After ranking as one of the worst airports for travel in 2022, JFK Airport remains in a negative light after landing among the world’s most stressful airports.
According to a study by Visa Guide, JFK Airport is the ninth most stressful airport in the world!
Results were collected from surveying 1,642 air passengers who traveled on at least two international trips in 2023. Each person was questioned on various factors that are the most stressful when traveling.
The most stressful factors were found to be:
- A high number of passengers
- Large airports, difficulty to navigate
- Crowded airports
- The frequency of flight delays
- The distance from the city downtown
After considering the aforementioned factors, Visa Guide decided to determine their study based on the total number of passengers, airport size in square meters, density passenger per square meter, share of annual delays, and downtown distance in kilometres to create a “Stress Index.”
London Gatwick Airport landed at the top of the list as the world’s most stressful airport. It scored a 52 on the Stress Index. Other European airports made it in the top 10 including Istanbul Airport (#2), Munich Airpot (#3), Heathrow Airport( #5), and Fiumicino International Airport (#7).
Denver International Airport (#4), Los Angeles International Airport (#6), Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (#8), and O’Hare International Airport (#10) were other US airports besides JFK to make it in the top 10. JFK’s overall Stress Index score was 32.66—approximately 20 points better than Gatwick.
When considering the world’s largest airports, those in Asia were found to be the least stressful. For more details on the study, see here.