About the site
Why I built How Busy Is My Airport
I've been flying 30-50 segments a year for the last decade — mostly out of Cleveland and Chicago, with regular trips through ATL, DFW, and JFK. That much time in terminals turns you into an amateur crowd-pattern watcher. You start to notice that the same airport at 6 PM on Sunday is a completely different building than at 6 PM on Tuesday, and the airline apps never explain why.
I started How Busy Is My Airport to answer one question I kept asking myself in the security line: was there a better time to be here? The site pulls live flight schedules from FlightAware, weights them by aircraft size and direction, and outputs a plain-English crowd score for any airport at any time. That's it — no signup, no ads-first design, no upsells.
My background is in product and analytics — I've spent 15+ years building tools that turn messy operational data into decisions people can actually make. This site is that discipline pointed at a problem I have personally.
Background
- •15+ years building data products (product & analytics)
- •Cleveland Creative Group — founder
- •Frequent flyer: 30-50 segments/yr across US majors
What this site does — and doesn't
We do
- • Predict crowd levels from live flight schedules
- • Cover 331+ airports, updated hourly
- • Publish editorial guides for major hubs
- • Disclose every affiliate relationship
We don't
- • Sell or share your data
- • Require signup for predictions
- • Take pay-for-play from airlines or lounges
- • Publish content we haven't personally reviewed
Where our data comes from
Every crowd score is derived from real, dated flight schedules — not survey data, not guesses. Our primary source is FlightAware AeroAPI, the same feed used by airlines and airports. We supplement it with FAA delay reports and airport-published terminal data. Read the full model on our methodology page.
Editorial independence
This site accepts affiliate revenue from parking, credit-card, and lounge partners. We do not accept paid placements, sponsored posts, or "review swaps." Editorial decisions — which airports to cover, which cards to recommend, which times to flag — are made independently of any commercial relationship. Read our editorial standards and affiliate disclosure.
Questions, corrections, or story ideas?
Get in touchOperated by Cleveland Creative Group, Cleveland, OH