Failure of the U.S. Airport

Not much left to say, other than we did pioneer it all and now we must rebuild. As a quick start, we could modernize our connection and transit processes if everyone wasn't so afraid of losing a bureaucratic turf war.

Couldn't agree more. My three-plus decades of travel to and from Europe confirm your assessment.

Whatever happened to us? After 1950 our trains went downhill fast. See Europe/Asia's bullet trains.

Even our brand new terminals begin to show wear after three years.

Our highway system (Interstate) hasn't been maintained.

We seem to have lost our way.

I used to travel to the US on business prior to 9/11. The US immigration staff were without doubt the most unfriendly, rude & arrogant people that I ever met whilst in the States. They must pick them specially.

I won't travel into US even on transit if I can avoid it. First time travelling via Houston to McAllan from London Gatwick I was held in a queue in the corridor for just over 2 hours after my flight landed (AT 4:20pm) Then the main Immigration hall which has many desks only had 2 of them staffed although about 25 officers were just standing watching. A further 40 minutes later I presented the immigration card I had already filled in and then was asked the same stupid questions. If I was a terrorist I am hardly going to admit it am I? After calling the supervising officer over and telling him I was disgusted a couple more desks were manned and I proceeded to collect baggage claim. Although I had said my main reason for landing was to transit towards Mexico quickly my immigration officer tried to be nice and said "Hope you have a nice stay in USA" The last thing I wanted was to stay!(Friends were coming across the Rio Grande to meet me at about 7:30 in McAllan and take me back to Reynosa by car)
First i had to remove belt and shoes etc then collect my cases. Then i had to remove belt etc and open cases again to get onto the plane to McAllan. All had huge queues.
I missed three connecting flights! The final days flight was delayed for myself and a couple of others who transited via Houston - Thanks continental)
Finally arrived in McAllan at about 00:20! five hours late to be met by some very patient Mexicans who said it was a common occurence!

that was about 6 years ago, hope it has improved. However still will not travel via the paranoid US Immigration halls. They should come to UK we are far more civilised and try to treat people properly and as if we are humans not cattle. MIND YOU TEXAS IS CATTLE COUNTRY, THEY PROBABLY TREAT COWS AND STEERS BETTER THAN THAT.

I dread MIA and ORD and LAX connections from abroad.
HKG is FANTASTIC for connections.
Article is spot in.

Never mind the transit at US airports (which is awful), just try getting to the airport. I just flew KUL-LHR; hotel to Sentral Station - 10 minutes; Sentral Station to KUL - 28 minutes @ 160 kph on a clean, comfortable train. LHR to Central London - 20 minutes on Heathrow Express, also clean and comfortable at 100 mph. Similar experience at most European and Asian airports. Access to US airports has improved with extensions to metro systems (SFO/BART; Dulles/Metro etc) but these are stopping commuter services. Much slower and unreliable.

Is it all about money? Surely it is organisation. Where else in the world requires International transit passengers to go through immigration in order to board another plane to leave the country again? Keeping passengers airside saves airports and airlines a lot of money, oh and requires fewer TSA people, so its not going to happen.

Patrick Smith's article hits the nail on the head. At the end of 2013, I flew from Boston to Johannesburg via Heathrow Terminal 5. We deplaned from our Boston flight, walked down the hallway, went through a brief security check, then took the escalator up one level to our departure gate. Total time from arrival to departure was 90 minutes and no lines or waiting. In 2003, I flew with a group from Johannesburg to Guatemala city with plane changes in Paris and Miami. Our African delegation presumed they could transit Miami as easily as Paris. No such luck. After a two-hour wait in the arrival hall/immigration, and missing the connecting flight to Guatemala city, they were placed under armed guard for a unwelcome night in an airport hotel. What an embarrassment. America's international airports need to get their acts together. The current situation is just down-right stupid. The world's international airports can show us how it should be and can be done.

After reading this I need to change a flight, I'm flying Auckland to Montreal in June and the out bound leg is through LA and I really do not need that hassle which is totally un-neccessary in the world today. I'm quite baffled why the US does not have a transit system. Before anyone asks having travelled to the US many times this is the first time I have not had a stop over so was unaware of the situation.

I don't agree with the article as a whole. I agree that ICE at US Airports is horrible (I'm a US passport holder). Usually much worse than anywhere else I've visited. ICE border enforcement has a way making me feel more like a criminal than any other government interaction. But it's not universal, I've have had a few experiences that weren't horrible, and one or two that were actually pleasant (Or maybe they just seemed that way compared to all the other times)

However, if you factor out ICE, as far as transfers go I think it's really a mixed bag. I've encountered some long lines transferring at Narita and Heathrow. Beijing Capitol airport is huge, new and modern, but security and luggage wait times can be lengthy. Plus the T3->T1->T3 transit takes a long time. Last two times there, we had to bus between the terminal and the plane (Domestic Air China 777).

Last year I transferred from Delta to Air Europa in Madrid. Maybe it's better in one of the newer terminals, but I experienced quite a mess.

On the other hand, arriving internationally and connecting at SFO or SEA is convenient, and both have fairly nice terminals. International arrivals at DEN aren't bad either.

I've never transferred at HKG or ICN, it's always been an endpoint, so I can't talk about just the transfer. However, they're both amazing. New, clean-slate engineering marvels built reclaimed land at massive cost. It would be great if we could do something like that here the US. But with our funding environmental policies? I don't think so... And in a way, there's no need... Gimpo and old HKG couldn't really expand, they had to do something radical. Here in the US, our airports have been growing with us, so they're not quite as constrained or outdated as those were.

There's a lot we can improve on. A lot of our airports are indeed upgrading. Will we ever fix ICE and TSA? Cynically, I'd say no. But maybe there is some hope (for example security at LAS)

I found Seoul Incheon airport to be equally inconvenient. The inbound flight landed at one terminal with 60 minutes allowed for a connection at another terminal. The transit included using the people mover during rush hour and going through security. The security check-point required unpacking and re-packing the carry-on. The doors were about to close by the time required transit activities were completed.

In defense of Delta and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson, the carry-on was force checked in Panama City, but didn't require retrieval in Atlanta before continuing onto another international flight. The immigration episode as a transit passenger was much simpler more seamless than the normal entry when coming home to Atlanta as the final destination.

Spot on. Not only do our airports make me feel ashamed for the impression they givet to each and every foreign visitor that I host for my company, but I feel onlihated to advose them to advise them to avoid US carriers if at all viable

2013, wife and I came through LHR from ORD enroute to RUH, and it was a nightmare. When we arrived, we had to run through the terminal to the tram to get to the other terminal for our flight. Then through security and run through that terminal. Fortunately, there were so many of us transferring, they held the flight. It was all guesswork because no one gave us any info or directions. Found out from monitors and the gang of people.

Same thing happened to us last month at BKK. Arrived from CMB going to MNL. Airport rep was standing at the end of the gate waiting for thirteen of us. Once she had accounted for all of us, she said "follow me, please." and took off running. We were literally doing the old OJ Simpson from one end to the other to make our flight.

At US airports, it hasn't been overly bad. The worst was when we arrived at JFK in 2013 just after a thunderstorm. Most delayed flights were cancelled and re-bookings were for the next morning at the earliest. I drove from there to CLE and arrived long before the time of my re-booked flight. I'd say that was probably the worst so far.

HKG has so far been the best. Regardless of how much time we've had between flights, someone has been there with a sign to point us in the right direction. Quick and efficient every time.

I think because I try and plan a decently timed layover, and map out the terminals that we will be going through, it has made all of the difference.

Note that it isn't just American airports. Toronto/YYZ hasn't figured out "in transit" either. As for security processing, YYZ and Montreal/YUL rank right up there for completely rude, utterly inconsistent (shoes today, belt tomorrow) security processing.

Hartsfield and O'Hare are the busiest airports in the world.

You're entire argument false apart when you assumption regarding passenger preference is negated.

Also you are forgetting about the difference between free economy business and state run monopolies abroad. Profitability and sustainability are not comparable. American airlines have and continue to set competitive standards across the world. Ex: two pilot instead of three. ETOPs certification to reduce need for 2+ engines. And of course Boeing always leads the way with innovation and new aircraft technology - 747,777, 787...

LAX could be a wonderful place if design and function were wrestled from the hands of security managers that had to struggle to finish high school. Between airport police, customs, and TSA there is incompetence at the highest level. Throw in the bumbling of our former mayor (the pot hole king) and the current half lad (yoga boy) LAX will remain perfect for forty flights a day with DC-3's and a few Connies.

It is time to allow a private group to operate the airport, and allow planning and construction that moves passengers to there destinations without picking their pockets to further agendas unrelated to air transportation.

Try YBBN in Australia when the G20 was there. What a let down it was revelled later there were loop holes in security there. Now wonder AF1 decided to go to RAAF base Amberley.

My answer to this is, The US was attacked on 9/11, no one else! No airport or connecting procedure is perfect, but I'd rather be alive and inconvenienced than conveniently dead.