I live in Greenville SC and Greenville-Spartanburg Airport is my home airport. I’ve departed and arrived at GSP more times than I can remember. I’ve seen the airport grow over the past decade into a great experience and after nearly 200 travel reviews, I figure it’s time to review my home airport of GSP.
In this GSP Airport guide I’ll cover the airport as a whole, when to arrive, how to get here, what to do while waiting for flights, and what amenities GSP has to offer.
Bottom Line: As a whole, I love GSP as it’s easy to use. It’s important to remember that GSP is still a small airport so it doesn’t have as much to offer as other airports. The good news is that GSP, like the Upstate of South Carolina is growing and is adding features every day.
GSP Airport Location
As the name would imply, GSP serves both Greenville and Spartanburg here in South Carolina. It’s located almost directly between the two cities off I85. This area of upstate South Carolina is just about half way between Charlotte NC and Atlanta GA.
How to Get to GSP Airport
Getting to GSP is going to involve a car. I guess you could walk, but there’s no public transportation options to GSP. In my opinion this is an issue that should be corrected, a bus service from GSP to Greenville and Spartanburg would be a very welcome addition.
Parking at GSP
If you drive your own car to GSP, there are 3 different parking options. Economy($8/day), Garage(16/day), and Valet($21/day). Valet is the closest and obviously most expensive. The garage is not far from the terminal and while cheaper than valet, is still more expensive than economy long term, but does have an hourly rate of $2/hour if you’re parking for less than one day.
The GSP long term lots are billed by the day only, no hourly rates are available. Long term 2 is closer to the terminal and is about a 5 minute walk. A shuttle bus is also available. Long term 1 and 3 are not yet open (as of Fall 2022) but also has a shuttle option, but is probably farther than you’d want to walk.
Ride Share at GSP
Ride share is easy at GSP for both pickup and drop off. From Downtown Greenville or Spartanburg the rates are about $30.
GSP Airport Rental Cars
Rental cars are available for pickup at GSP. All of the desks for the rental cars are in the A garage. They are spread on 2 different floors. There is lots of signage to direct you to the correct location.
GSP Airport Cell Phone Lot
GSP of course has a cell phone lot. There’s an arrivals board with flight information and free wi-fi.
GSP Airport Layout
The GSP airport is made up of two concourses with a head house area between them. The main land side terminal has the ticket counters on the north end of the terminal.
The south side of the terminal has baggage claim. Drop-off and pick-up are on a single level on the outside in the same order.
Upstairs is a central security checkpoint area that opens into the airside terminal. To the right is the A Concourse, left is the B Concourse.
Just after exiting the TSA checkpoint at GSP.
GSP Airport Courtyard.
Straight ahead is the outdoor courtyard. I love the GSP outdoor courtyard to relax in before a flight. It’s one of the few airside outdoor public areas in the US. It’s the perfect place to get some fresh air before a flight. I’d much rather spend 10-15 minutes here than in the gate area or even a lounge.
GSP Airport History Museum
At the bottom of the escalator to the B Concourse is a small history exhibit about the airport. It’s not huge but has some great old pictures of the history of GSP and the different airlines that have serviced the airport.
How Early to Arrive at GSP Airport
GSP is a small airport. While it may say international in the name, there are no international passenger flights from GSP. There are plenty of international cargo flights though.
Anyway, for most people 90 minutes early is plenty of arrival time for GSP. That would be worst case situation assuming you are checking a bag and have no trusted traveler options(Pre-Check or Clear) for security.
If you’re not checking a bag and already have your boarding pass 70 minutes would be enough time at GSP.
If you have Pre-Check or Clear, are not checking a bag, and already have your boarding pass, 60 minutes is plenty. I’ve been closer to 40 minutes without issue, but that would be a risk that you’d need to accept as it’s under the check-in time recommendation of the airlines and airport.
When in doubt, consult the specific airline you’ll be flying from GSP. This is especially important for checking bags. There are hard cutoff times for when luggage will be accepted.
GSP Airport Security
GSP has both Pre-Check and Clear. It makes getting through security fast and easy. However if you don’t have access to those programs, being a small airport, the regular security line is not long. At peek times, especially around when the leisure flights depart, the line can get long, but it moves quickly. While the GSP Airport doesn’t really close, the Security Checkpoint is not 24 hours. TSA at GSP opens at 4AM and closes when the last flight departs.
What Airlines Serve GSP
GSP has a pretty diverse group of airlines that service the airport. All the major legacy airlines have flights to their nearby hubs. United offers 4 destinations, IAH, EWR(Review of Flight), DEN(Review of Flight), and ORD(Review of Flight). American has the most with 5 with DCA, PHL, CLT, ORD(Review of Flight), and DFW. Delta has 3 with LGA, DTW(Review of Flight), and ATL(Review of Flight). Interestingly, Delta carries the most passengers at GSP, mostly on their flights to ATL.
Southwest also services GSP from ATL(Review of Flight), HOU, and BWI. Allegiant services SFB, FLL, and PIE.
Silver has flights to Florida with both MCO(Review of Flight) and TPA.
Contour airlines had a flight to Nashville(Review of Flight), but that has since ended.
For a small airport and area, that’s pretty decent coverage. Obviously more direct flights to new destinations would be welcome. Connections at a major hub are common with the legacy carriers. The smaller carriers are more likely to get you on a direct flight to your destination, assuming your destination is Florida or Nashville.
GSP Airport Lounges
GSP has a single airport lounge. The GSP Escape Lounge(Full review of the Lounge here) is a nice place to relax before a departure. I’ve reviewed the Escape Lounge a few times if you want more information. They are an AMEX partner lounge so access is granted with various Amex cards. It’s not a priority pass lounge.
GSP Airport Restaurants
Within GSP there are a several restaurants. Keep in mind no one makes a connection at GSP so the options are not as ample as a major hub.
There are a few different options for fast food like Qdoba and Dunkin Donuts. There also sit down options with bars like Wolfgang Pucks. There are two local brewery options too. Both RJ Rockers and Thomas Creek have outpost locations in the A and B concourse respectively.
GSP Airport Final Thoughts
The Greenville-Spartanburg airport is a great little airport. It’s easy to get into and out of and that’s the biggest reason to use a small airport like GSP. With no checked bag, Clear/Pre-Check, I can get from my car to the gate in less than 10 minutes.
GSP also has some pretty nice amenities for a small airport. The outdoor garden, the Escape Lounge, and Clear Security make GSP feel larger than it really is. That’s great for me, large airport features in a small package. The number of destinations from GSP is adequate, the newcomers to the GSP market, Silver Airways and Contour, are very welcome.
Whenever I can, I use GSP instead of driving to ATL or CLT. It’s just a pleasant experience.