Lafayette Regional Airport

This is the cleanest and nicest airport I've visited! The airport is so beautiful and very clean! It's got 5 gates and very fast check in. The windows are so clear and immaculate! So many power outlets and very clean seating in all of the gates! The car rental agency has a very good sized fleet of cars. The baggage claim area is very nice and clean as well - everything about this airport is beautiful - for the size! You don't have tons of eating/shopping options, but as far as views, location, accessibility, facilities, ticketing and employee service - just the best that I've ever experienced! Great Job!

Very modern, new, efficient, small, and easily accessible airport. Plenty of airport parking, with cellphone lot. Easy to access the ride share waiting area once you exit the airport. Only 5 gates, which means less hassle to get to them. Plenty of AC and USB-A plugs to recharge your devices. Mother-friendly bathroom available. Comfortable air conditioning. Tastefully decorated interior. Love the small round pods with a table that accommodates one or two people while waiting near the gate. Enjoyed traveling to this destination for a meeting.

Seriously understaffed. No one at the AA ticket counter for 20 minutes, 1 of the 2 check in kiosks was out of paper, no gate was assigned for my delayed flight and, when AA agent finally showed up at gate 5 (it’s a small airport) the wrong flight number was on the board so many of us were confused and concerned. TSA security was amazing and it’s super clean so that’s the reason it’s a bit higher rating. Lack of communication and assistance abounds.

I recently had the opportunity to fly out of a new Lafayette regional airport terminal that replaced an old terminal, and I have to say that I was thoroughly impressed with the upgrades. The new terminal was a vast improvement over the old one and made for a more pleasant travel experience. One of the things that struck me immediately was how modern and sleek the new terminal looked. It was clear that much thought and care had gone into the design, from the spacious, light-filled atrium to the clean, contemporary lines of the terminal building itself. Inside the terminal, there were plenty of amenities to make the travel experience more comfortable. The seating areas were comfortable and had plenty of charging ports for electronic devices, which was a nice touch. The terminal also had a range of food and beverage options, which significantly improved over the limited options at the old terminal. The new terminal also made the security process much smoother and more efficient. The security lines were well-organized, and the staff was friendly and helpful. This helped to alleviate some of the stress and frustration that can often come with the security process. Finally, the boarding process was much easier and more organized in the new terminal. The boarding gates were marked and easy to find, and plenty of seating was available for passengers waiting to board their flights. Overall, the new regional airport terminal was a vast improvement over the old one, and I highly recommend it to anyone flying out of the Lafayette airport. The modern design, amenities, and efficient processes combine to create a much more pleasant travel experience. It's clear that a lot of care and attention went into the design and construction of the new terminal, and it shows in the result.

Most friendly, clean, welcoming airport ever & TSA took less than 2 minutes. Highly recommend stopping here and driving to your destination. So easy to travel here.

Super easy airport navigate! People are nice! And Hertz car rental was the best. Took me 2 minutes to get my car!

The remodel is nice but still kind of hoped for a little more options like a coffee shop vs two gift shops. Appreciate still hearing the French announcements throughout the airport as it is absolutely a part of the culture and glad we incorporated still for any and all visitors.

The airport is pretty new and very pretty. There are a few things that lead me to drop a star. 1) Southwest Airlines don't fly here, 2)No Starbucks, 3)Small airport I went to buy a soda and there wasn't an attendant. Instead, there was a note directing me to pay in one of the other areas. It's just a small airport, but it's pretty and well managed. I like ut much more than the previous Lafayette airport.

I absolutely love this airport! It's clean, recently remodeled, and the agents are always incredibly friendly. You can arrive just 10 minutes before boarding and still make your flight with ease. Because it's such a small airport, boarding is usually open for only about 10 minutes. However, they are strict about arriving at least 45 minutes before your flight if you need to check luggage. The airport is spotless. While there aren't many food options, there's a nice bar where you can enjoy a drink while waiting for your flight.

Great little airport. Very clean and modernized. Not a whole lot of dining choices but that is to be expected from a small airport. Possibly the smallest one I've ever been to. TSA line was 3 people so it took 5 minutes to get through. No complaints from me.

love them most recent innovations that have been done to this airport. A few more places to eat would be nice but I understand it's not a very big airport so it is what it is.

Flying out of Lafayette to Houston this morning, and this is the cleanest airport we have ever been in!

Great airport that we call home. Lost a bag and found it here which was great. Amazing work.

I flew from Charlotte, NC to Lafayette in February. My siblings live in Opelousas, LA. It is a very nice airport and the employees were friendly and helpful. While on the plane, my blood sugar got low and my legs kept falling asleep. After I got off the plane and was walking through the airport I fell. Several people from my flight stopped to help me as did several employees of the airport. They helped me to a seat and asked if I needed first aid or a wheelchair. I told them if I could just sit there a few minutes I think I would be fine. I texted my niece who was picking me up to let her know I had fallen and I'd be a few minutes longer getting to the front. I finally got my bearings and proceeded to the elevator to go downstairs where my niece was waiting. My left leg was bruised and I believe I bruised/fractured a rib from my fall. It is just now getting to the point where my rib area is not hurting. We had to drive to Arkansas for our mother's funeral a couple of days later so the ride was uncomfortable. I just want to commend the airport personnel that offered assistance and several passengers on the same flight as me that were very helpful. When I flew back a week later the airport staff were friendly and helpful.

Lafayette airport needs to look into getting things to make it easier for the flyers. Since y'all opened a new terminal and are starting to get new destinations. I use Lafayette airport no matter where my destinations is. One example is about a month ago we flew to Europe and left our parked at the airport for 2 and half weeks. It would be nice to have more covered area for the parking, more food options, and luggage carriers would be so helpful. I have several friends that use Lafayette airport and they feel the same. Thank you for listening to me. Kristie

My experience with Lafayette Regional Airport is limited to business meetings with the Aviation Board; therefore, I have never flown into or out of this airport. However, I have been here enough times to appreciate the location of this regional airport, as if you are willing to pay a little extra, you can fly into Lafayette and save yourself 2.5 hours of driving if you had flown into Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. This is a small airport. Parking is adequate, as is the space for picking up and dropping off passengers. However, the TSA security checkpoint seems to be understaffed at times and the lines sometime move slowly because of this. I'd recommend eating before you arrive, as food choices are fairly limited. I am a self-certified airport nerd; therefore, this place is cool to me.

Love the new remodel. Very nice. It makes for a great space to wait for your flight. Now all we need is to get more airlines to Lafayette

Great airport as far as the upgrades and renovations. Extremely clean. But Worst baggage claim ever experienced!! No airport this small should take 45 minutes + to bring out the luggage. My flight from Dallas to Lafayette barely took as long. If flying in to Lafayette, do all you can to carry on and not check luggage.

The new airport is finally open, and much more inviting. Good upgrades, sitting areas nice and has recharging outlets, also a bigger dining area, and bar upstairs. Feels more like a normal airport.

Small airport. I think they might have a total of 4 gates. They were quick to get us through security (you will have to take all liquids, shoes, laptops, etc out for scanning). Staff was friendly. It is a small airport so not many food/drink options, but they do have two different stations.

If you haven't flown out of LFT since the upgrades and new terminal, you need to. LFT is a small airport and didn't need to be much but the changes had to a really nice place to be. Spacious, multiple snack bars, tables, chairs, all with plugs and USB ports. It is really nice for any type of airport but especially for a regional one. I'm really impressed and excited. It reflects the growth happening in the area and is just what was needed. Also, the staff is sooooo nice! Lovin' LFT!

The new airport is nice, clean and well laid out....but it's the same nonsense from the original building. I missed a flight due to them only having one gate available for two planes to land at. The flight from Charlotte arrived 5 minutes prior to the flight from Dallas and they asked the people waiting to depart (over 3 hours after their original departure time) to "gather their things and be ready to board so the next flight could be loaded and board quickly as well". The arriving flight was at the gate for at least 5 minutes before the first passenger got off, then it took at least 10 minutes to clean the plane and another 10 before they even started boarding. During this time, while I was waiting to see how late my flight was going to be and if I was going to have any chance of making my connection in Dallas, I overheard the pilot of my flight ( that had arrived over 15-20 minutes earlier and was sitting on the runway waiting to get to a gate) call the gate agents and ask "what is the plan for us? Can't we go to gate 3? " The gate agent said something to the effect of " I don't know, that's not my gate." and hung up on the pilot. By this time I knew I was going to miss my connection due to the delay so I needed to go down and get my luggage before it was loaded on my flight but when I asked the officer (Lafayette Parish officer) about going downstairs to discuss options with the amazing Bree from American Airlines, he said "You might not be able to get back up, we are closing soon". He couldn't give me a time, just that "when the last plane lands they close security". I was more than a little disappointed in his attitude and lack of concern for the situation. I decided to take the chance and go down and was able to reschedule for 2 days later, not ideal in the least and totally a result of the lack of planning and common sense in the overbooking of the gate. If the airport wants to grow and become a bigger destination, they might have to consider opening more than one gate at a time, getting more involved, concerned security (not TSA, they were very nice) and possibly have Bree or her coworkers, including Terrence or Ray, from American Airlines train the staff at the airport!!!

This is my first time every flying into this airport so I didn't know what to expect. Small little airport and flying in at 12 o clock it was a complete ghost town, and let me tell you flying into a lot of airports in my day it made me wildly uneasy it being so empty, but beyond that irrational fear it was small clean and easy to figure out!

In my opinion, this airport is no longer 4 stars for me. It is 2 and on the verge of 1. The check in process is still very smooth and quick however, SECURITY IS A NIGHTMARE. I think this is due to the introduction of frontier airlines, and multiple flights leaving at one time. The SINGLE security line is now the bottle neck. Even if you proceed to security when they make the first announcement to do so, you will still miss your flight if other flights are departing around the same time as yours. The last time I traveled through this airport was after thanksgiving (and prior to the main rush). The security line was wrapped around the top floor. After an hour of waiting I hadn't even moved 5 feet!!! Luckily, another lady and I met some passengers at the front of the line that let us skip. Of course the ID scanner bugged out when it was my turn, and had to be unplugged and replugged (how safe is this?!?!). I then was asked to take all snacks out of my bag which then flagged in the scanner and had to be tested. I RAN to my gate with all of my items still out of the bag since they had announced last call. I was handed a boarding pass, and once on the bridge I stopped to pack up my items and noticed that I had been given SOMEONE ELSE'S boarding pass!!!! I asked the lady behind me if that was her name and it was!!! I was hoping they gave her my boarding pass, but no, they gave her another boarding pass with another seat!!!! I felt I didn't have time to go back so I just got on the plane and sat in her original seat praying the flight was not full. Once on the plane, we were told we would be late departing because 20 people were still missing (over half the plane). When we left 6 were still missing!!! I'd highly recommend avoiding flying out of this airport. I personally will still fly into it if the price is right, but will not consider flying out until the new terminal is built in 1-2yrs.

In the last 9 years I have traveled about 700,000 air miles between Continental, United and Delta. Most all departures have been out of Lafayette and quite frankly, I love this airport. First, between United, Delta and American you can pretty much get competitive flights anywhere you want to travel. United connects to either Houston or Denver (although rumor is the Denver flights may end), Delta connects into Atlanta and American goes through Dallas. The parking is cheap at $8.00/day and it's like parking at Walmart and going in. It's easy and quick compared to most airports. At times, if you are there too early or last minute you might not see someone at the bag check (check in) counter or the lines at the security check in can get long at the last minute. Your best bet it to arrive about an hour and a half before your flight if you are checking bags and if not, an hour should be fine if you just have a carry on(assuming you checked in online and have a boarding pass). The airport is scheduled to expand and continues to improve with vending on both sides of the security check and restrooms that are clean and easy to access. If your coming to Lafayette or a surrounding city it's the best way to fly in and out.

Another post 9/11 airport architecture victim with glass walls separating the gates from the hoi polloi. Since it is regional and pretty small, it isn't as bad as Kansas City but security is still packed into an area too small for it's intended purpose. Restrooms and dining are scarce, rental car return is lousy, everything is very close together. It isn't bad, just an older regional airport in an out of the way location in southern Louisiana.

Worst airport ever! Slowest TSA check I have ever been through. Flight was canceled, had to get rescheduled for next day. Showed up 95 minutes before flight and was still in TSA line when flight left. Apparently this is a common thing for the morning flights from this airport. Apparently they have no interest in solving this problem. Now I have to pay $40 for 3 breakfast sandwiches while we wait 2 hours for the next flight to leave and will likely miss our connection. Completely unorganized and not equipped or staffed to handle the amount of traffic that comes through here in the morning.

Yes it is easy expensive to fly into this airport but it is 20 minutes from my home town so I always fly here for connivence. They have done renovations over the years relocating the rental car parking lot and a few other things but nothing that interrupted operations that much. There are only a few airlines that fly into here - American, Delta, United and now Frontier Airlines. There are several options for rental cars - Alamo, Avis, Budget, Hertz, Enterprise and Payless. The parking for rentals and others is directly across the street from the airport entrance. There is only one security gate and all flights are in the relatively same area upstairs. If you check in online you can literally show up to the airport within 30 mins of your flight, go through security and still have time to pick up a snack at the little shop and use the restroom. The airplanes are small so majority of the times a carry on suitcase will be tagged and picked up plane side (good to know if you have a short connecting flight and must wait for luggage in between). There is a set schedule of departure times that are pretty consistent. If there is and weather or mechanically issues this can throw your entire trip off so keep that in mind. I love this airport and would recommend it to anyone who is traveling to Cajun country/Southern Louisiana and does not want to fly into New Orleans or Baton Rouge then drive here.

Nice little regional airport. The neat thing about this place is it's all in one place; check- in, rental car, security, coffee shop, boarding all within 100 feet. Professional, courteous, and helpful. Thank you LFT.

This is a small little airport but here is the tip: --You can get through check-in and security FAST, there is nothing to buy or eat, so don't worry about getting there early. I left my hotel at 6:05am, drove to the airport, dropped off my rental car, checked in at American and dropped off luggage, and was through security and at my gate at 6:35am. Amazing.

Its just okay. Very small so what they lack in your typical airport experience they make up for with their quick tsa line. I've never been in the line more than 5 minutes. I wish all airports had short waits like that.

One TSA line in the morning with a line of people wrapped around the second floor. They recommend 90 minutes before boarding for a regional airport. So after being subjected to an extraordinary amount of time to get through security there is no water for purchase. A broken vending machine (I was told it has been broken for weeks) and the shop is closed. The airport is packed full of people at 5am and amenities are scarce.

This place just gets worse and worse... Their food takes forever so be aware of your time.

Worst airport ever, employees could care less if you make your flight. You try to bring it to their attention that you have been in line over an hour and are about to miss your fly and they just shrug. If you want to fly out of here you should be here at least 2 hours before your plane leaves to be safe. Any other airport can get you to your flight in an hour max. This podunk airport sucks. Better to drive to new Orleans to fly out of.

The absolute worst customer service in a very small airport . The line is longer than the major airports , including Houston . Insane

This is a rinky-dink regional airport of the worst kind. Avoid it at all costs. The worst of this worst airport is the ridiculously mis-managed, inadequate TSA checkpoint. Key flights out of Lafayette to hubs, naturally, occur at crunch times, like early am. So you would think the geniuses of the TSA would gear up to accommodate this. No. You can expect delays of 90-minutes to two hours with this TSA! The airport is also pathetically appointed. The food stinks and takes forever, when it is even available. The rental car parking lot is a moonscape of potholes and should have been re-surfaced a decade ago. I see no pride or sense of customer service among the airline and staff there. Abandon all hope until the corrupt politicians in Louisiana decide to fix this.

The airport itself is marginally ok...expectation of a small airport but the 'full service bar/restaurant' is a joke...it would be funny if not so frustrating. Worst service and a very bitchy barmaid. Obviously overwhelmed and couldn't handle it and let everyone know it with her nasty attitude. I own a bar and would never treat people that way...fortunately I don't come thru here often

Small little airport with genuine hospitality; not just from the employees at airline check in counters, but the rental car places and airport patrons. Yes, the flow here is a little or a lot slower than Big City airports, so take that in stride. I was running a little late (what the hell is new) and started stressing the lines were moving sooooo slow... But I made it, just in time, with time to spare. So if you are concerned things are moving a little slow... Just relax..... You will make it.

This is quite possibly the most backwoods airport I've ever been to. LFT is a tiny airport. I mean really tiny. There's nothing here - no food, no shops - nothing. There are barely any gates. I moved pretty quickly considering the long line of people who were clearly confused by the flying process. And the folks at LFT are pretty adamant about you getting through security 30 minutes before your flight. The one saving grace is the free wifi!

LFT is the best airport ever. It has three whole gates but two have been out of use since 9/11. This is the kind of airport where the TSA has a lot of time on its hands. They swab EVERY piece of luggage for bombs and once when I lost my phone in my backpack, they took the time to X-ray my backpack to find it for me. Now that's service! One of the best things about flying into Lafayette is hearing the Cajun accents starting at the remote gate (usually in Houston). Or even running into old classmates who still got der accent. One of the worst things is the price. While I once found a magical ticket for $230, the prices to fly from the Bay Area to LFT are now around $450, no matter how many months in advance I book. Lafayette Regional was also the first airport I ever flew out of. Aww, sha.

For a small, regional airport Lafayette Regional isn't bad. With connections to Houston International via Continental it sure saves a ton of time for me from what I used to do, drive to New Orleans to catch a flight. The only gripe I have is with the TSA procedure. Checked bags have to be opened right in front of everyone and manually checked using some type of wand device. It's a slow process that adds unnecessary time to check-in. However, that's offset by the fact that there are rarely every long lines at check-in. All-in-all, I prefer to fly out of Lafayette Regional for its convenience and ease.

I fly out of different regional airport every week and they all have distinct, personalities let's call them. LFT's personality would be something like Barney Fife right after he gets permission to carry his bullet. Pick up and drop off is a pain. The people who are working the curb are incredibly over bearing. Yes, I concede, that their job is to keep traffic flowing and keep the terminal secure, but they will hassle you even while you are unloading if you are not doing it fast enough for them. Sometimes I don't think they understand what a "loading/unloading zone" means or they are auditioning for their next job as stunt coordinator and would like all passengers to drop out of their vehicle at 45/mph and tuck & roll their way into the United counter to check in. I find the experience through TSA to be similar. Under trained, overstaffed, over zealous...The whole thing reminds me of amateur hour at the airport. What about the airport services you ask? You might, after all, want to do something tangential to flying while at LFT. For a regional airport, it's not the worst. Car rental has a lot of options to pick from, 6 different providers as of this review. Food/drink is available, but only before security, although there is something of a popup cart behind TSA that is sometimes manned by someone inevitably grumpy.

Horrible service, understaffed, massive waiting lines in the early morning flights. Need to plan to be there two hours before flight.

Small airport but it's better to have an airport in Lafayette than to drive 100 miles! Very convenient to drop off rental car it was right in front of the entrance. The United counter was slow with a line going almost to the entrance of the airport they could really add some more resouce. People were very friendly here it was a breeze to get through the security and the plane was on time most importantly.

One thing that you'll always pay for in travel is convenience. In the case of Lafayette Regional, or Bayou International as I like to call it, you're paying for the convenience of not having to fly into Baton Rouge or New Orleans to do your cajun business. The airport is quite small, and there was no place to buy coffee at 9 in the morning, at least not that was open at that ungodly hour. As other reviewers pointed out, the TSA security checks your luggage for bomb residue in front of everyone else in line. This works though, because there's almost never anyone else in line.

It is a very small airport walking from the terminal to the baggage claim take less than one minute. There are only two small baggage claim area. It is more expensive to fly to Lafayette but the convenience of flying straight to Lafayette is a plus so whoever picking you up don't have to drive one hour to Baton Rouge and one hour back to Lafayette. The airport looks like a film from the 80's , but I saw some ads about they are trying to raise some money to build a new terminal for the airport so I am looking forward for it.

I like the upgrades they have made to the facilities but the baggage claim is utterly atrocious. Be prepared for a long wait.

Traveled home for Christmas and needed to bring back an LA gift back to FL for a co-worker. Bianca helped me find some Tobasco items. Unfortunately, security made me return it. Bianca was kind enough to return and get me a credit so I could purchase it at the gate. (Hoping her manager sees this review). Security was very patient with me and I really appreciate the staff for helping find a Louisiana gift for my co-worker. Great customer service from all employees on Christmas day!

Small airpot but really efficient. As ling as you have a boarding pass in hand you can show up 30 min before your flight and be set. Fee wifi is a big plus of the airport as well. The only downside is it basically only flys to dallas, Houston, Atlanta, and Denver. Sp just know you will have a connection somewhere

Had a 4 hour layover here from Denver going to Houston...so that might be why this place haunted my dreams for those few days err hours..I spend the majority of my time inside the gate - there are only 3, maybe 4 gates btw - and the people were hootin' and hollerin' about some flight delays and how they had dinner reservations in Milwaukee they needed to attend to immediately. As for food, I was stranded in this sh** hole for 4 hours during dinner time. As much as I TRIED to hold out by grabbing a bag of chips, I simply couldn't. I wandered outside of the security line (not a line because no one was in it) and started looking for food options because there are none inside the gate besides 3 vending machines that unironically carried 1980s chips and candy choices. I stumbled upon a concession stand sort of place that carried *gasp* all meat choices. As a semi-vegetarian (I don't eat the red meat) I was forced to get the fries minus the chili and cheese...lol I will end it here - this place is horrible & the people who work there look like they are on all kinds of downers. I had to repeat my question 5 times or so to the slouched security guard in the chair. I give it the two stars for being functional - it IS an airport afterall.

This is a pretty efficient airport to travel through. The rental car return was easy, check in a breeze (with TSA pre-check) and was able to grab a bite to eat (good burger) and a drink at the cafe. The TSA line can get a little long, however once through your basically at your departure gate. I was pleasantly surprised to find the airport has added a concession in the gate area as well and was able to grab a bottle of water and snack for my flight.

This is one of the worst airports I have ever flown from. The TSA lines are extremely long and can take over 2 hours to get through. Flights are commonly delayed from all three carriers. Gate agents are understaffed and wait times to check luggage can exceed over an hour. It is worth driving to Houston or New Orleans to get a flight.

Mall Cop Alert!!! Feeling so frustrated.... Will never fly this airport or American Airlines again. I booked a ticket for my sister, they wouldn't let her board today, because I paid for her ticket, they said it was fraud. Wow. So I called the credit card company to see if there were any outstanding fraud alerts, they indicated that there were "no" fraud alerts? American Airlines then proceeded to tell me that I need to present my identification card and credit card to the departing airport. Seriously!? Never again will I spend another dime on that company, Delta will always have my business from now on. She was departing Lafayette Louisiana, a small regional airport, with a bunch of Mall Cops if you ask me. Take the extra time and fly out of a real airport where real professionalism exists. Perhaps they should spend their time looking for real threats, rather than picking on a mother of 5, who was on her way back home to see her adults kids. Anyway, our credit card company refunded us the entire fee, and gave us bonus points for this mess. Very nice at least.

Love this little airport! It is sometimes more expensive to fly in/out of here, but it's worth it. Only 3 gates, you move through quite fast. There is a restaurant that serves all kinds of Acadiana food, including alligator!

What an easy airport to get in and out of! Staff are very sweet and friendly, there's no confuse as to where you are supposed to be. Everything is clear and simple - loved it!

Lol. Not much to see or say here. I can fly to NYC cheaper than from Houston to Lafayette.

This is one of the friendliest airports you'll have the pleasure of sitting in, but not for long. It often takes less than 10 minutes to get through security if you've pre-checked in and only bring a carry on. They like you to be at the gate 30 minutes prior to boarding so if you get there 45 minutes early on most days you spend 40 minutes at the gate. Sometimes there is a line, le ghasp! I've seen as many as 20 people if there are two flights leaving close together. The TSA folks are very nice but it can take them a bit more time to crunch through those extra bodies. Also, they have regular scanners, no x-ray machines. It is a breath of fresh air compared to coming through the larger International airports like Sea-Tac or Houston. Wifi has always been free, there is car rental kiosks in the front but not much in the way of food. They added a small food cart inside the security area but I have yet to see it open. By far the best part of this small airport is the free parking. Yes, FREE parking 50' from the terminal to pick up your guests. After 30 minutes it is a whole $1.00. If you are picking up people or cargo from Delta flights I recommend bringing a bill as they are reliably late.