GRR – Gerald R. Ford International Airport

Easy enough airport but my flight was scheduled to depart at 745 and the store and one food option and one bar closed at like 5pm. Seems like pretty poor customer service, especially since now my flight is delayed. It seems like it would be appropriate to have something open if there are flights scheduled.

Easy to get around the airport. Car rental is located across from check-​in counter. Very convenient. Southwest Airlines staff are very friendly and helpful. Not many choices for dining in the terminals. Overall very clean airport.

One of the better airports. Staff (even TSA) are very friendly and respectful. Even if under construction, the lines are well managed. Unlike other major airports (SFO, SJ, DFW), the staff here truly know the meaning of customer service. Restaurants are very limited in selection.

If you’re flying to Grand Rapids then I HIGHLY recommend this airport. Its very conveniently located in Grand Rapids, making travel to/​from Grand Rapids very easy. If you aren’t flying to Grand Rapids then you might want to land at another airport, you know, like closer to where you are going…
Small airport. Not a lot of options when it comes to entertaining yourself while waiting for a flight.

I love the Gerald R Ford airport is my home airport. It is clean, well laid out and fast to travel through. As I am on the go almost every other week it is better than most for ease of travel. TSA people are actually friend and gate agents a personable. All and all it is not a chore to travel here at all.

Nice airport.
I’ve only been to Michigan once and my trip took me to Grand Rapids — a friendly town, with a welcoming airport.
I didn’t spend a ton of time at GRR, but while there, I noticed it was clean, well-​maintained and offered a pleasant choice of food/​drink/​shopping.
One thing I was extremely appreciative of, was the very pleasant TSA team — they were friendly, efficient and professional. The TSA staff at GRR don’t seem to have the same beat-​down, mad-​at-​the-​world demeanor that I’ve encountered at so many other airports — keep up the great work TSA!
Anyhow, I liked Gerald R. Ford International Airport and hope to return again one of these days — Grand Rapids has a great food/​beer scene!
I should note, there was a bronze bust of Gerald R. Ford in the airport and I was happy to see such a nice tribute to our 40^th Vice President and 38^th President of The United States of America.
4.5 stars

Very small local airport with only a single floor, very easy to access to and from the city via highway.
Usual airport type restaurants before and after the security (but for the best outcome try the pub right before the security)
What makes this airport lower grade is the TSA. There’s TSA free line but that’s just a show, there’s no designated line for that purpose. So unless you explicitly mention that you have TSA free, you would have to take off shoes and belt, and line up at full body scanner instead of metal detector.
The TSA line is huge so be aware (they need to hire more people!)

This is one of the smaller regional airports I’ve been to. We have to fly United when visiting and it’s always a drag. The staff are borderline rude and sometimes neglectful as we were left waiting as an ticketing agent opted for checking in several passengers behind us before checking our military status to waive the baggage fee. The terminal is pretty barren so be sure to load up on downloaded media and snacks. While it’s small, show up early to account for weather and the ticketing agents.

GRR is a small, but great airport. It’s so small that it’s easy to navigate. If you’re flying out of here, no need to arrive more than hour before to catch your flight. Lines are short and there are only two areas to go to go through security, which is always a fast experience. GRR offers free wifi and a few restaurants (sadly, no healthy options). If you fly into here, it’s kind of fun because you always see families waiting near the gates to say hi to family members.
One thing that is a bit annoying is some of the staff. It literally is the smallest airport, but I have been scolded several times for not arriving more than an hour before my flight with NO bags to check. I live in Washington, DC where we have three airports and thousands of flights going and coming a day and they allow you just an hour leave time.

A very small airport with slim pickings for food/​drink. If you can, eat before you get there or before you cross security as most of the food options are before this point.
The Starbucks only carries the basic coffee, no special drinks and no feta wraps. It’s basically an airport lunch counter dressed up as a Starbucks.

Small and easy enough to get around. There are places to get something to eat and places to get coffee. Has everything you need at an airport.
The smaller airports tend to be a nice change of pace when you have to deal with airports in major cities like Chicago and New York.
Would I go back? Well I probably wouldn’t go there for breakfast but I will most likely be back as I do travel quite a bit on business.

Terrible experience w/​the TSA line. Delta now shares a concourse w: Allegiant and security was completely backed up. No Sky Priority line and no first class line. Took forever. It was never like this before and it is unlikely I’ll use this airport again soon. Shame on Delta got not warming customers.

Love this airport — it’s never super busy here, and it’s pretty clean. Last time I was here, I actually lost a leather jacket and called the «Lost and Found,» which is actually the airport police. I described my jacket, and he said that he was staring right at it. An hour later, I stopped by and was joyfully reunited with my lost jacket. Someone must’ve turned it in when I lost it in the terminal. Huge thanks to good Samaritan who turned my jacket in!

Everything went pretty smooth, but the line for security took forever! The security was very nice though. The only thing was when I arrived at the gate, yes people were already boarded but the women at the desk was rude about it. I know I boarded at 5:30 in the morning but this is your job! Please be nice. Thanks :) That’s why I gave it 4 stars.

When I go to small airports, I expect certain little touches bigger airports don’t have. FWA gives out free cookies, TVC had WiFi and lots of power, and GRR had… nothing. Check in was pretty slow and the US/​AA agent didn’t have the best attitude (more on that later). Security was easy, but it makes no sense why all the gates aren’t connected in an airport this small. Now passengers only have access to ¹⁄₃ of the shops and restaurants in a given terminal. Makes no sense to me.
It all really fell apart at the gate. Our flight was delayed, so I figured I’d download a movie. Wrong. The WiFi was so slow that a non-​HD movie was estimated to download in about 5 hours. Come on. Our lovely gate agent (who was the same guy as the check in agent) showed up and started making things up about the flight. We’d be boarding in 5 minutes, he promised! As a frequent flier and Private Pilot myself, I can assure you that if the plane isn’t at the gate, we’re not boarding in 5 minutes. 5 minutes turned into 10 which turned into 20 and we finally ended up boarding.
Shops and restaurants were mostly closed around 8 PM, and there was one vending machine that sort of worked (credit card part was broken) that had okay food in it. GRR was easy, but not at all pleasant. Disappointing.

Marginal — small to mid-​market regional airport. Layout is fairly straight forward and it seems they are undergoing a bit of a remodel (June 2015). Amenities are slim, but the parking garage and car rental facility is newer (ease of use).
Not a lot of flights and of course no one flies direct to Grand Rapids — I mean seriously — would you.
Good for the surrounding area — but nothing to write home about. Better regional airports (Harrisburg, Little Rock, Spokane).

Very convenient airport to fly in and out of. Quick security and attached car rental. Baggage claim is in lobby. Have to take checked baggage to separate xray after getting tag. Limited restaurants.

It was my first time in Grand Rapids! This airport is a lot bigger than I expected. Also, it is undergoing a renovation! New bathrooms with gigantic stalls. Security line was quick and painless. It was awesome! Each gate had a number of charging stations which I appreciated.
The cons: No wifi. Not too many options with regard to food in the terminal.

Small airport with a design that is outdated to new security standards. The TSA agents were nice enough and the security lines are very short, but they have no conveniently located tables or benched to get your items put back together. I had to either bear-​hug all of my possessions and carry them a distance to a bench or be «that» person who slowly takes their items from the conveyor backing up security. I chose the bear-​hug method and nearly forgot my laptop.
I flew out of the A concourse and noticed that the food court is located before you get through security which is pointless for any traveler. There is an American Bagel Co/​Pizza Hut inside security. So one bagel later my cravings were somewhat yielded until the next airport.
It’s not as bad as I’ve rated it, but I scored it low because it definitely needs improvement.

GRR-​There is no priority lane for status– be prepared to wait. That is crazy. Lines are outrageous. There is a Coffee shop and bookstore/​mini mart outside for the lines but if you are alone you are screwed. TSA agents encourage people who didn’t leave the house early enough to tap eachother to cut in line. I had 15 people ask before I snapped. I ended up missing my boarding so I got a crappy seat when I paid to have a great boarding position (Southwest). Never again.
The rental system here is weird too and not open ²⁴⁄₇ so be careful if you are booking a plane ride and plan to rent a car from here. Overall, this place felt very understaffed.

que c’est agréable d’atterrir ou de partir de cet aéroport ! Calme, détendu, rapide et sans aucun problème. Cela devrait être partout comme ca ;-))