r/travel • u/Petite7Writer • 1d ago
Question Which Airport has the longest taxing time?
Landed at ORD today, and it took almost 40min+ for the plane to reach the gate. Was wondering about what are some of the airports with long taxiing times?
*Sorry, my bad. I meant taxiing or taxi time - the movement of the aircraft on the ground. Would like to thank some of the folks who corrected the typo. Unfortunately, I don't think I can update the title.
118
u/thelaughingpear 1d ago
Terminal 5 at O'Hare is frequently over 30 minutes
29
u/Petite7Writer 1d ago
This was T2 - United. Having said that, I feel in this flight it felt more extreme as the flight duration was 1 hour and the taxing was more than 40 minutes.
11
u/AsikCelebi 1d ago
T5 is significantly better than the other three terminals because each airline basically has one gate (except SW which has that new wing at the end). So when a plane lands its gate is pretty much always open. And since T5 is at one end of the airport, there usually isn’t much traffic on the taxiways leading to it.
The rest of O’Hare is crap though.
282
u/19pj19 1d ago
Haha last month at O'Hare we land and the pilot announces "good news, we landed 45 minutes early. Bad news, there isn't an open gate for us." Took about 1h 15m til we got off the plane.
40
11
210
u/CantaloupeCamper Airplane! 1d ago edited 1d ago
ORD last week we pulled away from the gate. I got into a movie.
35 min later I lookup to see if I would have time to finish an unexpectedly long movie to discover we hadn’t taken off… we had been moving most of the time , just not flying.
Maybe we taxied to a less busy airport to take off….
31
21
u/EYNLLIB 1d ago
We flew into ORD last year and we were legit taxiing for 45 minutes without stopping. No other planes in sight that I saw out the windows. What the hell is up with ORD?
15
7
u/neurogeneticist 14h ago
There’s a runway that’s just super far from the gates - my husband and I call it Chiberia because it’s so far north haha.
12
u/caliform 🌎 1d ago
Did this with an episode of Severance at JFK. Started it when we boarded, was 2 minutes shy of finishing when we were told to stow laptops. That lineup was no joke.
5
u/victorinseattle 1d ago
Flew in once from London to connect via ORD on AA. Landed at the furthest runway that could support a 777. It took 40 MINUTES to taxi to the gate. A few stops here and there as it crossed active runways.
47
u/MY_FACE_IS_A_CHAIR 1d ago
Not to be a dick, but can you not tell the difference when you take off vs riding on the ground?
47
u/CantaloupeCamper Airplane! 1d ago
I put my headphones on and fired up a movie and kinda just zoned out, everyone around me was seated and I started the movie when folks were still milling about / finding their seats.
It's an airplane, I don't so much want to be there and I'm happy to not be entirely aware.
I didn't remember taking off but with the amount of time and still feeling like we were bouncing some ... I just figured we had.
21
u/LouQuacious 20h ago
I once fell asleep when plane was loading and slept for probably 2hrs, wake up and ask my friend how long until we land. He laughs and says, we just took off, the flight was delayed almost 2hrs and we sat on runway.
14
u/MY_FACE_IS_A_CHAIR 1d ago
Fair. I’m an anxious flyer so I just pay attention way more when I feel the plane speed up and lift off
4
85
u/tariqabjotu I'm not Korean 1d ago
IST. Feels like an eternity every time.
26
u/elcamino4629 1d ago
Came here to say this. Istanbul is the worst. Took at least 45 minutes of continuous driving too. Why?!?
7
u/DavidDR626 1d ago
I’m going there later this month, so this is not welcome news.
28
u/SecretaryOld7464 1d ago
Worst airport I’ve ever been. They have terminals you have to find like a scavenger hunt to connect to wifi, which isn’t free. It’s also the most expensive airport (food wise) in the world. Pack some extra food and eat on the plane whenever possible.
17
u/amcartney 1d ago
I was literally in Istanbul like two weeks ago and the airport wifi is definitely free
0
5
u/2ndlayer72 1d ago
Not what I've experineced 2 weeks ago. Taxied for around 10 minutes, gate easy to find though long distances, WIFI was free.
1
u/matrixus 22h ago
It depends on where you land and which gate plane stops.
I use IST weekly and it is varying too much i cannot tell exact taxi time.
2
u/MamaDaddy Airplane! 16h ago
Yep IST and Turkish Air all feels like a big money grab. They lure you in with cheap airfare and then try to get your USD and EUR in cash at every turn, and the entire airport is one big exit through the gift shop experience.
9
u/Lazy-Barracuda2886 Scotland 1d ago
And then you have to walk about 40 minutes between connecting gates.
8
u/meJohnnyD United States 1d ago
Also came here to say this. We taxied so long I thought they had decided to just drive to the destination lol.
4
u/Clumsy_triathlete 1d ago
I would also say a domestic flight takes 1.5 hours, 30 mins in the air and then 1 hour of taxiing on that concrete
4
u/Afraid-Piglet8824 1d ago
Just experienced this for the first time last week, it was insane lol. The plane just kept rolling on down the runways with no end in sight😭
20
u/knocking_wood 1d ago
This thread is making me appreciate PHX!
4
1
u/repingel 14h ago
I must have bad luck there, because I feel like more often than not they haven't had a gate available on landing.
1
u/knocking_wood 12h ago
what airline were you flying? I only fly AA and they have tons of gates so maybe that's why it's not been a problem yet. Most other airlines only have a couple gates so if a flight is delayed I can see why that would be a problem.
1
18
33
u/Fun-Cauliflower-1724 1d ago
Ohare has got to be near the top. I feel like Denver is up there as well just based on how huge the airport is by area
12
u/malignantz 1d ago
Had my longest taxi recently at DEN and I think it was only 15-20 minutes or so. These ORD stories make that seem like a dream.
5
u/sir_mrej Path less traveled 1d ago
I’ve been fine with Denver taxi. The airport is just so huge and so far away from the city with noooooothing in between
17
44
u/im-buster 1d ago
DFW has a runway where they have to cross a bridge over the freeway to get to the terminal
10
u/mesembryanthemum 1d ago
I swear we spent almost as much time getting to the gate as the flight from Shreveport.
8
8
3
u/greydawn 13h ago
This was my suggestion. Felt like an eternity of the plane driving around to get to the gate.
31
u/nc-retiree 1d ago
O'Hare just started a new phase of their improvement project the other day, I saw a note on their FB feed at the time that taxi times could increase at certain times of day.
35
u/nubbin9point5 1d ago
Charlotte and o’Hare are two of the worst. JFK can get bad with ramp congestion when they’re using 22s.
29
u/Abefroman12 1d ago
Charlotte has that one runway where it feels like you landed in South Carolina and then you taxi the last 35 miles to your gate in Terminal E.
5
u/UseDaSchwartz 1d ago
I used to live in a city with a flight from the far side of E…that fucking sucked.
2
u/nubbin9point5 1d ago
Omg, that was the worst. I really hope the construction and extra taxiway by the ramp over there helped that out. Glad that’s not part of my workday anymore!
3
u/corsairfanatic 1d ago
22s?
3
u/nubbin9point5 1d ago
The 22 runways. You land the left and end up sitting on the far side of 22R as they’re departing, waiting for your gate to be open, the ramp to be unclogged, and then a break in departures to cross 22R and then make your way to the gate.
9
22
u/MushyBeans UK 1d ago
For anyone else who doesn't have the world's airport codes memorised, ORD is Chicago O'Hare
9
u/PercentageNew2060 1d ago
Seattle most often due to gate congestion.
4
u/sir_mrej Path less traveled 1d ago
Ugh seatac construction at the baggage claim area is making me crazy
7
u/ricochet48 1d ago
Take about a dozen flights out of ORD and the taxiing is long af.
I try to take Midway when I can to avoid that though.
5
u/Wayfarer1993 14h ago
Always use the bathroom before boarding at ORD, even if you don’t really need to go.
5
5
4
u/bobd607 1d ago
ORD has long taxi times, espicially if you land on the most northern runway (9L/27R). For some reason ORD Ground does not like to taxi planes across runways, so you end up having to go around the end of 2 mile runways to get to the gate.
Also the airport is under major construction, closing taxi routes.
4
9
u/BubbhaJebus 20h ago
*taxiing
"taxing" means imposing a tax, or it can mean causing heavy physical or mental demand.
But a plane will "taxi" (not "tax") to the runway. So "taxiing".
5
u/banditta82 1d ago
Any properly designed modern airport is going to have longer taxi times because of the runway and taxiway layout. O'Hare with its reconfiguration has longer taxi times but has cut delays as the new layout has a higher poor weather arrival rate.
3
3
u/vixentriangle 10h ago
Long taxi times can be common at busy airports like Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (ATL), Los Angeles International (LAX), and Chicago O'Hare (ORD). Factors include traffic congestion, runway configurations, and airport layout.
4
u/Dylan_Goddesmann 23h ago
Frankfurt can also be very bad. And then they hand you the cherry on top by pulling into a remote stand/bus gate.
3
u/flying_pigs 8h ago
At Frankfurt the captain joked 'we assure you the rest of the trip to Budapest will be in the air'. And they say Germans don't have a sense of humor.
2
u/_xoxojoyce 1d ago
They have a runway that’s in a completely different town so yea the taxing takes forever if you end up at that one. There are ALOT of runways at Ohare
2
2
u/Interesting_Half2815 18h ago
ORD has got to be the worst. CLT can be 20+ depending on which runway you land.
2
u/Royal_Princess94 17h ago
LHR and having to go to T5, only two runways and T5 is the newest terminal and far from the runways
1
u/7148675309 12h ago
Biggest problem to me at Heathrow has always been the journey times from the
shopping mallsterminals to the actual gates
2
2
2
2
2
u/fallingfaster345 United States 1d ago
ORD 100%
DEN 2nd place
0
u/spillman13 United States 15h ago
Agree here. I swear we land in Missouri and taxi to the gate in DEN sometimes.
1
1
u/TheWrongestIveBeen United States 1d ago
Sheremetyevo (SVO) when you land/take-off on the third runway. Swear it took an hour to taxi out there for my flight back in 2019.
1
u/Jaded-Imagination388 1d ago
Well the flight from Houston to Manchester with Singapore Airlines (sadly recently discontinued) was invariably on time or maybe slightly early) and we would wait 30m on the apron and then maybe the same to get to the gate and it’s not like the airport was busy maybe 1/5 full - absolutely infuriating that about 10-15% of the travel time was sat waiting on concrete at Manchester
1
1
u/honeyrapsdude 1d ago
Delhi (DEL) has to be up there. Last time I flew through, we taxied for what felt like an eternity. The pilot even apologized and said something like "welcome to Delhi, where the taxi is longer than your flight." Made my 30 minutes at ORD seem quick by comparison.
1
u/UeharaNick 1d ago
If you land on the Northern Runway from the East at Tokyo Narita and are disembarking at Terminal One, it's a good 35-40 minutes of taxiing.
1
u/UseDaSchwartz 1d ago
Charlotte can have a long taxi time if you’re landing North and then going to one of about 10 gates. Probably not 30+ minutes.
1
u/Shoddy-Custard7097 1d ago
On a recent layover for me it certainly felt like Charlotte. The taxi was super long, then we got redirected to another runway because of bad weather, so another 25+ minutes of taxiing
1
u/touristy_tourist 1d ago
I have a personal hate for ORD. I fly a ton, but had never been there until last year strangely. Both times, not just the taxi, but the airport was too busy and we just could not get to the gate cause planes weee in the way
1
1
1
1
u/0asisX3 21h ago
CDG used to be a real mess until they extended taxiway D to bypass B (and thus traffic from T1) so that planes from T2 B,D and F could taxi quicker. Also, since they put in place those “cyclical ground movement operations” (no idea what’s the actual name, but it’s on the charts), the taxi is really way way more efficient. For example to get from T2E to runway 09R (which is arguably the longest possible taxi that is done on a regular basis), you are looking at a 5-6km taxi that is often done in 15-20 mins unlike other airports with the same amount of traffic as CDG where you would be looking at 30-45 mins.
1
1
u/Xenaspice2002 19h ago
Sydney particularly for domestic or NZ flights. 20-30 minutes taxiing to/from the runway
1
1
u/WolfOfMarbella 18h ago
I travel 4-5 times per month, and at least once a month I go through Istanbul (where I am currently).
It is by far the slowest of them all... maybe I'm always there at the wrong time, but it’s always a 45-minute+ wait
1
1
1
u/Totally-Legitimate 17h ago
Dubai. It’s a long taxi, and then the plane parks nowhere near the gate… so you then take a long bus ride to the airport building itself.
1
u/who_peed_in_my_soup United States 17h ago
O’Hare is pretty bad but there’s one specific runway at Schiphol that’s like 5km away from the actual terminal. You can count on at least a 40 minute taxi if you use that runway.
1
1
u/Distinct_Cress714 14h ago
Doha is the one that has always stuck with me. Seemed to take an eternity.
1
u/BrandonBollingers 14h ago
If you are landing in Atlanta and NOT on a delta plane there is a fair chance you will have to to wait for all delta planes to do their business before they let you off your plane. Not EVERY time but enough times that you should expect it. The non-delta pilots have no qualms about sharing their opinions on it. Delta is like monopoly/cult in Atlanta.
1
u/SiscoSquared 14h ago
Been ages since I've been but I felt like we were going around on the tarmac all day in Cairo
1
1
u/onlyonedayatatime 13h ago
At Istanbul we taxied so long that I turned a movie back on and eventually pulled up google maps to see where the hell we were. And then I missed my connecting flight. It might’ve been impatience after a 14h flight, but it felt interminable.
1
u/FindingFoodFluency 13h ago
Measure the indignity of your flight taxiing by seeing how many In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida it takes before leaving/reaching the gate.
1
1
u/Rouser_Of_Rabble 7h ago edited 7h ago
ICN - Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea.
Reading some of these comments make me laugh. It's like hearing people talking about their 3-4 hour flight "Oh it's sooo long". Try a 13-hour flight, bitches, then tell me you have a long flight.
1
1
1
u/LiGuangMing1981 6h ago
PVG (Shanghai Pudong), if you land on of the parallel runways on one side and your gate is at the terminal on the opposite side. I've definitely had nearly 40 minute taxis after landing there.
1
1
1
u/jetpoweredbee 15 Countries Visited 1d ago
The problem was probably a gate hold. There was an aircraft at the gate you needed to pull into.
8
u/Petite7Writer 1d ago edited 1d ago
The plane was moving 90% of the time. Maybe stopped for like 1-2 min but don’t remember it stopping at a point for long.
9
u/WellTextured Xanax and wine makes air travel fine 1d ago
ORD uses a clockwise or counterclockwise taxi pattern that means depending on which runway you land on and which pattern is being used, you can land reasonably close to your gate and still have to tour the entire airport to get to it. Especially if you land on the northernmost runway, hold on.
I pee before descending into ORD.
5
u/BelethorsGeneralShit 1d ago
This isn't really a common thing, but I remember one time when I worked ramp control at ATL, a CRJ had been sitting still for 30 minutes + waiting on a gate when the pilot said, "Hey ramp, do you mind if we just taxi to the end and back so the passengers think we're doing something?" lol
1
2
u/lost-American-81 1d ago
Maybe you landed on 22L? I had to do that just a couple times, the taxi is loooooong. I have had long taxis there on other runways as well. ORD is a nightmare generally.
5
u/Petite7Writer 1d ago
Plane landed way past the United, American hangers. There was planes being repaired and other work was being done.
ORD/MDW is my base airport - unfortunately no way around for me.
1
1
u/CantaloupeCamper Airplane! 1d ago
I had the same experience leaving ORD… we were moving most, just not flying …
1
1
u/Axe_Care_By_Eugene 12h ago
MIA - literally 20 minutes of meandering around the entire perimeter of the shithole they call MIA
0
0
u/Plumrose333 1d ago
I’m surprised I haven’t seen DEN yet. Not as bad as Chicago, but it gets really backed up
-4
-5
347
u/FindingFoodFluency 1d ago
AMS if you get Polderbaan, but really lots of new terminals that might as well be small countries.
Plus, Europe and the Middle East go crazy for bus gates...that adds to the circus.