Vancouver International Airport ranked North America's "least frustrating"

Just in time for the holiday travel season, Bloomberg Businessweek has released its “Airport Frustration Index” and Vancouver International Airport has been named the least frustrating airport in North America.

The index considered factors such as the commute to the airport, the overall pleasantness of being at the airport (security, restrooms, and shopping), and the timeliness of flight departures. Airports with a score of zero are the least frustrating while a score of 100 indicated the most frustrating.

In total, YVR attained a top overall score of 17.6, but it faltered in categories for commute – ranking 22 out of 36 airports – and shopping options (6.8/10). However, it had some of the highest scores for security (7.6/10), restrooms (8.2/10) and on-time departures (85%).

Four other Canadian airports also made the list: Calgary International Airport (4th), Ottawa International Airport (8th), Montreal-Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport (20th) and Toronto Pearson International Airport (30th).

New York’s three airports (LaGuardia, Newark Liberty International, and John F. Kennedy), Chicago O’Hare and Los Angeles International bottomed the list as the continent’s most frustrating airports.

Earlier this year, Skytrax ranked YVR as the North America’s best airport for the fifth year and the world’s ninth best. In another ranking released this fall, Vancouver’s airport was even named the best airport to sleep in.

North America’s Least Frustrating Airports (Bloomberg Businessweek)

1. Vancouver International Airport
2. Portland Oregon International Airport
3. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport
4. Calgary International Airport
5. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
6. Tampa International Airport
7. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
8. Ottawa International Airport
9. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
10. San Diego International Airport
11. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
12. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport
13. Ronald Regan Washington National Airport
14. Boston Logan International Airport
15. Charlotte Douglas International Airport
16. Denver International Airport
17. San Francisco International Airport
18. Lambert-St. Louis International Airport
19. Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall Airport
20. Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport
21. Las Vegas McCarran International Airport
22. Kansas City International Airport
23. George Bush Intercontinental Airport
24. Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport
25. Orland International Airport
26. Chicago Midway International Airport
27. Philadelphia International Airport
28. Miami International Airport
29. Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport
30. Toronto Pearson International Airport
31. Los Angeles International Airport
32. New York John F. Kennedy Airport
33. Chicago O’Hare International Airport
34. Washington Dulles International Airport
35. Newark Liberty Airport
36. New York LaGuardia International Airport

Feature Image: YVR Airport via Shutterstock