The 15 Worst U.S. Airports for International Travel This Summer

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on Upgraded Points.

International travel is once again top of mind for millions of Americans traveling abroad and for foreigners visiting the U.S.

After several years of steady growth following the pandemic, projections for international travel in 2025 are showing mixed signals. While some industry analysts forecast continued momentum, others point to new trade and immigration policies, higher costs, and economic uncertainty as potential headwinds for the travel sector.

As travelers navigate these changes, one aspect of international travel remains a persistent source of frustration and inconvenience: clearing immigration and customs upon entering or reentering the United States.

These checkpoints — often the last hurdle before reaching a final destination — can involve significant delays, particularly during peak travel times.

This analysis, based on recent data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, identifies which U.S. airports tend to have the longest immigration wait times during the summer travel season.

15. Miami International (MIA)

• Primary City: Miami, FL
• Average Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 21.7
• Average Max Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 63.3
• Average Wait Time for U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 16.8
• Average Wait Time for Non-U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 26.5
• Share of All Travelers That Wait <15 Minutes: 42.7%
• Share of All Travelers That Wait >60 Minutes: 4.2%
• Total Passengers: 3,142,190

14. Salt Lake City International (SLC)

• Primary City: Salt Lake City, UT
• Average Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 22.4
• Average Max Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 46.4
• Average Wait Time for U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 20.6
• Average Wait Time for Non-U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 28.0
• Share of All Travelers That Wait <15 Minutes: 35.7%
• Share of All Travelers That Wait >60 Minutes: 3.3%
• Total Passengers: 145,243

13. Seattle/Tacoma International (SEA)

• Primary City: Seattle, WA
• Average Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 24.3
• Average Max Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 62.5
• Average Wait Time for U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 20.3
• Average Wait Time for Non-U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 29.2
• Share of All Travelers That Wait <15 Minutes: 34.9%
• Share of All Travelers That Wait >60 Minutes: 5.1%
• Total Passengers: 787,229

12. Boston Logan International (BOS)

• Primary City: Boston, MA
• Average Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 24.5
• Average Max Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 60.4
• Average Wait Time for U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 20.0
• Average Wait Time for Non-U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 32.8
• Share of All Travelers That Wait <15 Minutes: 34.8%
• Share of All Travelers That Wait >60 Minutes: 4.7%
• Total Passengers: 1,225,299

11. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (FLL)

• Primary City: Fort Lauderdale, FL
• Average Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 24.9
• Average Max Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 68.9
• Average Wait Time for U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 19.3
• Average Wait Time for Non-U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 32.4
• Share of All Travelers That Wait <15 Minutes: 42.3%
• Share of All Travelers That Wait >60 Minutes: 9.0%
• Total Passengers: 717,354

10. John F. Kennedy International (JFK)

• Primary City: New York, NY
• Average Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 24.9
• Average Max Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 63.3
• Average Wait Time for U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 17.4
• Average Wait Time for Non-U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 34.5
• Share of All Travelers That Wait <15 Minutes: 39.9%
• Share of All Travelers That Wait >60 Minutes: 7.3%
• Total Passengers: 5,094,203

9. San Diego International (SAN)

• Primary City: San Diego, CA
• Average Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 25.0
• Average Max Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 49.4
• Average Wait Time for U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 22.0
• Average Wait Time for Non-U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 31.5
• Share of All Travelers That Wait <15 Minutes: 26.7%
• Share of All Travelers That Wait >60 Minutes: 2.5%
• Total Passengers: 91,645

8. San Francisco International (SFO)

• Primary City: San Francisco, CA
• Average Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 25.1
• Average Max Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 60.1
• Average Wait Time for U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 19.2
• Average Wait Time for Non-U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 32.9
• Share of All Travelers That Wait <15 Minutes: 38.1%
• Share of All Travelers That Wait >60 Minutes: 7.2%
• Total Passengers: 2,057,163

7. George Bush Intercontinental/Houston (IAH)

• Primary City: Houston, TX
• Average Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 25.3
• Average Max Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 64.3
• Average Wait Time for U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 22.4
• Average Wait Time for Non-U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 30.1
• Share of All Travelers That Wait <15 Minutes: 35.6%
• Share of All Travelers That Wait >60 Minutes: 6.1%
• Total Passengers: 1,580,871

6. Austin-Bergstrom International (AUS)

• Primary City: Austin, TX
• Average Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 26.0
• Average Max Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 53.1
• Average Wait Time for U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 24.2
• Average Wait Time for Non-U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 32.4
• Share of All Travelers That Wait <15 Minutes: 33.2%
• Share of All Travelers That Wait >60 Minutes: 6.1%
• Total Passengers: 152,006

5. Minneapolis-St Paul International (MSP)

• Primary City: Minneapolis, MN
• Average Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 28.0
• Average Max Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 64.1
• Average Wait Time for U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 24.3
• Average Wait Time for Non-U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 38.3
• Share of All Travelers That Wait <15 Minutes: 33.7%
• Share of All Travelers That Wait >60 Minutes: 9.1%
• Total Passengers: 303,661

4. Orlando International (MCO)

• Primary City: Orlando, FL
• Average Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 30.1
• Average Max Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 60.2
• Average Wait Time for U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 22.2
• Average Wait Time for Non-U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 35.8
• Share of All Travelers That Wait <15 Minutes: 30.6%
• Share of All Travelers That Wait >60 Minutes: 10.3%
• Total Passengers: 846,159

3. Nashville International (BNA)

• Primary City: Nashville, TN
• Average Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 31.1
• Average Max Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 55.7
• Average Wait Time for U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 28.6
• Average Wait Time for Non-U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 38.1
• Share of All Travelers That Wait <15 Minutes: 20.2%
• Share of All Travelers That Wait >60 Minutes: 7.7%
• Total Passengers: 35,412

2. Chicago O’Hare International (ORD)

• Primary City: Chicago, IL
• Average Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 31.7
• Average Max Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 75.6
• Average Wait Time for U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 27.3
• Average Wait Time for Non-U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 40.3
• Share of All Travelers That Wait <15 Minutes: 30.7%
• Share of All Travelers That Wait >60 Minutes: 13.6%
• Total Passengers: 1,880,930

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1. Los Angeles International (LAX)

• Primary City: Los Angeles, CA
• Average Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 31.8
• Average Max Wait Time for All Travelers (Minutes): 80.8
• Average Wait Time for U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 22.3
• Average Wait Time for Non-U.S. Citizens (Minutes): 43.7
• Share of All Travelers That Wait <15 Minutes: 27.6%
• Share of All Travelers That Wait >60 Minutes: 12.8%
• Total Passengers: 3,040,986

Methodology

The data used in this study is from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s CBP Airport Wait Times dataset.

To determine the worst airports for international travel arrivals during the summer months, researchers at Upgraded Points calculated average wait times for travelers passing through Passport Control during the 2024 summer travel season (June 1 to August 31, 2024). All major U.S. international airports tracked by the CBP with sufficient data were included.

Researchers also calculated the average max wait time for all travelers, which is a total traveler-weighted average of the hourly maximum wait times reported for each airport over the study period.

Average summer wait times for U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens, the percentage of all travelers that passed through Passport Control in under 15 minutes, and the percentage of all travelers that passed through Passport Control in greater than 60 minutes during the same time period were also included.