This airport is considered the most stressful in the country — and it’s not JFK or LaGuardia

Oxman

Oxman

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nypost.com

This airport is considered the most stressful in the country — and it’s not JFK or LaGuardia

When it comes to plane nightmares, the smallest airports pack the biggest turbulence.
nypost.com nypost.com

Top 10 most stressful US airports​

  1. Aspen/Pitkin County Airport, CO – 4.95
  2. Watertown International Airport, NY – 4.68
  3. Hagerstown Regional Airport, MD – 4.65
  4. Chippewa Valley Regional Airport, WI – 4.49
  5. Houghton County Memorial Airport, MI – 4.33
  6. Tyler Pounds, Regional, TX – 4.31
  7. North Central West Virginia Airport – 4.31
  8. Plattsburgh International, NY – 4.28
  9. MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, IL – 4.15
  10. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, GA – 4.12
New Yorkers already know traveling can be a headache — but according to new research, some of the worst airport stress comes not from major ones like JFK or LaGuardia, but from the state’s tiniest regional airports.

CBD company Mood.com ranked 384 US airports by stress, factoring in cancellations, delays, passenger numbers and Google reviews. The winner in the “most stressful” category?

Aspen/Pitkin County Airport in Colorado, which scored a 4.95 out of 10, thanks to nearly 9% of its flights being canceled and average departure delays topping 45 minutes.

But New York fans don’t have to fly across the Rockies to feel the frustration.

Watertown International Airport in upstate New York snagged second place with a stress score of 4.68.
Serving just under 24,000 passengers annually, the tiny airport has an 8.8% cancellation rate and average arrival delays of almost 40 minutes.

https://nypost.com/2025/09/25/lifestyle/americas-most-stressful-airports-ranked-surprise-loser/#
Plattsburgh International Airport, another small New York airport near the Adirondacks, also made the top 10 with a 4.28 score.

Travelers here face the quirks of a regional hub where patience is a must, and delays are part of the scenery.

The list is full of smaller airports, proving that fewer passengers don’t equal smoother travels.

Other high-stress hubs include Maryland’s Hagerstown Regional, which experiences nearly two-hour departure delays, and Chippewa Valley Regional in Wisconsin, where arrivals routinely land more than an hour late.

Even Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest, made the top 10 — though with not as severe delays, it’s more of a crowd-control headache than a timing nightmare.

But it’s not all turbulence for travelers. As The Post previously reported, a 2024 AirHelp study crowned Sacramento International Airport king of the skies last January — with 82.3% of flights taking off on time, per the Sacramento Bee.

Not far behind: San Jose International at 82.06%, Arizona’s Tucson International at 81.33%, Reno-Tahoe in Nevada at 81.18%, and Georgia’s Savannah/Hilton Head at 80.47%.

Turns out the biggest travel meltdown might not happen at JFK’s security line — but while waiting for a puddle-jumper in the middle of nowhere.
 
Is this based on pilots or controllers? I remember flying a PA-28 into KSJC and I was fine, the controllers seemed a bit stressed, maybe it's because I learned to fly at KBUR and fast talking controllers didn't raise my heart rate much.
 
Tyler was one of the most charming airports I've been to with a very nice little observation patio and great facilities for the traffic volume. Weird.
 
love flying into smaller airports eg SBN, ABY, PHF, SBY... Usually so quiet.

Just gotta get creative if flights get cancelled or services are closed etc...
 
Cry me a river for the rich ppl in Aspen. 1 BR workforce condos in Aspen with deed restrictions still go for north of 800k. The controllers there all live over an hour away and barely make six figures.
 
GolfChuck said:
Cry me a river for the rich ppl in Aspen. 1 BR workforce condos in Aspen with deed restrictions still go for north of 800k. The controllers there all live over an hour away and barely make six figures.
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Why would they care about the 'help'?

I didn't fly Aspen at the old airline, but heard many stories including an FA asking some kids what they wanted to drink one time. They didn't answer and the mom (au pair?) replied to the FA that the kids don't talk to the 'help'. I would've lost my shizzz.
 
ChasenSFO said:
Tyler was one of the most charming airports I've been to with a very nice little observation patio and great facilities for the traffic volume. Weird.
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I was strongly WTF on this one as well. Tyler is a fantastic airport, and my son and I hang out there several times a month plane spotting. The terminal IS charming, the airport is calm and quiet, it’s very sleepy.

Then I thought about flying there as a passenger. There are like three 121 flights a day and airline staff is busy doing everything. It can be hard to find a ticket agent to check in, TSA staffing is spotty, I don’t know if the restaurant is still open so I don’t think there’s food available there except for pre security vending machines, and the only real place you can fly into is DFW which can be a • show in the summer.

Yeah it kind of makes sense.
 
poser765 said:
I was strongly WTF on this one as well. Tyler is a fantastic airport, and my son and I hang out there several times a month plane spotting. The terminal IS charming, the airport is calm and quiet, it’s very sleepy.

Then I thought about flying there as a passenger. There are like three 121 flights a day and airline staff is busy doing everything. It can be hard to find a ticket agent to check in, TSA staffing is spotty, I don’t know if the restaurant is still open so I don’t think there’s food available there except for pre security vending machines, and the only real place you can fly into is DFW which can be a • show in the summer.

Yeah it kind of makes sense.
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Used to be Colgan/Continental Saabs to IAH too
 
poser765 said:
Oh yeah, that’s right. I feel like for a while there was a one a day to Ord for a little while as well, but I could be mistaken.
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I remember one year way back in flight school (can’t remember if I was a student or instructor at the time) when we had to go over there a bunch because the GGG ILS was down. IMS it was kind of a toss up between TYR, SHV, and LFK for the closest ILS, once you flew to the other side of TYR.
 
bike21 said:
Why would they care about the 'help'?

I didn't fly Aspen at the old airline, but heard many stories including an FA asking some kids what they wanted to drink one time. They didn't answer and the mom (au pair?) replied to the FA that the kids don't talk to the 'help'. I would've lost my shizzz.
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I'm sure they don't. Maybe they should watch fight club.
 
Aspen was stressful only because you had to wait in Grand Junction for the buses to bring you your pax from Aspen after you diverted there.

I’d say about half the flights we were supposed to go to Aspen, we landed in Junction anyway.

But seems like the frustration of most of the airports on the list is because of unreliable service the airports get from EAS operators.
I remember calling my first airline regional the airline that disappointed 19 passengers every flight since all we flew were EAS contracts and we rarely were ever on time.
 
Back in the days when POU had service and I flew several times annually (largely IBM traffic between HPN, BGM, POU and BTV), I was often the sole passenger on a Beech 1900 to HPN for connections to the place I was actually going.

It was glorious and gave me a 12 minute drive versus 45 to HPN, no fee for parking, and an absolutely stress-free experience.

When commercial service stopped at POU in favor of SWF, SWF was still a better option than the NYC airports. The drive was a bit shorter than going to HPN. And the atmosphere more laid-back and friendly than anything I ever found in the NYC airports.

I can’t imagine being “stressed” at a local or regional airport, but that was long-ago in a very different world.
 
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