San Diego Airport

Not Verified | Super poor airport, wish I could avoid using this mess! Something like a completely disorganized, crowded, dirty market place. Over priced food stalls with poor quality food and service. However, the staff were friendly and helpful. Thanks for them.

Not Verified | I travel several times a month out of Newark (which is stated to be one of the worst in the country but I've never had an issue) and the security experience at San Diego was the worst I've seen anywhere. I was 2 hours early for a domestic flight and the security line was so slow that I only made it to my gate just in time for them to finish boarding. Although the staff was pleasant they were inefficient (eg, multiple staff standing around just watching a partner do something) and slow (eg, I had to stand in the scanner for 3 min, just waiting, until they finally scanned me; the bag review process was longer than other airports; employees walked and talked slowly rather than efficiently and also they were condescending asked spoke as if the passengers were 2 year olds). They have not upgraded to the latest screening procedures or machines so that took longer as well, with people being forced to do things other airports no longer require. Also when the 1st Class or TSA Pre lines were empty they were not increasing efficiency by pulling people in from Economy as they do at other airports.

✅ Trip Verified | San Diego “International” Airport’s Immigration Officers and Customs practices are, with very few exceptions, the worst, small-minded, parochial group of bullies I have ever experienced in all my years of international traveling. They have no idea (and they obviously don’t care) that passengers who enter using “Global Entry” have already gone through extensive background checks, finger-printing and biometric security clearances. The whole point of using Global Entry is to already answer such questions as “do you have anything to declare” via the automated kiosks and to confirm one is a trusted traveler. Yet without exception, San Diego Immigration Officers demand one hand over one’s passport and Global Entry receipt, they take an interrogative attitude, study the passport at their leisure and demand to know if one “bought anything or has anything to declare”! The whole point of answering the questions at the kiosk is so there is no need to be interviewed by an Immigration Officer! Every airport in America has fast track lanes where Global Entry passengers automatically walk right through, immigration and customs officials simply take the Global Entry receipt, no stopping, no demanding one hand over one’s passport, no questions asked. Clearly, San Diego immigration Officers do not want to accept the “fast track” part of Global Entry as a way to justify their existence to heavy-handedly screen passengers arriving on what is a minute number of daily international arrivals. Almost without exception, they act more like intimidating prison guards and management obviously allows them to act like this with impunity. This practice is unwarranted, unacceptable and completely defeats the entire purpose of the Global Entry vetting process. Another completely overreaching, baseless practice San Diego “International” Arrivals “Customs” requires is for passengers to queue up after they have passed through immigration and collected their luggage and have all their luggage x-rayed again before they can exit the airport! No other airport x-rays luggage after one arrives at ones destination! This is such typical San Diego small-minded, provincial mentality. As if pre-flight x-ray screening of luggage from international flights is less rigorous than pre-flight x-ray screening of luggage on domestic flights? How arrogant and uninformed. San Diego wants so badly to grow its international flight business, but it will never be an international airport with the immigration and customs practices they are using. With the above practices, it will remain a back-water, regional little airport staffed by amateurs who relish the idea that they are in positions of power and want to bully people. It is far better to fly out of LAX, SFO or Phoenix where the international immigration and customs teams understand their jobs.

✅ Trip Verified | We flew into SD airport via a connection. We got off the plane and we were forced to go though TSA again as there gates are connected. I’ve never experienced this at any other airport. They were calling our names since our plane was boarded and it took forever to get through. Southwest luckily waited for us. Because of this disaster we weren’t able to stop and use a restroom or get something to eat before our next five our flight. And to top it off we had to throw away the drinks we bought at the first airport after security since we had to go through again at SD airport. We also flew out of this airport in June and it was so unorganized and we almost missed our flight then too. I’ll avoid this airport at all costs.

Not Verified | Without a doubt, this is the worst airport I have ever used. Me and my husband departed from Tampa and had to use San Diego Airport to transfer to Boise, ID. We got off our plane and immediately I noticed how crowded this very small terminal was and very few seats available. Most people had to stand in the aisles. I looked at our boarding pass for the next flight and couldn’t find the gate. They do not post any directional signs which is ridiculous. We found a TSA agent for some help and we were informed that it was in another building and would have to be screened again. Couldn’t believe it! Even though we just got off a flight, we had to empty everything on the X-ray belt, including my snacks in my purse. The TSA agents were still pretty nice though so I can’t complain about them. After that fiasco, we wanted to sit down and have something to eat before our next flight but forget about that. They have only a couple of restaurants and all of the space was taken. We will avoid this Airport in the future at all costs.

❎ Not Verified | Awful airport. One bathroom for an entire terminal? There were lines out the door for both the men's and the women's rooms. One place to eat with no seating and less than 10 items on the menu. No place to sit at the gate. They ask you arrive over 2 hours early for your flight and then offer you no where to sit. I have been to over a dozen different airports and this is by far the worse I have ever been to. The only saving grace is the workers are nice, but when you have no where to sit and can barely move through the terminal, this hardly matters.

✅ Trip Verified | Terminal one is the worst terminal in the country! It is completely overcrowded with poor restaurants, no Starbucks and one set of bathrooms. It is terrible. I cannot believe the fire marshal can be ok with this. The line for the women's bathroom was 40 people deep! The Counter is ok but overall this terminal rates a 1 out of a scale from 1 to 10.

❎ Not Verified | It is absolutely ridiculous that someone transferring has to go through security a second time. This airport is always disorganized and has rude workers. And no help is offered for instructions on where to go. There is absolutely no reason to make Gates of connecting flights so far away.

❎ Not Verified | Dropping my daughter off this morning to go back to college after spring break, a Southwest flight back to UCLA. I pulled up to let her out of the car with her bags curbside with her father and sister to check in. I gave my daughter a hug and began to walk back to my car to go around to the parking area when 2 security guards came up the walk way staring at my car, then the second I get into my seat one security guard began to flash his lights into my car signaling me to leave, “No waiting he says" as if my car was parked there. I drove away as my husband and daughter were walking up to the car, I had to come all the way back around to pick my husband and daughter up because I didn’t want to be harassed by them. It’s happened before. There needs to be regulations on them. If you can’t drop off your child without getting harassed by security that’s just sad.

❎ Not Verified | My son is in the military and was flying to San Francisco then to Korea. We really didn't know where to go. So we tried to check in outside, the gentleman outside was rude. Told us to go inside to the United counter but with an attitude because we didn't know. Then the lady inside told us to stand in another line. We waited there, same lady had to come and help us, but because the other lady was taking to long too check in the customer in front of us. Just no customer service. Was very sad. No smile, no nothing.