Syracuse Hancock International Airport — Local services in Town of De Witt

This well deserved one star review all stems from a bogus $6 parking charge that the airport had the opportunity to correct, but instead chose to give me a hard time about it. So here we go. Instead of doing the right thing and having customer service as a priority, they are in the business of making enemies and providing abysmal service to all. For a long time I hesitated leaving them such a review, and even previously left a positive review which I’ve now deleted, after giving them benefit of the doubt that they should not be to blame for negative experiences since the airlines should be the ones at fault, so they say. Ever notice how in all of their responses to their hundreds of negative reviews, their response is always that they are never, ever the problem? For starters, I should mention that in the nearly dozen times I’ve flown here, whether it be a direct flight or connecting, there has always been an issue of some sort. Delay, cancellation, lost luggage, etc. Maybe if your airport was so perfect and you were incapable of doing anything wrong like you claim, you would end your contracts with the airlines that cause fliers so much grief. Why remain in business with an airline who causes a major blemish to your so called perfect airport? How is it that I’ve never experienced a disruption at a major airport that handles thousands of flights daily such as JFK or LAX but every time I am here, it’s always something? Why is it always Syracuse that cancels and delays my flights and loses my baggage? Anyways, I go to retrieve yet another mishandled bag and park in your overflow lot since every other lot is labeled as “full” and clearly states not to park there. I walk from the overflow lot, to the baggage claim center, and back to the lot as fast as humanly possible, and did so in a span of exactly 15 minutes. It is the 15th minute where they begin to charge you for parking. I pay the parking fee in hopes that the machine would print out a receipt so I could submit that claim for reimbursement- nope! No receipt at all. Just a charge on my credit card statement, no person there at the gate that I could ask for one, just the automated gate that opens up and tells me I am clear to exit, no receipt at all like every other merchant in America provides. Of course since there’s no receipt, my request for reimbursement was denied. I then went to my banking app and looked at the transaction details and called the merchant phone number of the parking lot to request a refund and not to my surprise (sarcasm)-it’s a no. Maybe if your airport was more competent and didn’t lose every single bag this wouldn’t be an issue to begin with. All fine with me, I’ve already gone and filed a chargeback to get my money back. Even in the event of lose the chargeback, I am satisfied enough with the fact that the airport needs to pay the chargeback fee and they have a strike against their merchant account with American Express. It wouldn’t hurt for this establishment to have someone empathy and humility. It am no longer even worried since I will from here on out drive to New York City or Buffalo and fly out from one of their airports and save myself the hassle of dealing with the Syracuse airport and their abysmal customer service. If you want your travel plans to be canceled or severely disrupted for whatever reason, then this is the place for you. Don’t let their redundant responses stating “your review is invalid because we are the airport not the airline” fool you. Your odds of a poor consumer experience are very high if you travel through them. Instead, I recommend Buffalo (routes to LAX, Las Vegas) or Elmira (routes to FL) or better yet, take a bus or drive down to NYC and go to one of their 3 hubs for nearly all airlines and all destinations. Never once have I had my travel plans disrupted at any of...

Tucked in the glacial hills of Central New York, Syracuse Hancock International Airport exists as a testament to aviation's evolution. What began in 1949 as a converted Army Air Corps machine shop has transformed through iterations into today's ambitious regional gateway.

The airport's narrative begins with military utility, in contrast to the grand civic statements made by contemporaneous facilities like Lambert's Yamasaki-designed shells. While the 1962 terminal represented Syracuse's mid-century optimism, decades of additions gradually obscured the original design's clarity.

C&S Companies' 2013 renovation—a $63 million, 147,000-square-foot project—marked Hancock's most consequential architectural intervention. The firm, which has served as the airport's general consultant for over four decades, connected the two disparate concourses with a centralized security checkpoint. This represented a fundamental shift in airport planning, as security screening evolved from peripheral afterthought to central organizing principle. The project achieved LEED Gold certification through integration of Building Information Modeling technologies.

The 2018 transformation—a $62.4 million project also led by C&S—reimagined the passenger experience. The centerpiece features a façade of perforated weathering steel panels emblazoned with "SYR," functioning simultaneously as identity marker and weather shield. The material choice reflects upstate New York's industrial heritage while establishing a contemporary aesthetic.

Inside, the terminal's crowning achievement is a reimagined "Grand Hall" featuring stone walls from local quarries. The preservation of the original mid-century modern sawtooth ceilings—now highlighted by sculptural lighting—offers a rare moment of historical continuity amid contemporary surroundings. The renovation earned a Platinum Engineering Excellence Award from ACEC, recognizing achievements in environmental responsibility and operational efficiency.

What distinguishes Hancock is its commitment to performance over pageantry. Rejecting the "starchitect" impulse dominating recent airport design, C&S created a pragmatic regional modernism where material honesty, functional clarity, and environmental responsibility take precedence over grand gestures.

The current $28.5 million North Concourse expansion continues this tradition of incremental improvement. Small interventions, like the pre-security concessions area conceived by Rochester Institute of Technology interior design students and executed by SEI Design Group, reveal Hancock's commitment to addressing passenger needs across the entire facility. SEI previously demonstrated its aviation capabilities as a subconsultant for Greater Rochester International Airport's renovation.

The latest improvement exemplifies the collaborative approach characterizing Syracuse Hancock's evolution: students developed designs during a one-week workshop; C&S Companies' Senior Principal Architect Michael LaMontagne served as juror; and SEI hired student designer Quentin Stoneburner, first as an intern and later full-time to realize the concept.

What emerges at Syracuse Hancock is an architectural approach prioritizing adaptability over monumentality. Success lies in what goes unnoticed—friction points eliminated, passages clarified, amenities thoughtfully positioned. This is the paradox of successful airport architecture; its highest achievement is becoming nearly invisible, allowing travel itself to take center stage.

Syracuse Hancock offers a compelling model for America's aging regional airports: not demolition and replacement, but strategic renovation building upon existing assets while addressing contemporary needs. In an era of limited resources, this evolutionary approach represents a sustainable vision for airport...

I had a 639PM flight booked with Frontier at this airport. I book with a third party for work travel and regardless of having my confirmation number via text, email and on the app I was told that I had no flight. Prior to arriving at the airport, i took my prescribed sleeping medication, like I always do, in order to sleep on my flight after my work day. The woman working at the Frontier gate accused me of being intoxicated. I had had nothing to drink, because I do not drink anymore, and I had worked 8AM-4PM and drove from Ithaca to Syracuse to catch this flight. She specifically told me I needed to drink water and sit down and when I asked why she told me it was because I was intoxicated. I replied that I wasn’t, extremely confused. She then said I had to be on something and I told her I had taken my sleeping medication prior to arriving at the airport in order to sleep on the plane. When they told me there was nothing they could do for me regarding my 639PM flight I replied that I would go to the United counter to try and catch their 6:58PM flight. No one was at the counter so I went back through security upon showing them my flight confirmation via email. I then tried to book Frontier’s 8:30 PM flight but the page wouldn’t load and I ended up falling asleep 2-3 tomes due to my medication. When i went back up to the counter around 8:15PM asking the other woman at the counter to book it for me she thought I asked if she booked the flight for me, instead of asking if she could. Then both women called security on me and I was removed from the gate area. I told the officer what happened and he was very understanding and showed me where I could sleep. He also later checked on me and asked if I was able to book a flight for the next morning. I did book a flight with another airline for the next morning at 6:15AM. Needless to say, I will never fly with Frontier ever again and these women should be fired for accusing me of being drunk or on drugs. Many people take prescribed medication before flights to sleep or reduce anxiety. This is not uncommon. And there is nothing wrong with doing so as long as it’s prescribed to you by a doctor and you can prove it. The officer even asked why I didn't know my medication to the women and I replied that I was never asked and offered to show him. He replied that he didn’t beed to see it. These women should be fired for...