Love Is In The Airport Survey

Study

Love Is in the Air(port): Survey Reveals the Best Airports for Finding Love and Making Connections

Jon McCallister

Written by: Jon McCallister

Jon McCallister

Jon came to DatingAdvice in 2016 with more than 15 years of editorial experience behind him. He has experience editing, writing, and designing at numerous publications, including the Gainesville Sun. Jon enjoys researching emerging trends and seeking out the companies, organizations, and individuals making an impact in the modern world of dating. He excels at working closely with writers and editors to improve the quality of online content.

Edited by: Austin Lang

Austin Lang

Austin Lang has worked in writing and academia for more than a decade. He previously taught writing at Florida Atlantic University, where he graduated with a Master’s degree in English. His past experience includes editing and fact-checking more than 500 scientific papers, journal articles, and theses. As the Marketing Editor for DatingAdvice, Austin leverages his research experience and love for the English language to provide readers with accurate, informational content.

Reviewed by: Amber Brooks

Amber Brooks

Amber Brooks is the Editor-in-Chief at DatingAdvice.com. When she was growing up, her family teased her for being "boy crazy," but she preferred to think of herself as a budding dating and relationship expert. As an English major at the University of Florida, Amber honed her communication skills to write clearly, knowledgeably, and passionately about a variety of subjects. Now with over 1,800 lifestyle articles to her name, Amber brings her tireless wit and relatable experiences to DatingAdvice.com. She has been quoted as a dating expert by The Washington Times, Cosmopolitan, The New York Post, Bustle, Salon, Well+Good, and AskMen.

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Believe it or not, finding love while waiting for your flight is not just the plot of a rom-com, it’s a TikTok phenomenon. The airport crush is now a social trend, with airports being the newest hotspot for romantic daydreams. 

With scores of people traveling through America’s airports each day, your potential match could be waiting in the check-in queue. And with lengthy waits with little to do and cramped seats that get you instantly cozy with those alongside you, there’s a surprising number of ways you could meet your lifelong partner at the airport.

Let’s face it, not every airport is created equal. While some are downright dingy, others are super sterile and clinical, making these chaotic hubs an unlikely place to foster a new romance. On the other hand, some could be considered a great place for meeting a romantic partner. 

So which airports across the U.S. are the best for making a connection? To find out, we surveyed 3,000 single travelers and asked them to vote for their most loved-up American airport based on their own travel experiences. 

Which American Airport Is the Most Romantic?

When it comes to airports that inspire romance, the results leaned toward those that screamed fun in the sun. With travelers perhaps projecting a more laid-back vibe after some time on the beach, one might be more inclined to dream of salty kisses with the handsome man or cute lady in the queue when standing at these destinations. 

To that end, Palm Beach International was voted the number one airport for meeting a potential romantic partner, with Orlando International coming in at a close second, and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International following in third.

Other summer sweet spots favored by our respondents included Tampa International in 4th place, Miami International in 15th, and Daniel K. Inouye International (Honolulu) in 17th place.

Rank Airport City State
1 Palm Beach International West Palm Beach Florida
2 Orlando International Orlando Florida
3 Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Fort Lauderdale Florida
4 Tampa International Tampa Florida
5 O’Hare International Chicago Illinois
6 Savannah/Hilton Head International Savannah Georgia
7 Southwest Florida International Fort Myers Florida
8 Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Atlanta Georgia
9 Atlantic City International Atlantic City New Jersey
10 Seattle-Tacoma International Seattle Washington
11 Los Angeles International Los Angeles California
12 Dallas/Fort Worth International Dallas/Fort Worth Texas
13 Ronald Reagan Washington National Arlington Virginia
14 Harry Reid International Las Vegas Nevada
15 Miami International Miami Florida
16 Dallas Love Field Dallas Texas
17 Daniel K. Inouye International Honolulu Hawaii
18 Myrtle Beach International Myrtle Beach South Carolina
19 Phoenix Sky Harbor International Phoenix Arizona
20 Austin-Bergstrom International Austin Texas
21 Charlotte Douglas International Charlotte North Carolina
22 John F. Kennedy International New York City New York
23 Charleston International Charleston South Carolina
24 Kahului Airport Kahului Hawaii
25 Piedmont Triad International Greensboro North Carolina
26 Raleigh-Durham International Raleigh North Carolina
27 Colorado Springs Airport Colorado Springs Colorado
28 Pittsburgh International Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
29 Buffalo Niagara International Buffalo New York
30 Philadelphia International Philadelphia Pennsylvania
31 Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Baltimore Maryland
32 Memphis International Memphis Tennessee
33 Reno-Tahoe International Reno Nevada
34 Denver International Denver Colorado
35 Washington Dulles International Dulles Virginia
36 San Antonio International San Antonio Texas
37 Logan International Boston Massachusetts
38 Nashville International Nashville Tennessee
39 Tulsa International Tulsa Oklahoma
40 Baton Rouge Metropolitan Baton Rouge Louisiana
41 Sioux Falls Regional Sioux Falls South Dakota
42 St. Louis Lambert International St. Louis Missouri
43 Greenville-Spartanburg International Greenville South Carolina
44 George Bush Intercontinental Houston Texas
45 Manchester-Boston Regional Manchester New Hampshire
46 San Francisco International San Francisco California
47 Albany International Albany New York
48 Cleveland Hopkins International Cleveland Ohio
49 Gulfport-Biloxi International Gulfport Mississippi
50 Jackson Hole Airport Jackson Wyoming
51 Spokane International Spokane Washington
52 Chicago Midway International Chicago Illinois
53 Gerald R. Ford International Grand Rapids Michigan
54 Blue Grass Airport Lexington Kentucky
55 San Diego International San Diego California
56 Springfield-Branson National Springfield Missouri
57 Albuquerque International Sunport Albuquerque New Mexico
58 Fort Wayne International Fort Wayne Indiana
59 Bill and Hillary Clinton National Little Rock Arkansas
60 Louisville Muhammad Ali International Louisville Kentucky
61 Louis Armstrong New Orleans International New Orleans Louisiana
62 Ted Stevens Anchorage International Anchorage Alaska
63 Kansas City International Kansas City Missouri
64 Portland International Portland Oregon
65 Richmond International Richmond Virginia
66 Bozeman Yellowstone International Bozeman Montana
67 Eastern Iowa Airport Cedar Rapids Iowa
68 Portland International Jetport Portland Maine
69 Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Hebron Kentucky
70 Salt Lake City International Salt Lake City Utah
71 Tucson International Tucson Arizona
72 LaGuardia Airport New York City New York
73 Bangor International Bangor Maine
74 Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Detroit Michigan
75 Dane County Regional Madison Wisconsin
76 Will Rogers World Oklahoma City Oklahoma
77 Billings Logan International Billings Montana
78 Casper–Natrona County International Casper Wyoming
79 Sacramento International Sacramento California
80 Burlington International Burlington Vermont
81 Yeager Airport Charleston West Virginia
82 North Central West Virginia Airport Clarksburg West Virginia
83 Lincoln Airport Lincoln Nebraska
84 Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Minneapolis Minnesota
85 Newark Liberty International Newark New Jersey
86 Rhode Island T. F. Green International Providence Rhode Island
87 Northwest Arkansas Regional Bentonville Arkansas
88 Boise Airport Boise Idaho
89 Rapid City Regional Rapid City South Dakota
90 Fairbanks International Fairbanks Alaska
91 William P. Hobby Airport Houston Texas
92 San Jose International San Jose California
93 Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Wichita Kansas
94 Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Birmingham Alabama
95 John Glenn Columbus International Columbus Ohio
96 Dayton International Dayton Ohio
97 Eppley Airfield Omaha Nebraska
98 Bradley International Windsor Locks Connecticut
99 Eugene Airport Eugene Oregon
100 Friedman Memorial Airport Hailey Idaho

Interestingly, although perhaps not unsurprisingly, big city airports where one might be traveling for work also seemed to inspire romance. Where better than the airport to meet someone new when you have a busy schedule packed with meetings and workshops? 

Some of the favorite city airports included O’Hare International in Chicago in 5th place, New Jersey’s Atlantic City International in 9th, and Washington’s Seattle-Tacoma International in 10th place.

How to Meet Someone Special at the Airport

OK, so you’re booked to fly through one of the above airports soon, and you’re eager to find a romantic partner. Catching a flight is easy enough, but what about making that romantic connection?

When asked what they would do if they were to be seated next to their airport crush, this is what our respondents said:

  • Strike up a conversation immediately: 35%
  • Wait for them to make the first move: 31%
  • Pretend I don’t notice them (but secretly hope they talk to me): 25%
  • Fake sleep and just enjoy the fantasy: 9%

We asked our survey respondents and 47% said the best scenario for meeting a potential romantic partner would be to get seated next to them on the plane. But what if you’re not that lucky? Well, you could go looking for silver linings among the clouds —  30% of survey respondents said that getting delayed together and bonding over frustration was also a great way to meet a future partner. 

29% of people would use a dating app that only matched people in airports

Furthermore, 12% said you could find yourself sitting next to a match at the boarding gate. Another 11% answered that striking up a conversation to pass the time in a security line would give you plenty of time to chat with someone special.

Making an Airport Romance Happen

But when it comes to making that first move, just how do you do it — especially if your crush has headphones in? In the survey, 27% of respondents said they would opt for the universal conversation starter of asking for a charger, while 25% would “accidentally” make a funny remark about the boarding chaos.

Another 16% said they would go for a more direct route, opting to compliment them and hope it leads somewhere. And 32% took a more cowardly approach, opting to say nothing at all, simply admiring someone from afar. 

For those bold enough to chase their airport crush, how far would you go to turn a fleeting glance into a high-flying romance?

Almost one-third of travelers have flirted at the airport.

Only 31% of Americans admit to flirting with a stranger at the airport, but 59% said that they would be tempted to strike up a conversation at a coffee shop or bar with someone who tickled their fancy. 

Some travelers take a more subtle approach. In our survey, 24% said they might opt to walk past their gate a few times to casually make eye contact with someone who interested them. Only 17% say they would go so far as to actually switch seats on a plane. However, unbelievably, 20% of Americans said they would change their travel plans for an airport crush.

“It’s difficult to meet people IRL these days, and the airport is as good as place as any to try,” said Amber Brooks, Editor-in-Chief at DatingAdvice.com. “In a world where meet-cutes are going extinct, it’s encouraging to see that some American singles are open to exploring connections with their fellow passengers at the airport.”

Avoiding the Airport Ick

Travel can be very unglamorous, particularly if you’re clad in your comfiest clothes and wearing a neck pillow. It just doesn’t tend to bring out the best in a person. 

But it’s not necessarily what someone wears or how messed up their plane seat hair is that turns travelers off from striking up a conversation. The biggest pet peeve, or travel ick, that would turn someone off at an airport? Etiquette: 56% of our travelers said they would never go for someone who started yelling at airline staff over a delay, while 19% said they’d stay clear of anyone blasting TikToks at full volume. Another 13% also said that taking your shoes off way too soon was an instant ick, while 12% said that people who are way too eager to board when it’s not their group would also not make for great partners. 

When asked what makes someone more attractive at an airport, this is what American travelers had to say:

  • The effortless traveler look (chic, comfy, confident): 40%
  • The mystery — where are they going? Who are they meeting?: 38%
  • The shared struggle (delays, overpriced food, long lines): 14%
  • The rom-com vibes of almost missing your flight together: 9%

Either way, it seems the jury is still out about finding a romance at the airport, with only 29% of respondents saying they would use an airport-specific dating app should one happen to exist. Perhaps it’s the fear of rejection, (and then having to spend a plane ride next to that person), that would put people off.  Either way, the next time you’re jetting off somewhere special, take a look around because you never know who could be boarding the plane with you. 

Methodology

We selected 3,000 single Americans from a geographically representative online panel of double-opt-in members. This selection was further tailored to meet the precise criteria required for each unique survey. Throughout the survey, we designed questions to carefully screen and authenticate respondents, guaranteeing the survey’s alignment with the ideal participants.

To ensure the integrity of our data collection, we employed an array of data quality methods. Alongside conventional measures such as digital fingerprinting, bot checks, geo-verification, and speeding detection, each response underwent a thorough review by a dedicated team member to ensure quality and contextual accuracy. Our commitment extended to open-ended responses, subjecting them to scrutiny for gibberish answers and plagiarism detection.