Airport waiting areas used to be a space to flip through magazines, charge your fun or chow down on fast food, but the seats surrounding the boarding area have become alternative offices, as of late. The influx of hybrid and remote workers means that the line between vacation and on-the-clock time is murkier than ever, and even business travel doesn't offer a great excuse to hop off a call early.
If you're a remote worker who finds themselves penciling in meetings that overlap with your travel plans, you may want to consider which airport works best as an ad hoc office. Bad WiFi, loud announcements and limited seating just won't cut it.
A new study by the travel site Upgraded Points analyzes the best and worst airports across the country for remote work, and luckily the top three are in major cities you can strategically fly in or out of for a mini work-cation.
Taking the top spot it San Diego International Airport (SAN), ranking highly thanks to its number of charging stations per square mile (13.42) and percentage of on-time departures (81.13%). Next up, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), where Hollywood execs are frequently taking calls, but the high ranking is due to the number of restrooms per square mile (25.22) and mean Wi-Fi download speed (in Mbps) of 156.91. In third place is Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Washington, D.C., thanks to a solid amount of restaurants per square mile that offer great laptop areas to work. The study also found that Dulles International Airport (IAD), also in Washington, D.C., had the fastest WiFi download speed (in Mbps) at 185.86, which is 83% higher than the national average (76.54).
Now for the worst airports for remote work. Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) is the worst airport to work remotely with the lowest score of 13.35, followed by Denver International Airport (DEN) (14.02) and Orlando International Airport (MCO) (16.31).
If you're going to be working remotely on the road (or in the sky), be sure to plan accordingly. And maybe download a good Zoom background.