Traveling by air over the holidays? You might want to check out this new report [2] on the nation’s healthiest, and least healthy, airports. As a vegetarian, you may rearrange your trips to make sure your layover airports have choices for you.
Holiday travelers with layovers in Detroit, San Francisco, Phoenix, and other busy hubs will easily find healthful, cholesterol-free vegetarian meals, according to a new report. The 2009 Airport Food Review [2], just released by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), also found that all three airports serving the nation’s capital—Dulles International, Washington National, and Baltimore/Washington International—are among the lowest-ranking airports for healthful options.
Of course, all of my DC hometown airports would rank the lowest. (At least I have the option to fill up with breakfast, lunch or dinner at home before my flight…)
The rankings were made by assigning one point for each restaurant that had at least one low-fat, cholesterol-free vegetarian entree. The “score” was derived by taking the total number of restaurants serving one of the low-fat, cholesterol-free vegetarian entrees by the total number of restaurants.
After spending several hours in the Vegas airport, I can personally vouch that they deserve the ranking of dead last on this list.
| Airport | Score | Healthful Restaurants/ Total Restaurants |
| 1. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport | 100% | 54/54 |
| 2. San Francisco International Airport | 94% | 60/64 |
| 3. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport | 87% | 54/62 |
| 4. Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport | 86% | 49/57 |
| 5. Newark Liberty International Airport | 85% | 58/68 |
| 6. (tie) Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport | 83% | 50/60 |
| 6. (tie) Orlando International Airport | 83% | 39/47 |
| 7. (tie) Denver International Airport | 80% | 45/56 |
| 7. (tie) Los Angeles International Airport | 80% | 45/56 |
| 8. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport | 77% | 75/97 |
| 9. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport | 76% | 65/86 |
| 10. Miami International Airport | 72% | 28/39 |
| 11. Baltimore/Washington International Airport | 71% | 27/38 |
| 12. Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport | 70% | 23/33 |
| 13. (tie) Chicago O’Hare International Airport | 68% | 64/94 |
| 13. (tie) Washington Dulles International Airport | 68% | 23/34 |
| 14. Las Vegas McCarran International Airport | 66% | 38/58 |