HARRISBURG, Pa. — We're not too far from the start of the summer travel season, which is expected to be a busy one. The TSA said it's anticipating a 6% increase in air travelers compared to last year.
If you're planning on flying this year, get ready for a workout. A recent study by Kuru Footwear found that many airports across the United States require quite a trek from check-in to boarding, and as air travel continues to grow and hit record numbers as it did in 2023, the length between gates and terminals may only continue to increase.
But the news isn't all bad for Central Pennsylvania air travelers who choose to fly from Harrisburg International Airport. The Kuru study found that HIA has one of the country's shortest walks from check-in to boarding, at 0.13 miles.
That's the third-shortest trek in the U.S., the study found. Only Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky (0.11 miles) and Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y. (0.12 miles) are shorter.
Those walks are a breeze compared to the distance from check-in to boarding at the three largest airports in the U.S. The longest trek is found at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, where travelers must traverse a distance of 2.16 miles to go from check-in to one of the 182 boarding gates found in the massive 17,207-acre complex.
No. 2 is Washington/Dulles International Airport in Virginia, where travelers must go 1.62 miles from check-in to boarding.
No. 3 is the George Bush International Airport in Houston (1.52 miles).
The study, which surveyed 800 American travelers, also found:
- 58% of Americans plan to travel by air in 2024 while 28% are unsure or don’t know yet. 14% have no plans to travel by air this year.
- Americans travel with varying frequencies throughout the year. The survey found that 3% travel once a week, 7% travel once a month, 8% travel a few times a month, 33% travel a few times a year, 26% travel once a year and 23% never travel.
- The top reasons why Americans travel include vacation, which accounts for 43% of travel, followed by visiting family, which represents 21% of travel, and business or work-related trips, making up 17% of travel.
- When Americans arrive at the airport:
- 27% arrive more than 2 hours before their flight
- 34% arrive about 2 hours before
- 20% arrive one hour before their flight departs
- 4% arrive 50 minutes before
- 35% of Americans spend less than an hour walking around the airport before their flight, while 33% spend an hour.
- The most popular forms of transportation to and from the airport include traveling by private car, which accounts for 36% of journeys, followed by rideshare services at 16%. Additionally, rental cars and situations where the mode of transport depends on various factors both represent 9% of travel, while taxis make up 7% of transportation choices.
- Only 40% of Americans are annoyed by a long walk to an airport departure gate.
- Only 27% are deterred from flying out of a particular airport because it’s such a long walk through the airport.
- When an airport is under construction, almost half of travelers—49%—feel frustrated by it.
- 41% have specifically booked travel out of a smaller airport for convenience.
- 36% of Americans prefer to fly out of large airports, 19% prefer small airports, but most (45%) don’t care about airport size and just fly out of whichever airport is most convenient.
- Most Americans (66%) wear sneakers when traveling.
- A whopping 74% of Americans feel they walk more when traveling.
- Almost half of Americans (46%) say their feet usually hurt from increased walking after a vacation/trip.
