Airline pilots reveal their LEAST favorite US airports – taking a closer look at everything from terrible terminal food to tarmac delays

From tough weather and tricky terrain to overcrowding, a fleet of pilots have revealed some of their least favorite airports in the world.

A Reddit post titled “pilots, what's your least favorite airport?” quickly gained traction within the primarily US-based aviation community, with New York's La Guardia topping the list.

Explaining why many pilots hate La Guardia, one pilot wrote: 'Just a complete pain from 5,000 meters until you get to the gate. Unfortunately it doesn't stop there. The airport is packed. The food sucks and it's ridiculously expensive. There are people everywhere. It's old.'

The Redditor added that leaving the airport was just as annoying, with lines on the runway and “complicated taxi instructions.”

Another airline captain agreed with the sentiments, adding that in addition to being “insanely busy,” La Guardia also had “short runways,” which meant that “you were close to other planes and that the ramp area was tight.”

His other nomination in the worst airports category was Chicago for its “ridiculously long taxi experience.”

Another pilot in the conversation agreed with Chicago's O'Hare International Airport as one of the top contenders.

Speaking about the transport hub, he said: 'The controllers forget to adjust the distance between aircraft when the runways and taxiways are covered in ice.

'On the third go-around on a flying day you want to strangle someone.'

On the other hand, he added, “The ground controllers are some of the best and can be very entertaining, which is good because you'll be listening to them for a while.”

However, his vote for worst airport went to Southwest Oregon Regional Airport.

He wrote: 'There really shouldn't be an airport here in my opinion.

“Any place where a single ship in the water can force you to kick half the passengers off the plane was not properly planned.

'It's fun to put large amounts of golf clubs in the overhead bin. Short runways and terrible instrument approaches.”

He named California's Inyokern Airport as his second least favorite airport because it has a “narrow runway in the middle of a missile range.”

As a result, he says, “the entire airspace is closed for most of the day. So if you're delayed, expect it to be six o'clock.'

To make matters worse, he says the area is being hit by severe turbulence.

The pilot continued, “I always heard of flights returning to LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) due to severe turbulence, but I never experienced this until my sixth flight there.

“When we were at a 60-degree angle and the contents of my flight bag were scattered throughout the cockpit, I finally understood what everyone was talking about.”

Like many other commentators, he also shared his distaste for the three largest airports – John F. Kennedy (JFK), La Guardia and Newark – that serve New York.

Along with other pilots' points, he says La Guardia is not favorable because “there is no train service from the airport to the city.”

For Newark, New Jersey, he complained about delays on the tarmac, while for JFK he said customs lines could stretch up to “four hours,” making flight connections difficult.

Other pilots complained that New York and New Jersey airports were hampered by weather delays.

Similarly, another pilot highlighted Canada's Toronto Pearson International for its temperamental weather.

They explained: 'Yes, this airport is huge… but as soon as it gets windy or an inch of snow falls, the whole building goes to shit.

'Cancellations and delays everywhere. Two days ago, 200 flights were canceled due to a bit of wind.

'Last week we landed five hours late because of some snow. When we landed, I counted at least twenty planes waiting at the gate, some of which had apparently been waiting for more than two hours. Not to mention the landing fees are insane.”

Other airports thrown into the thread included Aspen/Pitkin County Airport for its complex terrain, Mexico City for being “too busy,” and Florence Airport in Italy for being “built in the worst possible location, directly for a high mountain'.

One pilot interrupted the conversation with a neutral response and mused, “As an airline pilot, all I can really say is that almost every airport has its ups and downs.

'Airports with challenging flight paths often have stunning scenery to back them up, and airports located in metropolitan areas are often the easiest to get to and from and offer great services.

'Even those with weird and complex procedures require heightened awareness (and some interesting hand flying) to keep things running smoothly with an acceptable safety margin.

'I honestly think 'least favorite' airport mostly boils down to 'what's the most boring airport I've flown into, with the fewest redeeming qualities?'… but I'm having a hard time thinking of any airport I've ever visited I didn't like it, and I've been flying for almost a quarter of a century.

“Most of our objections in the aviation world are usually due to the lack of facilities at a particular airport, poor overnight hotels, crime, or scary van drivers.”