The Airports Across America With The Absolute Worst TSA Experiences

Going through security is part of the deal if you want to get on a plane in the United States, but unless you love waiting in long lines, taking your shoes off in a public place, and having to hurriedly jam your laptop back into your bag before sprinting to your gate, you probably don't look forward to going through TSA quite as much as the rest of your travel experiences. If you've taken a few flights before, though, you've probably noticed that some experiences with the TSA are more unpleasant than others. There are five airports in particular where you are more likely to have a bad experience.

In 2024, the website Upgraded Points released a data study analyzing complaints about the TSA at different airports around the United States. The national average was 3.92 complaints per every 100,000 people who pass through security — but some airports have significantly more complaints than others. We did a little digging to find out why.

New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), located only 15 miles from the heart of NYC, is one of the busiest airports in the United States. It hosts more than 450 flights coming and going throughout the day. That translates to a lot of passengers going through TSA security checkpoints. Unfortunately, in the Upgraded Points 2024 data study, Newark Liberty International Airport was ranked the absolute worst for TSA experiences, with a shocking 6.83 officially filed complaints per 100,000 visitors traveling through.

Ironically, the study found that many complaints were related to TSA PreCheck, a service designed to streamline the security process. This was backed up by online commenters on sites like Google Reviews, who complained that there weren't TSA precheck lanes available for them to use. Others complained about delays at TSA causing major holdups, with one disgruntled passenger stating: "Incompetent TSA. 80-minute wait resulting in a missed flight."

TSA checkpoints at Newark Liberty International Airport were upgraded in June of 2024, so it's possible that some of these issues have been remedied since the initial data study. However, reviews have continued to note the same issues with the TSA since the upgrades. Travelers flying out of Newark Liberty Airport may still want to leave themselves plenty of extra time and, whenever possible, avoid any mistakes that could slow them down at airport security.

Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) in South Florida is often considered among the best airports in the United States — but according to the Upgraded Points data survey, security is not as great an experience. With 5.78 complaints per every 100,000 passengers that go through TSA security checkpoints, it was ranked the second worst in the United States. While the data study didn't identify any specific common complaints lodged by passengers of Palm Beach International Airport, reviewers online had a lot to say about their experiences at TSA.

While some reviewers had positive things to say about their experiences with security at PBI, praising how quickly they were able to get through security, others described unnecessarily hostile TSA agents shouting at passengers for seemingly arbitrary rules and minor transgressions. Some passengers on Google Reviews described TSA agents trying to insist that a passenger take their shirt off, throwing away expensive items from passengers' bags, and shouting at someone until they cried. One retired airline pilot on Yelp stated: "I've never been spoken to so disrespectfully by a TSA agent like this."

Three out of the five worst airports for TSA complaints are located in Florida. Orlando International Airport (MCO), which is among the busiest airports in the United States, is one of them. According to the data study, 5.6 complaints were recorded for every 100,000 passengers who went through security at MCO. Reviews online from sites including Google Reviews, TripAdvisor, Reddit, and Yelp cited issues like unusually long lines and TSA agents rushing passengers through while giving contradictory instructions. One frustrated passenger on Google Reviews wrote: "TSA is an organized mess that left people separated from their loved ones... My friends and I got there three hours early and still came too close to missing our flight."

If you're planning to fly out of Orlando International Airport and want to know how early you really need to arrive at the airport, just assume you'll run into issues. One possible solution for passengers worried about missing their flights is to try the MCO Reserve service, which lets them reserve a time slot. Once you arrive, you can enter security and go straight into a special lane for those who planned ahead. While that may help you to stay on time, it won't necessarily help you if TSA is giving confusing instructions.

Coming in fourth in the nine-year data study, the Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers had an unfortunate 5.5 complaints for every 100,000 passengers. Some passengers complained that the TSA at RSW was understaffed, and the lack of open lanes slowed the process. If you have to travel through this small airport soon, though, things might not be as dire as its placement in the top five worst TSA makes it seem.

While it's impossible to argue with the data, and it's definitely true that this airport's TSA received a disproportionate amount of complaints, they also seem to get a lot of compliments. When we scoured the internet for reviews of the airport that described experiences with TSA, the majority of the mentions were positive, with many praising the speed of security checks. One review on Yelp even stated that their child was given a TSA Junior Officer sticker when going through security. Another reviewer on Google Reviews said, "TSA was actually very friendly and was very quick with doing its job compared to other airports we have been to. This is how TSA should be... They all spoke, were happy, and did their jobs."

Ohio's Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) sees millions of passengers going through it every year, and for every 100,000 of them, the Upgraded Points found that there were 5.38 complaints. Reviews on SkyTrax and Google Reviews reported unusual hours that made it difficult to catch flights, rude staff, and slow-moving TSA lines. There may be hope, however, as some reviewers on Reddit noted that although lines look shockingly long, they tend to move a lot faster than it seems like they might.

While the data study didn't note exactly what the specific issues for CLE were, it may be related to the fact that the TSA's security checkpoints are not open at all times. The Central Checkpoint is open between 4 a.m. and 10 p.m., the South Checkpoint is open between 3:30 a.m. and 7:45 p.m., and the North Checkpoint is officially only open as needed. Some reviewers noted that if your flight is leaving soon after security opens, it can make catching your flight difficult unless you're able to zip through airport security and dash to your gate before boarding ends.

Our list is based on a 2024 data study by the company Upgraded Points, which analyzed the TSA Contact Center Complaint data between 2015 and 2023. It then ranked U.S. airports by the average number of complaints each one had per 100,000 passengers that went through security checkpoints there. There may have been changes in the years after the end of that data set, but we believe that the nine years of data analyzed represent general trends that are valuable for our readers. In cases where there have been major changes to the airport since 2023 that might have impacted the results, we made a note of it.

We also went through thousands of comments from sites like Skytrax, Yelp, Tripadvisor, and Reddit to learn more about what kind of complaints travelers had about the airports ranked the lowest. We selected quotes from these review sites and social media platforms that encapsulated some of the most common complaints. When our own research found more praise for the TSA than complaints, we made note of it to give our readers the most complete picture possible.