Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport — Attraction in Brownsville

I realize this isn’t going to be a completely fair review going in. But reviews are for comparing similar places so here we go. To start, this airport is nicer than many I have been in (because it’s fairly new), and I have been in a lot. If my review were just based on the building and cleanliness, you get 5 stars. Unfortunately, it’s also based on what’s in the building, which is nothing. I think most people expect that airports will have places to eat and drink. This place has none. I was directed to 1 vending machine filled with junk. And there wasn’t even a drink machine next to it! So I put my card in to grab some nuts and a voice comes on that says I have not been charged. So I have no nuts to eat. This is going great. (To be fair, the car attendant did ask me if I want to take the car back out to grab dinner when I brought it back, but I had no clue this place had no food.) And speaking of the rental car, there are no signs at this airport. I had to stop at the airport entry to ask TSA where car rental return is. His answer was something like, “you go out of here then make a left then make your second right.” Why am I having to ask where things in an airport are to begin with?! SIGNS!! Put them up! Once I found car rental return, you just pull into a parking lot and take a guess at what to do. I didn’t know whether someone was coming out or I just leave it or what. Seeing as the airport was far away from the lot and there were no buildings around with attendants, I opted to walk to the airport and hope to god the agency was inside. They are! Inside on the far left of the building. However, no one was working the company I needed. Someone from another company had to call my company for them to show up. When he did, he needed to know mileage of the car, which is not something I looked at cause I’ve never been to an airport that didn’t have someone scanning in cars upon return. So after we got it all situated, I proceed to security, which is on the second floor. I go up the single escalator and make my way to closed gates and no one working. I literally feel like I’m in the twilight zone. Like am I even in the airport? Did I go to the wrong entry? I walk around the entire upstairs and nothing. So I go back down and walk out the doors and walk to the end of the terminal just to make sure there’s no other place I could go. Nope. This is it. So I go back inside and ask ticketing where security is. Turns out it was the right spot but they don’t show up until 45 minutes before boarding. So I wait. (Keep in mind, I got here a little early so I could eat dinner, otherwise I wouldn’t have shown up when I did.) Once they open the gates and I make my way down the terminal I am able to grab a drink cause lo and behold, the drink machine is up there! I’m sure I’m missing some points but all in all, just a really bizarre experience, especially for a place that is supposed to be an International airport. There are only 4 gates and they can only go to 3 places, 1 of which is one location in Mexico. Guess that warrants...

This airport gets 0 stars for service. I arrived 45min before my flight and just missed the 50min cutoff for checked bags. No problem. I went to the counter to book a new flight. The girl at the counter told me I had to call the airline. I said I would like to book a new flight. She said she couldn't issue the credit and use that to book a new flight, I had to call. I reiterated that I wanted to book a new flight without using credit and she refused again. I was on hold with the airline for 30+min. After finally getting through, I went to book the flight and they said due to it being so close I had to book it at the counter. I went back to the same girl. She said she could not sell me a ticket bc again it missed the cutoff time for luggage (which I would have made if she hadn't made me call the airline!!!). I said screw it and rented a car, drove to Austin, and flew out of there back to...

Whenever I fly, I use Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport (BSPIIA). The present airport is a far cry from how it looked like the first time I set foot in Brownsville (29 years ago). Our airport now is so much more beautiful and state of the art. However, there are still several things/problems that need to be addressed. One, it needs to have at least a snack bar/restaurant in the first level where one can spend time while waiting for TSA to start screening passengers and allowing them to proceed to their departure gates. Two, the airport needs to provide carts for wheelless luggage and oddly-shaped baggage. This is the only airport I’ve seen that doesn’t have carts! Three, toilets are not always adequately supplied with consumables. When I travelled last month, there were no paper towels or hand driers. People in charge of the BSPIIA, please address these...