Get your steps in.
At some US airports, the adventure can begin long before you reach your destination — after finally making it through security, there’s actually getting to your gate, a journey that can involve up to two miles of walking, according to a revealing new ranking.
In other words, forget the gym — you’re getting a serious workout, just trying to get out of town.
And while many flight hubs offer helpful timesavers such as people movers, moving walkways, shuttle buses and trams, even these can still require a fair bit of good, old-fashioned footwork in between connections.
To see which airports truly put passengers through their paces, KURU Footwear took the measure of America’s airports, looking for the ones with the longest distances on foot — from ticketing to the farthest gate.
First reported by Reader’s Digest, here are the findings of the survey, which also polled 800 random travelers on their personal experiences.
Occupying 17,000 acres in the middle of one of the fastest-growing metro areas in the country, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, #1 in the rankings, is the definition of sprawling — research revealed that a passenger can wind up walking a whopping 2.16 miles just trying to get in or out of the gargantuan facility. Connecting here? Leave time.
Next up is Washington-Dulles International Airport, where the swooping, mid-century terminal design and a nifty AeroTrain can’t solve all sprawl problems — passengers braving IAD can cover up to 1.62 miles just getting from A to B at this airport.
Packed with shopping and dining options, there’s only one problem the average traveler will face at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston — not enough time to stop and appreciate them, since they’ve got so far left to travel to their gate.
IAH is another airport where the transport options can’t save you from legging it at least part of the way. Prepare to walk up to 1.52 miles, researchers said.
At number four is Denver International Airport, with distances of 1.45 miles on foot to reach the most remote departure areas, in some cases.
Meanwhile, New York’s JFK came in fifth — if there were more land to build on, you know they’d have made it bigger and even less user friendly, but at 1.38 miles, it’s still plenty big.
That is, if you can even get to your terminal, what with all the construction going on lately.
Of course, the Big Apple’s biggest airport has always been great at dishing out disappointment — the oft-hated hub ranked dead last on a recent list of airports for the stress it causes the average traveler.
A big part of that stress — the airport’s bottom-of-the-barrel rating for the amount of time planes are trapped on the tarmac waiting either to take off or get to their gate.
