Stressful Airports: One of the Worst Is In Illinois

No, Quad Cities International Airport isn't one of the most stressful airports. Neither is Chicago Rockford International Airport. Even Chicago's Midway Airport, which is far from the sleepy airport it was 25 years ago, isn't one of the most stressful airports in Illinois or America. No, that honor goes to O'Hare Airport.

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Chicago's O'Hare Airport ranked 9th on a list of the Top 10 most stressful airports in the United States. Coming in at number one on the list was Albany International Airport. That's right, the busiest airports aren't always the most stressful. Albany was followed by Newark Liberty International and then Oakland International Airport.

So how did they come up with this list?  Hawaiian Islands analyzed over 1,500 Google reviews for over 500 airports around the world. They then analyzed the sentiment of the reviews and ranked airports around the world and within the United States based on the percentage of reviews that indicate stress.

70% of the Google reviews people wrote about Albany International Airport indicated stress, which put it number one on the list of the United States' most stressful airports. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, the busiest airport in the United States, placed tenth on the list with a 60% stress rating. O'Hare, which ranked one above, had a stress rating of 61.5%.

If you're thinking we dodged a bullet with stressful airports with our brand shiny new Kansas City International Airport, think again. KCI barely missed the Top 10 most stressful airports in the United States with 59% of Google reviews of KCI indicating stress.

When it comes to stress and flying, my truth is, it's just stressful. Not to mention, the less you fly, the less familiar you are with an airport the more stressful the experience is. I wouldn't say I'm all that stressed flying in and out of O'Hare because I've been going to that airport since 1978.

KCI was another matter altogether. I didn't have great memories of flying through the old airport. And the one time I flew out of KCI last summer everything from the drive to parking to getting through security stressed me out.

Yet for those who fly regularly and fly in and out of the same airports time after time, it probably becomes old hat. Maybe not pleasant, but certainly not an overly stressful experience. Unless of course, there are delays and cancellations.

My advice, if you want to avoid stress is to start your journey at least one way from a smaller airport. I lived in Lubbock for six years, and the Quad Cities for a year. Let me tell you both of these airports were great to start journeys from because they were small, and everyone from TSA to airline personnel at these airports was just friendlier.

This fall I flew out of Columbia Regional Airport for the simple fact it wasn't Kansas City and I could work a few hours at the station before heading to the airport. Not to mention, KCI is so far out the other side of Kansas City, that I was going to have a long ride to the airport, whichever one I chose.

Talk about no stress. The experience I had at Columbia Regional was downright pleasant. Of course, in Chicago, my ride started and ended at O'Hare. Overly stressful? Not so much arriving. But yeah, heading back to Missouri I was stressed, and hurried enough I left my cell phone in my Mom's car. That was stressful, and perhaps a blog for another day.