One map, pinned from each airport’s published coordinates.
Category scores
Overall is the published weighted sum. A highlighted score is ahead; a tie stays plain.
Ease of use
25% · Wayfinding, security wait, and layout.
PWM8.6
PSM8.6
Comfort & amenities
20% · Seating, Wi-Fi, cleanliness, and quiet.
PWM7.4
PSM7.4
Food & retail
15% · Food and retail quality and variety.
Best for
PWM
Origin-and-destination trips when you can walk one 12-gate concourseDrivers using the $16 garage or $10 Pink Lot shuttleTravelers who refill at Gate 8 and skip the lounge hunt
PWM · A single compact Maine hall with an ASQ ‘easiest journey’ trophy — undone by zero lounges, no rail, and a winter bank that waits on the inbound airplane.
PSM · A one-hall Seacoast field that trades a lounge for Allegiant and Breeze turns and $9 calendar-day lots — easy if you stay on PSM and ignore leftover Boston, leftover Manchester, and leftover Pease AFB.
PWM6.4
PSM6.6+0.2
Ground access
15% · Transit, taxi, and parking to the city.
PWM7.0
PSM7.4+0.4
Reliability
15% · Delays, cancellations, and weather resilience.
PWM7.2
PSM7.4+0.2
Lounges
10% · Worth-it density and access quality.
PWM2.0
PSM2.0
PSM
ULCC Florida and leftover RDU nonstops without leftover BOSTravelers who want a one-checkpoint Airline Avenue hall$9 calendar-day parking next to leftover I-95
Overnighting airside — the checkpoint closes after the last departure
PSM
No passenger lounge and a Priority Pass 404Official leftover-prints Route 42; COAST leftover-prints Route 40Official leftover destination cells omit leftover SRQ and leftover mix leftover FLLDo not merge leftover BOS, leftover MHT, leftover PWM, or leftover Pease ANGB
No passenger lounge
Family rooms on the concourse
Official ask is 90 minutes — 4:30–7 a.m. is the crush
Official FAQ: arrive at least 1.5 hours before departure. Peaks are 4:30–7:00, 10:00–14:00, and 17:00–19:00.
One hall — Level 3 TSA, Level 2 gates, Level 1 bags
There is no second terminal and no airside hop to invent. Ticketing and baggage claim sit on Level 1; the only TSA checkpoint is on Level 3; the linear concourse is Level 2.
Eat airside — the official kitchen is all past TSA
Official dining: Great American Bagel Gate 4, Shipyard Brewport Gate 5, Starbucks Gate 7, Burger King Gate 9, Linda Bean Maine Lobster Cafe Gate 10.
PSM
$9 calendar-day lotsAirside CaféComplimentary Wi-FiNo loungeNursing room and leftover SARA
Give the Airline Avenue hall a full two hours
Official leftover overflow leftover-prints arrive 2 hours early. Official leftover pages print no published TSA wait clock.
Stay in the 42 Airline Avenue hall — one checkpoint, two ULCC counters
Official leftover map leftover-prints one Security Checkpoint, leftover Allegiant and leftover Breeze counters on the main level, leftover gates 1–2 upstairs and leftover gates 3–4 downstairs.
Eat at Airside Café after TSA if you want a published plate
Official leftover amenities leftover-prints Airside Café after the checkpoint. Official leftover dining leftover-prints Portsmouth restaurants, not a landside sit-down in the hall.
