With Memorial Day in the rear view, summer in Chicago has (unofficially) begun, kicking off international travel plans for millions of Americans and U.S. visitors. This year, however, federal budget cuts, economic uncertainty, and slew of immigration policy changes may hinder your vacation plans. In fact, recent data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirms longer wait times at numerous major airports, and—yep, you guessed it—O'Hare is one of the worst.
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According to a report published by Upgraded Points, our very own O'Hare International Airport (ORD) clocked one of the longest average immigration-line wait times at 31.7 minutes, extremely close behind Los Angeles (LAX) airport at 31.8 minutes. We definitely take the cake in causing chaos, though: Chicago's ORD creates the highest share of hour-plus delays (13.6-percent) of any airport in the country.
Despite significantly lower traffic, Nashville International (BNA) airport had the third worst performance nationwide, with waits at customs around 31.1 minutes on average. We guess there's still hope for over-trafficked O'Hare. (Or at least we can drown our sorrows at the best airport restaurants.)
If you're looking to trim time at the airport, try other entry points: Palm Beach International (PBI) in Florida keeps visitors in line for a mere 3.5 minutes. Closer to home, Second City's Midway International Airport (MDW) ranked seventh best for international travel, hovering around 14-minute waits at immigration.
Overall, non-citizens are facing the longest tests of patience across all major airports, often upwards of 30 to 40 minutes during peak hours. By contrast, U.S. citizens typically wait less than 20 minutes. It’s no surprise that prejudice policy begets blatant bureaucracy, and dare we say messy behavior.
The full report covers 41 major U.S. international airports, with a detailed breakdown of wait times for all travelers, comparative wait times for U.S. citizens and non-citizens, and the share of travelers processed in under 15 or over 60 minutes.
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