Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport is among the top 10 airports in the United States with the fewest delays.

Greer Airport ranked 7th with a delay time of 6 minutes, 50 seconds, not too far from the leader – Kona, Hawaii Ellison Onizuka Kona International in Keahole with 5 minutes, 35 seconds, according to data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Tiffany Cherry, communications manager for the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport District, said airports themselves don’t have much control over delays; it’s an airline problem.

However, she said that this data would also take into account favorable weather conditions in northern South Carolina, as well as flight planning and airfield capacity.

“Our region is less vulnerable to severe weather events such as blizzards and tropical storms, which can significantly disrupt operations,” she said.

The airport, which like all airports is recovering from flight disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic, has seen some significant improvements, most notably in its revenue, which has increased from $34.4 million in 2021 to a projected $72.2 million for 2025.

The airport responded and recorded a significant increase in cargo traffic.

Additionally, the airport recorded its highest passenger count in May 2024 and expects to exceed a record 2.8 million passengers in 2024, Cherry said.

The airport has also attracted the attention of Airports Council International’s Airport Quality Program, which measures passenger satisfaction from arrival to departure at nearly 400 airports worldwide.

GSP was named North America’s best airport for 2 to 5 million passengers, with the most dedicated staff, easiest access, and most pleasant and cleanest airport.

“These awards are particularly meaningful as they are voted for by passengers themselves and represent the highest recognition for customer service in the airport industry,” said Cherry.

The airport continues to face the challenge of more people traveling to what airport management calls a larger airport. In Greenville’s case, that would be Atlanta or Charlotte.

According to a study commissioned in March 2023 based on data from the 2022 calendar year, about 40% of local passengers choose the larger airport, which is roughly the average for smaller airports.

The airport management has been working hard to find new destinations and airlines. Since the study, 11 new destinations and two new airlines, Breeze and Avelo, have been added.

New destinations include Manchester, New Hampshire; New Haven, Connecticut; Rochester, New York, served by Avelo and Los Angeles; Providence, Rhode Island; Orlando, Tampa and Hartford, Connecticut, served by Breeze.

Established airlines have also added new destinations. Southwest flies to Nashville, American to New York-LaGuardia and United to Washington-Dulles.

The other airports in the top 10 with the least delays according to a study of SellMyTimeshareNow.com transportation data are:

• Piedmont Triad International 5 minutes and 47 seconds

• Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport 6 minutes and 11 seconds

• Portland Oregon International Airport and Hawaii’s Lihue Airport with an average delay of 6 minutes and 16 seconds

• Boise Air Terminal 6 minutes and 24 seconds

• Spokane International 6 minutes and 42 seconds

• Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport in California 6 minutes and 55 seconds

• Pittsburgh International 7 minutes and 36 seconds

• Tucson International 7 minutes and 43 seconds

The worst delays occurred at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport at 22 minutes and 54 seconds.