Port Columbus International Airport

I enter airports in NYC mode, which means that I expect chaos, long lines, and aggravated, overworked staff. Imagine my relief when I experienced none of these things.
Quite the contrary, check-​in was easy. OK, going through security took longer, but I’ve experienced worse. It helped that the woman giving instructions while we approached the metal detector was friendly and making us laugh. Oh, and everyone was either saying, «Good morning!» «How are you?» «Have a great day!» and other niceties.
In addition to being the state capital, Columbus is also the home of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Columbus is definitely a college town and the people of Ohio (home of the Football Hall of Fame in Canton) can be just as fanatical about football as Texans. Every store was selling Ohio State shirts, socks, shorts, drinking glasses, and other Ohio State University paraphernalia. I was surprised, however, when I noticed that one store was selling shirts for Michigan, Ohio State’s most bitter rival.
My experience at Port Columbus International Airport was almost perfect, except for one thing. The area where I was boarding my flight shared an entrance with 3 other gates. As it so happened 3 flights were boarding at the same time. This made for some confusion, as calls for each flight were going out concurrently and there was crowding around the entrance.
Now, I know that airports get busy, but the other gates were empty. I think that they could have managed this better. For that reason, I’m dropping my review down to three stars.

If you loose something and call it in to the airport they try those hardest to find it. Thanks to airport security for find my loft wallet!!!

Good food choices, bright and airy. But very slow TSA Pre line and it wasn’t even the full TSA Pre. Internet is free but is incredibly slow.

Still one of the worst in the nation. Even after an invasive internal remod, this place has all the ambience of a hospital waiting room. The TSA here are among the worst at their part as well. They have a special skill at being snide, sarcastic, snarky, and slow. And finally, on arrival you can expect to twiddle your thumbs at least 30 minutes while waiting for your bags. And then hunt down the actual carousel your bags are one because the monitors are worthless.
One bonus should be the onsite rental car garage, however, local management has found way to screw that up as well with inop escalators and slow exit lanes. I’ve even had them demand a gas receipt upon return even though the tank was full.
They get a star for having planes that takeoff and land. The rest is garbage.

Pre-​check line in Port Columbus closed again. This is third consecutive time at CMH that has happened — and at 8 am I would expect better. It was even closed in Atlanta a few weeks ago.
Tired of seeing the red card that let’s you keep your shoes on. I used to be a fan of TSA Pre but not sure I would recommend it now.

I regularly fly southwest out of this airport. My advice to regular travelers is to not do early morning flights due to the long security lines. I have pre check and still have to wait long due to the singular security checkpoint. Also, don’t come hungry as there is little to choose from as far as food is concerned. Small airport problems.

Small airport, but newly renovated, so that was a plus. The southwest terminal is very small, but it has a great pizza shop and a wine bar. I liked that all of the seats came with outlets below them. I wish the larger airports would take note, it is annoying having to find/​fight over a outlet and then possibly leaving it unattended.

I am learning that flying into smaller airports, they are usually much more laid back and friendlier compared to major hubs. Grant it, sometimes and not all of them, they might be a little too laid back in moving people in and out of the line, but eventually you will get to your gate. Port Columbus though small, it is pretty easy to fly into and out. Signs are clearly mark, and they do offer TSA Pre-​Check and UBER pickup and drop-​off. Plus, American Airlines does fly their Airbus 319 wide body jet from Columbus direct to Los Angeles (5 hour flight)!! I was informed there is also a direct flight to Oakland instead of SFO. There are not many places to eat here, but I think it’s adequate for the size of the airport. Best of all, my experience with the staff here have been fantastic, and I do miss that small town feel.
Until then, be kind of one another and Cheers! ~ :p

The Columbus Airport is a smaller airport, so it’s easy to get through, but it’s a really nice airport and seems to have been recently updated. There are plenty of restaurant options, sit down and grab and go. The bathrooms are clean and can be easily found. The TSA Pre-​Check line was super short and I got through security in less than 5 minutes. My only complaint is that the rental car place felt far away and you kind of feel like you’re not going the right way when getting to it. Other than that, this is a nice, easy to navigate airport.

This one is a medium sized airport so getting through from ticket counter to gate isn’t so bad. In the C gates there is a Starbucks, some food options, and good space.
Lots of charging outlets, work stations, and tables which is super convenient. It also has free no fuss wifi which is a huge bonus. Some of the larger airports have limited free wifi options.
Although there were a couple of sit down restaurants I grabbed lunch from the Starbucks. Next time I’ll try the fish and chips at one of the other places.
Overall it’s a great airport and terminal.

CMH is so small that there is exactly one blue-​shirted TSA guy checking IDs for all the people traveling cattle class, which of course includes me :). Plus one more guy doing the fast lane for the hyper-​elite types, yet still the security line for the main concourse «B» gates has never been bad for me.
Under construction as I write this in February 2016. The waiting areas have honest-​to-​goodness tables with chairs, there are lounges with bucket chairs, and it’s remarkably quiet. There are power outlets in many places, although not at all seats, so there’s still a bit of work to do on that front. Free Wi-​Fi doesn’t hurt a bit! Compared to the madness of the New York airports, Columbus is a walk in the park.
Unfortunately the on-​premise Max and Erma’s restaurant is outside security. And «Brushstrokes in Flight,» the colorful statue that caused such a ruckus when it was installed in 1984 (as I was graduating high school :) has been relocated out of the center concourse due to TSA concerns about security, not joking either.

Wifi is free and usually pretty strong.
Cleanliness is at a high level, although I am usually at the Southwest gates. Food choices are plentiful.

CMH now has *cheap* direct flights to SF (via Oakland) and Boston through Southwest, which is a huge perk considering their prices and baggage options. In addition, you can find charging ports at almost every seat (at least that’s the case in the A terminal AKA designated Southwest terminal, which is pretty much the only airline I fly). Food options in this terminal aren’t too terrible either — worst case scenario, you can always default to Starbucks.
Unfortunately, this place is still under perma-​construction, and their wifi almost never works.
Be warned that the A terminal is not connected to the other terminals, so if you accidentally go to the wrong one, you may have to completely go through security again.

CMH is renovating right now, which makes the experience even worse than usual.
During renovation everything appears to be under construction and signs are hit and miss. Be sure to ask for directions if you need help, as their gates are not all connected and you may end up needing to go through TSA again. The TSA pre-​check signs seem to be hard for flyers to read and understand, so you may end up with people without pre-​check in the same line. There are few flights leaving/​arriving at the same time so the good news is that the terminal is not crowded. However, this also means there are very limited food and shopping options so don’t arrive too hungry or you may starve.
The baggage claim is severely lacking, whether or not the airport is under renovation. If you’re used to seeing bottle refill stations (to reduce plastic consumption) you had better lower your expectations. They only offer water fountains that are — yes, this is real — connected to the flow of water in the bathrooms! So when someone flushes, prepare for your water height to change. This can be extremely frustrating if you lean your face down to drink water and suddenly the height shoots up to drench your ear.
This international airport seems more like a regional one without the quaint rocking chairs.

The best thing about this airport is that security is FAST! I got through in 10 minutes when I flew out on a Tuesday afternoon. The TSA here is actually FRIENDLY! How is that even possible?
However, down sides of this airport are that: 1) it’s super old and outdated, 2) the dining options are severely limited, and 3) it’s pretty dirty, and 4) the signs at the gates aren’t always up to date.
Not the best airport in the world, but definitely not the worst either.

CMH is one of the best airports in the nation! Just remodeled, this airport that holds four major airlines and quality foods has outdone itself yet again!
The airport has TSA pre check so it’s a fast pass through security. Once your through, eat at Quiznos, bob Evans, Wolfgang pucks and more!
Anerican Airlines has a direct link from Los Angeles, so it’s an easy link!
Overall, other airports could learn a thing or two about the quality this airport shows!

The was nothing spectacular about this place but the wait time between ticket and gate was extremely short. I took a chartered flight which I had never been on in there were some technical difficulties at first with the printer so the line became extremely long but since I was at the head of the line really didn’t impact me that much. Since I had a kid I was allowed to board would be Lee class and get my seat and it all happened much more quickly than I expected based on my previous international travel experiences at some of the larger airports. I’d like to fly out of this airport more just due to the quickness from gate to flight I usually have to go for hours earlier to make sure I get through with 20 minutes to spare. That was not the case here I could’ve shown up with one hour before the flight to go and still gotten to where I needed to be on time.

Ye olde CMH. Welcome to a relatively easy-​to-​navigate, medium-​sized airport where all the major airlines service.
Dear CMH — My favorite part of the airport is the iconic Liechtenstein sculpture. Please do not ever get rid of this sculpture. I’ve now seen it in three different places around the airport, both inside and outside, but it stands out wherever you put it and now there’s something about it that screams — HOME!
Not sure how «international» this airport is, but apparently it’s able to take international flights.
Do not fret if you forgot to pick up any Ohio-​centric stuff or perhaps Ohio State gear, CMH has got plenty of retail that’ll provide just about any type of memento from the Buckeye state.
There’s also a decent Max & Erma’s in the ticketing terminal (before the security) that you can hang out at if you are waiting for somebody to arrive or want to hang with somebody before they depart. I’ve also hit the Brooks Brothers on more than a few occasions for last minute purchases or even a sale.
See you soon CMH.

Does anyone know that the number one thing people expect when they come to the CMH airport? Let me give you a hint it provides sunlight.
My friends the number one thing people want from the CMH airport is the ambiance and the number two is their free-​wifi because of course most travelers these days carry at least 3 devices. Your free-​wifi actually activates as you enter the airport. Who knew that? I learned this all at my big professionals meeting tonight with the airport. Wouldn’t you think people would worry more about parking and airport security? Nope, that comes like 3 or 4 on their list of priorities from the airport.
Anyone else want to guess what CMH stands for? It’s actually Columbus Metropolitan Hanger. It supports some other airports in this surrounding area which is Rickenbacker and the Bolton Field Airport.
Let me ask you another thing anyone remember the Skybus from back in 2009? Man was the airport busy and packed back then, that was an experiment for the airport to see how they would do with large crowds to fly out everyone. The airport is innovative and looking forward towards the future. Currently they are forecasting that the main building where all the flights are coming out of will be demolished in 15 years to move to the building next door where the blue shuttle area is at.
So what about that crazy new road they built? Well my friends that new road for the airport was built for this 15 year project that is happening. It will all become so much more smoothly to drive through once you see that new area opened. It will make so much more sense why they thought to do this plan with the road. Plus it was a big investment of course so you have to do one thing at a time before you get your end result which is the planes taking off from a new building.
Another thing the airport manages to make most of its money off is parking and the food court. So generally when somebody comes to the airport they will spend about $ 18 for parking their cars and getting a snack before their flight takes off. Plus any chachkies (trinkets and collectibles).
I personally love flying to and from the CMH airport not just because it just feels like that place where your crying your tears of hello and goodbye constantly, a place of memories. I said some very lasting goodbyes to my close family members (grandma and grandpa) here which will always be carried with me throughout life since I never saw them again. It’s very emotional for me and because of that I appreciate the staff at the airport that acknowledge it each time.
When I’ve come back to the CMH airport I always breathe a sigh of relief like I’ve come home. I just wish our airport would be more branded to what our city is known for like for instance when you get off at Nashville you have all the country music but we have nothing in Columbus to show who we are. I think our other building should probably have some Buckeye themed thing going through it to make it cool.
Great airport in all and I’ve seen many airports since I’ve traveled throughout the world. This one is much more convenient!

The day I was there the airport PA was broken. It was the greatest day ever as you were able to enjoy the traveling experience in silence.
The place is going through a renovation and they’re not doing a very good job at delivering a good customer service experience during the renovation.
Sometimes it feels like you’re walking through a hard hat area.
For Delta air travelers, it’s probably one of the larger stations that lacks a SkyClub, or any place to relax away from the hustle and bustle.
The day I was there the airport police seemed occupied with a man that was screaming and yellling, and they had him handcuffed to a wheel chair parading him out of the terminal.