The US’s most stressful airports revealed – and number one isn’t New York’s JFK or LAX

The most stressful airports in the US have been revealed.

Travel experts analyzed multiple databases to rank airports based on five stress factors: number of passengers, distance to city center, number of destinations, parking costs and overall airport satisfaction score.

To compile the USA Stressful Airport Index 2024, they looked at the 15 busiest and largest airports in the US. This showed that Chicago O’Hare International in Illinois is the most stressful airport.

With more than 33 million passengers, one of the most popular destinations with 249 flights and the second most expensive parking costs for a week at over $283, this airport ranks almost 10 points higher than any other airport.

New York JFK International ranks as the second most stressful airport in the US, with a driving distance of over 20 miles to the nearest city, one of the worst satisfaction scores on flight tracking app Flightradar24 and a high weekly parking fee of $191.67.

The most stressful airports in the US have been revealed, with Chicago O’Hare International taking first place

Phoenix International in Arizona is ranked as the least stressful airport on the index

The most expensive parking rate on the index is Seattle International in Washington, at $376 for a week.

Dallas Fort Worth International in Texas has one of the highest passenger numbers, at over 35 million. It is the furthest from the nearest city and has the most flight destinations, at 258.

However, it has one of the cheapest weekly parking fees at $75, which drops it to third place on the stress rankings.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, has the cheapest weekly parking of any airport at just $51.20.

It also has the lowest number of passengers of any airport on the index, at 19.8 million. Together with San Francisco International, it has 20.4 million passengers.

Phoenix International in Arizona is ranked as the least stressful airport on the index. It is the closest to the nearest city (6 km), has one of the lowest passenger volumes, the fewest destinations served by flights, and the cheapest parking at $72.

Denver International also has one of the cheapest weekly parking fees at $54, but it is the furthest airport from any city and has some of the highest numbers of passengers traveling through it, making it the fourth most stressful airport.

Despite carrying the most passengers (45.4 million), Atlanta International ranks as the ninth most stressful airport and has the best Flightradar24 score of 84 percent. That’s the same percentage as Dallas Fort Worth International, Denver International and San Francisco International.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, has the cheapest weekly parking of any airport at just $51.20

The research was conducted on behalf of car rental website StressFreeCarRental.com.

Commenting on the findings, the company’s CEO John Charnock said: ‘A stressful airport experience can make or break your holiday, so we’ve crunched the data to identify which destinations travellers should avoid if they want a calm airport experience.

“There are certain airports in the US that can make travelers feel more stressed than others — and the 2024 USA Stressful Airport Index has shown us which factors are worse in certain destinations than others.

Chicago O’Hare International in Illinois is considered the most stressful airport due to its sky-high parking fees, the millions of passengers passing through and its distance from the city.

“Of the 15 busiest and largest U.S. airports analyzed, Phoenix International in Arizona was ranked the least stressful due to its proximity to the nearest city, low passenger volumes and cheaper weekly parking costs.”