be so damn disappointed in this airport. I have been flying out of the old airport for more than 15 years 2 times per month or more. It was amazing, easy and efficient. My colleagues loved coming to see us in SLC and always complemented us on our easy our airport was to navigate. We went from my No. 1 most favorite airport to the absolute worst airport in the whole world. Of course it looks nice and is clean, it's new. However they will never be able to fix the design of this airport and the amount of time it adds to my regular travel plans. It will take me 30 minutes just to walk from terminal B through terminal A out of the building and all the way back around to catch the train. I used to be able to walk off the train and onto my flight in 20 minutes, that includes going through security. Anytime you have to post walk times, you failed. I seriously want the tax money back that paid for this. I just cant tell you how mad I am that this is my home airport. Airlines! Please start trying to add flights in Provo! I don't want to have to use this airport.

Not Verified | What a shame. This airport might look flashy, but it worse than the one it replaced in literally every other way I have experienced and can think of. It is truly a tragedy that we are stuck with this utterly horrible design for decades.

Not Verified | We are so disgusted at the layout of our airport! It is such a mess to find where to go! It takes forever to get from point A to point B, you could die of a heart attack! No help, no chairs! I could not take my mother on a trip, she would not survive the airport! Also the park n jet shuttles etc are cast out into outer darkness way behind the entire airport why? You can’t treat us all like this! We will try to avoid this airport, sad thing is that all of our kids and 11 grandchildren live out of state and it doesn’t make them want to visit home now. So sad!

Not Verified | A total and utter disaster. The people who designed the new SLC airport should have to spend every work day walking the miles and miles of corridors to go from plane to baggage claim or from entry to gate. It’s simply too much walking. I don’t know how anyone with a disability or anyone elderly can deal with this place. Are we not wanted in Salt Lake City? How on earth did it pass ADA regulations? Not only are distances a problem but checking in on one floor then having to go to another to get to security and the gates makes absolutely no sense. It may be more efficient for the planes but it’s hellacious for the flying public. Can’t understand how such a project could be so badly botched.

Not Verified | In an age of project planning, focus groups, and ADA, how is this even legal. Appalling. When I got on the departing flight, a young guy said to the person sitting next to him, "How many times do you think we've heard the word 'ridiculous' in the last 45 minutes?" I like to walk, and I didn't have a bag, so my concerns are for those with heavy backpacks, small children, the aged, the unfit, and those on tight schedules. I pity anyone who has more than one of those factors. After a shocking experience departing the airport, I decided to start my pedometer on the airplane when arriving at gate B8, which is not the most distant gate. You could very easily add another .25 miles to the number I'm about to share if you had a B25 gate, or similar. I started my pedometer when I got off the plane to see how far it was to the long-term parking shuttles. It clocked in right at .75 miles. (So if you had a B25 gate, for example, it would be over a mile, I think.) A few other factors to into it to make it better and worse than it sounds. 1) I didn't use any of the moving walkways last night, one of which wasn't working, anyway (at a brand new airport - it had an out of order sign). I did that for two reasons: to measure and also because no one stays to the right on the walkways so you can pass, because they're all so tired of walking. That means that the moving walkways actually slow down the sense of progress you feel you're making on the sojourn. 2) On the escalators, no one walks them, either (for the same reason), so you just have to stand there. Standing actually tires me more, and it's a little frustrating if you're in a hurry. The escalators serve a necessary purpose, though - you probably wouldn't want to opt for the stairs (stair steps, by the way, would add to the length I tracked). You're going under the tarmac above you, and the escalators cover a pretty significant drop and climb. Again, the escalator (and moving sidewalk) could either give you a sense of rest or drive you crazy because they poke along and no one moves on them. If you're in a hurry, you're pretty stuck or you'll need to break a sweat and do the stairs twice (down and up on the other side). 3) There was not a long TSA line, but the wait was still lengthy. The tray system is now automated, but it doesn't speed things up. I think it slows it down. Back in the day, a human being could remove trays and take them back to the front, now they have to be left on the belt to be collected at the end, and the belt isn't very long and there's no place but at the belt to pull your stuff off (often to put it on again). The way they file the people through and screen the trays, the trays and people conning through aren't in the same order--not even close to it (which has always been the case to some degree, but it is way worse now). So TSA will either give you the impression of being able to take a breather or it will ultimately add to the length of your airport marathon. A few other random gripes are that even that strange, white fabric wave art installation (which didn't appear to be working) is an extension of the utter lack of practical planning this entire airport disaster represents. The airport is barely six months old, and it already looks dingy from airplane exhaust. Whoever thought that was a good idea? I remember the lack of cleanability was something observers talked about from day one. The added time makes driving to surrounding states seem better.