The Best and Worst US Airports for Cheap International Flights

The team of Flight Experts at Going spends hundreds of hours every week searching for flight deals. In the past twelve months, we sent thousands of emails with flight deals from 182 US airports.

We have high standards for our deals, too. We don’t send deals on certain budget airlines (like Spirit, Frontier, or Allegiant), we don’t send super-last-minute flights or flights with terrible routing. In short, we only send truly great deals to our members—with a savings of $550 per international economy ticket, on average—and we know that when it comes to scoring cheap international flights, geography counts.

Some airports simply see more frequent flight deals than others, thanks to a number of factors including the amount of airlines serving the airport and the amount of competition on various routes from that airport.

To determine which airports offer the most frequent deals on economy class international flights—and which major airports offer the least—we looked at commercial airports in metro areas with a population of at least 700,000 people and collected data on how many deals we sent to Going members for cheap flights departing from each airport in the past year.

Here are the results.

If you live near one of the best airports, you’re in luck; your airport often has great deals on economy class international flights. But, if you live near one of the worst, it doesn’t mean you need to give up your dreams of affordable international flights. Beneath each of the “worst” airports, we list examples of the types of deals you’ll see from your airport—and give you tips on how you can score even more cheap international flights without moving to a new city.

The Best US Airports for Cheap International Flights

The best airports for cheap international flights are airports you might expect; they’re among the busiest airports in big cities, located on both coasts plus one in the Midwest and one in the South. While that’s great news if you live in one of the areas, it also means that no matter where you are in the US, you’re likely only a short flight away from one of these airports where deals are the most frequent.

How frequent? Our top airport received 475 international deals in the last year—more than one deal per day on average—and others in the top ten received more than 24 deals per month on average.

Here are the top ten airports in the US for scoring cheap international flights in economy class.

10. Raleigh-Durham (RDU)

The Raleigh-Durham airport is the second-largest in the state of North Carolina (behind Charlotte-Douglas International Airport) and acts as an operating base for Avelo Airlines and a focus city for Delta Air Lines. It’s served by 14 airlines flying to 65 destinations in about 7 countries on direct flights—primarily in the US, but also in Mexico, Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean. While midsized Raleigh-Durham is smaller in size than its neighbor Charlotte-Douglas, we see more deals from the small but mighty RDU. In the past 12 months, we found 224 economy deals, an average of more than 4 per week. 

Actual deals we've flagged for Going members from Raleigh-Durham:

• Raleigh-Durham to Peru for $350 roundtrip
• Raleigh-Durham to Abu Dhabi and Maldives for $669 roundtrip
• Raleigh-Durham to Copenhagen for $387 roundtrip

>> See cheap flights from Raleigh-Durham

9. Orlando (MCO)

In 2022, Miami had a monopoly on cheap flights for Floridians, but this year, it’s made a little room for its neighbor to the north: Orlando. And good on Orlando for assuming its position on the list, as it is the largest airport in the state. It acts as a hub for Silver Airways, an operating base for Avelo Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest Airlines, and Spirit Airlines, and a focus city for Frontier Airlines. (While we don’t send deals to our members on Spirit or Frontier, their presence helps drive down fares.)

MCO is served by 34 passenger airlines offering direct flights to more than 150 destinations throughout the US, Mexico, Canada, Caribbean, Europe, and Central and South America. We found our members 258 economy class deals in the past year—more than 21 per month on average. 

Actual deals we've flagged for Going members from Orlando:

• Orlando to London for $393 roundtrip
• Orlando to Colombia for $253 roundtrip
• Orlando to Toronto for $194 roundtrip

>> See cheap flights from Orlando

8. San Francisco (SFO)

We see an average of 22 economy class international deals per month from SFO, thanks to a plethora of routes and airlines serving about 50 destinations in Canada, Mexico, Central America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania.

SFO is the second-busiest airport in California, the 14th-busiest airport in the US, and the fifth-largest hub for United Airlines. It’s also served by another 50+ airlines, which helps keep prices down.

Actual deals we've flagged for Going members from San Francisco:

• San Francisco to Paris for $405 roundtrip
• San Francisco to Aruba for $362 roundtrip
• San Francisco to Mexico City for $275 roundtrip

>> See cheap flights from San Francisco

7. Miami (MIA)

Miami is the ninth-busiest airport in the US by number of flights—and one of the busiest by international passenger traffic. It’s served by 80 airlines and is a hub for American Airlines and Spirit Airlines and a focus city for Avianca, Frontier, and LATAM, which makes it a great city for scoring deals to the Caribbean and Latin America.

The airport offers direct flights to about 100 international destinations in at least 40 countries, including cities in Europe and the Middle East; connections to other major hubs make it easy to travel to destinations in Asia, Africa, and Oceania. In the last year, we sent our members 280 economy class international deals from Miami, which averages out to about 23 per month.

Actual deals we've flagged for Going members from Miami:

• Miami to Barcelona for $393 roundtrip
• Miami to Lima for $315 roundtrip
• Miami to Oslo for $385 roundtrip

>> See cheap flights from Miami

6. Newark (EWR)

A major hub for United, Newark is served by more than 30 airlines with direct flights to almost 100 international destinations in Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. If you can’t get to a place on a cheap flight from Newark, you probably can’t get there on a cheap flight from anywhere. All those options for airlines and routes means increased competition and more chances for cheap flights.

Actual deals we've flagged for Going members from Newark:

• Valencia for $444 roundtrip
• Dominican Republic for $308 roundtrip
• Morocco for $444 roundtrip

>> See cheap flights from Newark

5. Chicago O’Hare (ORD)

Chicago’s O’Hare airport is one of the busiest airports in the world. It’s a hub for both United and American and a focus city for Frontier and Spirit Airlines (the presence of Frontier and Spirit help increase competition, but Going doesn’t send deals on those airlines, for a number of reasons).

O’Hare offers nonstop service to more than 50 international destinations on more than 45 airlines. The abundance of international airlines and routes means pretty healthy competition, and the frequency of flights to the rest of the US means that if you can’t fly direct to a major destination from Chicago, chances are you can get there with one connection—and both of those things mean lots of deals for travelers.

Actual deals we've flagged for Going members from Chicago:

• Barcelona for $389 roundtrip
• Medellin for $352 roundtrip
• New Zealand for $892 roundtrip

>> See cheap flights from Chicago

4. Los Angeles (LAX)

LAX holds a lot of superlative titles. It’s the largest and busiest airport on the West Coast, the fifth-busiest airport in the US, and one of the busiest airports in the world. It’s also a hub or focus city for tons of airlines; it’s a hub for Alaska, American, Delta, and United, and a focus city for Allegiant, JetBlue, and Southwest.

More than 60 international airlines serve the airport, with direct flights to more than 90 destinations in 46 countries. All those flights mean more chances for deals, so it’s not surprising that, on average, we see 27 international economy class deals per month out of LAX.  

Actual deals we've flagged for Going members from Los Angeles:

• LA to Puerto Vallarta for $220 roundtrip
• LA to Oslo for $449 roundtrip
• LA to Guyana for $432 roundtrip

>> See cheap flights from Los Angeles

3. Washington Dulles (IAD)

Dulles serves the greater Baltimore and Washington, DC, area and has the most international passenger traffic of any airport in the Mid-Atlantic region outside of New York. It offers direct flights to 60 international destinations on five continents, serving Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.

It’s a hub for United Airlines, but it’s also served by more than 30 international airlines, and that competition helps ensure frequent economy class international deals—about 29 per month, on average.

Actual deals we've flagged for Going members from Dulles:

• Buenos Aires for $517 roundtrip
• Warsaw for $512 roundtrip
• Quito for $372 roundtrip

>> See cheap flights from Dulles

2. Boston (BOS)

The largest airport in New England and the 16th-busiest airport in the US by number of flights, Boston Logan is a Transatlantic hub for Delta and focus city for JetBlue and is served by an additional 40 airlines.

There are direct routes to about 50 international destinations in the Caribbean, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, Mexico, Canada, and Central and South America. Basically you can get just about anywhere in the world from Boston, and more options translates to more deals.

Actual deals we've flagged for Going members from Boston:

• Boston to Iceland for $100 roundtrip
• Boston to Madrid for $465 roundtrip
• Boston to Panama for $276 roundtrip

>> See cheap flights from Boston

1. New York (JFK)

Coming in as the best airport for international deals, JFK is a hub for both American Airlines and Delta Air Lines and the home base for jetBlue, but it also serves a whole lot of other international airlines—more than 70, in fact. Those airlines collectively serve more than 120 international destinations on six continents, making JFK the busiest international air passenger gateway into North America. It’s also the 6th-busiest airport in the US by number of flights. In short, there are a ton of planes traveling between JFK and the rest of the world every day, and all those routes and airlines mean—yep, you guessed it—a whole lot more deals.

We send more deals for international economy class flights from JFK than any other airport—about 17% more than we send to the number two airport on this list. That means if you live near JFK, or get there by plane, train, bus, or car relatively cheaply, you can take advantage of some amazing flight deals.

Actual deals we've flagged for Going members from NYC:

• Milan for $360 roundtrip
• Jamaica for $282 roundtrip
• Copenhagen for $325 roundtrip

>> See cheap flights from JFK

It’s important to note, though, that airports outside the top ten still receive many, many deals.

LaGuardia (LGA), Seattle (SEA), Denver (DEN), Baltimore (BWI), San Jose (SJC), Houston (IAH), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Las Vegas (LAS), Minneapolis (MSP), Tampa (TPA), Pittsburgh (PIT), Phoenix (PHX), San Diego (SAN), and Portland (PDX) all receive 15-20 international economy class deals in an average month.

Even smaller airports like Charleston (CHS), St. Louis (STL), and Buffalo (BUF) receive an average of 2 international economy class deals per week. Meaning, there’s a whole lot of airports on the list before we get down to the “worst” airports for international deals.

The Worst US Airports for Cheap International Flights

Of course, the smaller the metro area and airport, and the fewer flights and airlines operating from that airport, the fewer chances for deals. Airports like Aspen, Colorado, and Cheyenne, Wyoming, only see about one deal per month, but they also represent very small metro areas so they aren’t on this list.

For this list, we only looked at airports in metro areas with a population of more than 700,000 people. Less populated states in the West, South, and Midwest dominate the list. While passengers can travel internationally from each of these airports with a connection (and many of these airports are labeled as “international airports”) not all of them actually offer direct international flights. The lack of direct flights typically translates to a lack of competition, and thus a lack of deals.

Live near one of the “worst” airports? Don’t despair. Even though these airports see far fewer deals than the top 10 on this list, they still receive an average of 5-8 international economy class deals per month, or at least 1 deal per week.

Even better news: Most of them are located within an hour or two of a bigger airport that receives a lot more deals. When you sign up for Going, we’ll tell you if you can expect a high volume of deals for your airport or not, and which nearby airports we recommend you follow for more frequent deals.

10. Worcester (ORH)

Worcester Regional Airport (ORH) serves central Massachusetts, as well as the Boston Metro West region, through three airlines—American, Delta, and JetBlue. It offers nonstop flights to four airports in the US: Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Orlando (MCO), and New York (JFK and LGA).  

A lack of options translates to a lack of deals, with ORH seeing around six international economy class deals on average per month. It’s not all doom and gloom though. Boston (BOS) is just an hour down the road, which receives nearly five times as many deals each month. The destinations served by nonstop flights from ORH are also great hubs for catching sweet international deals, so don’t rule out deals from MCO or JFK, which topped our list as the absolute best US airport for cheap international flights another year running.

Actual deals we've flagged for Going members from Worcester:

• Worcester to the Spanish Islands for $619 roundtrip
• Worcester to St. Lucia for $371
• Worcester to Denmark for $576 roundtrip

>> See cheap flights from Worcester

9. Akron (CAK)

If you’re looking to jet down to one of Florida’s many regional airports—think Myrtle Beach, Punta Gorda, and Ft. Myers—Akron’s got you covered. But if international destinations are what you’re looking for, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything nonstop. CAK has 19 nonstop flights, all within the US and primarily throughout the South, East, and Southeast (with oddballs Las Vegas and Chicago thrown in there). It also serves four airlines: Allegiant, American, Breeze, and United. 

The good news is that you can get to a handful of spots in the US on a direct flight from Akron, so you can greatly expand your chances of snagging a deal by watching fares out of cities like Chicago, Orlando, Las Vegas, and Washington, DC. 

Actual deals we've flagged for Going members from Akron:

• Akron to Chile for $582 roundtrip
• Akron to Costa Rica for $346 roundtrip
• Akron to the French Riviera for $598 roundtrip

>> See cheap flights from Akron

8. Oakland (OAK)

Oakland is a focus city for JSX and Southwest and is served by a total of 11 airlines, mostly serving the US. Its only consistent nonstop international destinations are to Mexico and El Salvador, though it offers seasonal nonstop service to the Azores in Portugal. As a result, we just don’t see a lot of great international deals from Oakland—we send our members about six per month, on average.

The good news is that SFO is just across the Bay and saw 264 amazing international economy class deals this year, so a great fare is just a quick BART ride away.

Actual deals we've flagged for Going members from Oakland:

• Milan for $544 roundtrip
• Cairo for $645 roundtrip
• Kenya for $628 roundtrip

>> See cheap flights from Oakland

7. Panama City (ECP)

Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport is one of the country’s newest commercial airports (it opened in 2010) though it isn’t very “international” at all. The airport is served by only four airlines—American, Southwest, Delta, and United—and offers direct flights to only 12 US destinations: Austin, Atlanta, Baltimore, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Nashville, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC, so any international flight will have at least one connection. On average, it sees about six deals per month.

To find more cheap flights, look at deals from one of the cities connected to Panama City by a short flight, or consider a road trip. Orlando (MCO) and Tampa (TPA) are 5-6 hours away by car, and both airports get fantastic deals.

Actual deals we've flagged for Going members from Panama City:

• Sydney for $820 roundtrip
• Barcelona for $451 roundtrip
• Costa Rica for $368 roundtrip

>> See cheap flights from Panama City

6. Tucson (TUS)

Tucson offers nonstop flights to 19 domestic destinations on six different airlines, including Alaska, American, Delta, Southwest, Sun Country, and United. While it doesn’t offer any nonstop flights to destinations outside the US, you can get to 300 different destinations worldwide with just one stop, transiting through one of its domestic hubs. 

Other solutions: Drive less than two hours northwest to Phoenix. PHX didn’t crack our top 10 US airports for cheap international flights this year—it did for domestic flights, though—but it sees far more deals, both domestic and international, than TUS does. You can also watch for deals from nonstop destinations from Tucson, like Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Actual deals we've flagged for Going members from Tucson:

• Tucson to Delhi for $831 roundtrip
• Tucson to Chile for $578 roundtrip
• Tucson to Barcelona for $475 roundtrip

>> See cheap flights from Tucson

5. Long Beach (LGB)

Flights from Long Beach Airport fly to 24 nonstop destinations in the US, but it’s only served by three airlines, including Delta, Hawaiian, and Southwest (and Southwest dominates that list); also, there are no international departures, so the lack of competition and direct routes makes deals rare.

But Long Beach passengers looking for international deals have an easy solution; Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is less than 23 miles away and sees far more deals—about five times the number LGB receives; in fact LAX is number four on our list of best airports for international flight deals.

Actual deals we've flagged for Going members from Long Beach:

• Luxembourg for $524 roundtrip
• Tokyo for $677 roundtrip
• Dublin for $468 roundtrip

>> See cheap flights from Long Beach

4. Boise (BOI)

As far as capital cities go, Boise isn’t as well connected as some of the others on our list. It only offers direct flights to cities in the US (primarily on the West Coast, Texas, and the Midwest) on eight airlines, including Alaska, Allegiant, American, Avelo, Delta, Southwest, Spirit, and United. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a lot of flight options to the East Coast, save Atlanta, but there are flights to other major hubs—like Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), and Chicago (ORD)—if you don’t mind making a connection for your onward flight. 

Actual deals we've flagged for Going members from Boise:

• Boise to Chile for $606 roundtrip
• Boise to Australia for $820 roundtrip
• Boise to Hawaii for $269 roundtrip

>> See cheap flights from Boise

3. Oklahoma City (OKC)

OKC serves more than 20 domestic destinations in all corners of the country on airlines including Alaska, Allegiant, American, Breeze, Delta, Frontier, Southwest, and United.

While the bad news is that the airport only sees about four deals per month, from OKC you can connect to larger hubs where deals are more frequent. It’s a three-hour drive to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) or a short flight to hubs like Atlanta (ATL) or Chicago (ORD).

Actual deals we've flagged for Going members from Oklahoma City:

• Vietnam for $887 roundtrip
• Florence for $464 roundtrip
• Belize for $320 roundtrip

>> See cheap flights from Oklahoma City

2. Fresno (FAT)

Fresno airport is the main gateway to the San Joaquin Valley and Yosemite, as well as Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. It offers nonstop flights to 14 destinations, but only three are international spots (all in Mexico). With only eight airlines serving the airport, it just doesn’t have much competition, so deals are less frequent; we send our members about four international economy class deals from Fresno each month, on average.

Bay Area airports including San Jose and San Francisco are about three hours by car; another option is to watch flights from Vegas, LA, or Phoenix, all nonstop destinations from Fresno.

Actual deals we've flagged for Going members from Fresno:

• Helsinki for $389 roundtrip
• Mexico City for $322 roundtrip
• Athens for $367 roundtrip

>> See cheap flights from Fresno

1. Honolulu (HNL)

Honolulu is the busiest airport in Hawaii. It’s the main hub for Hawaiian Airlines and is served by an additional 20 airlines. It offers direct flights to over a dozen international destinations, including spots in Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan.

We often see great deals to Asia and the Pacific from HNL, but deals elsewhere are a bit less common—and with much of Asia closed to Americans over the past couple of years, deals to Asia were a bit less frequent this year than in normal years.

In total, over the past year we only saw about three international economy class deals from Honolulu in the average month. For more, watch deals from California airports like San Francisco, LA, San Jose, and San Diego. Each sees a lot more deals, and we frequently see nonstop roundtrips from HNL to those cities for under $200.

Actual deals we've flagged for Going members from Honolulu:

• Fiji for $629 roundtrip
• Sydney for $347 roundtrip
• Rome for $497 roundtrip

>> See cheap flights from Honolulu

Methodology

Using a combination of technology and human-powered flight searching, the Flight Experts at Going look at thousands of possible airfare deals every week. Not all deals meet our standards (for example, flights on certain airlines like Spirit or Frontier, flights with inconvenient layovers, or flights with illogical routing). Still, we send thousands of deals out to US-based members every year.

To reach our conclusions on the best and worst airports, we first determined our list of airports. We only looked at airports that serve metro areas of more than 700,000 people and the 180+ US airports we serve at Going.

Once we had our list of airports, we tallied up the total number of deal emails we sent to members departing from those airports in the past year. The airports that received the highest number of deals per year were deemed to be the best airports for cheap international flights. And the airports that received the lowest number of deals were deemed to be the worst airports for cheap international flights.

Join Going and save an average of $550 on international economy flights.