Buffalo Airport (BUF) Flights & Flight Status

If you stand in just the right spot of the departures level of Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF) and look through the security area, you’re meant to feel like a captain looking backwards from the cockpit into an airplane full of people.

This easy airport, near the Canadian border in suburban Cheektowaga, has about 75 non-stop flights a day serving about 32 destinations (including connecting hubs). It attracts more than five million passengers a year, drawing from the Niagara Region of Western New York and Southern Ontario. Many inbound passengers use BUF to get to Niagara Falls. And here’s a fun fact — about 60 percent of flights take off by 8 a.m.

Airlines that service BUF

American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines all offer non-stop routes across the United States. Sun Country Airlines has seasonal flights to Minneapolis-St. Paul, while Vacation Express by Sunwing has seasonal flights to Cancun and Punta Cana.

Ground transportation at BUF

BUF has the usual array of taxis, limos and rideshare companies (Uber and Lyft). Hotel and airport parking shuttles and vans are available. Megabus will whisk you from the airport to downtown Toronto. NFTA-Metro’s bus 24-Genesee goes between the airport and downtown Buffalo. There are Canadian ground transportation options, as BUF draws from Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, Kitchener, Hamilton and more in Southern Ontario.

For Canadian travellers

“Save time, save money,” is the motto BUF uses to lure millions of Canadians each year. The airport is close to the border and Canada’s Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) highway. You don’t have to arrive at this airport three hours in advance and security is usually a breeze.

Unlike a U.S. pre-clearance airport like Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ), there’s no extra stop for customs and immigration. Parking rates are lower than at YYZ and ticket prices usually reflect the fact there are no government-imposed taxes and fees if you fly to the U.S. from this side of the border. A screen near baggage claim offers live views of three border crossings into Canada at the Peace, Rainbow and Lewiston-Queenston bridges.

Parking at BUF

The daily/hourly garage is closest to the terminal but only 500 of its 1,300 spots are covered so in winter you might want to guarantee an indoor spot for an extra prepaid, daily reservation fee. This lot has three free electric car charging stations. There are more than 6,000 spaces at preferred, long-term lot and economy parking lots, which all offer free shuttles but are still close enough to walk. If you’re waiting for passengers, the free cell phone lot is across from the airport on Buell Avenue and doubles as a park-and-ride lot.

Regulars should sign up for the frequent parker program to earn points and get rewards. BUF also offers free jump starts, help with flat tires, driving directions, locksmith referrals and service station referrals. I gas up minutes away at Speedway at Genesee Street and Holtz Drive.

Rental cars at BUF

All the usual suspects — Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise and National — can be found in a convenient building just steps from the baggage claim area. Reservations are always recommended but walk-ins are welcome. Turo, the world’s largest car-sharing marketplace, is another option.

Security

The average peak wait time here — where a Canadian flag hangs beside the U.S. flag — is 12 minutes. TSA PreCheck is available, but Canadians with Nexus must add their trusted traveller numbers when checking in so TSA PreCheck appears on boarding passes. Clear Plus is an option and there are enrollment kiosks. There’s no smoking past the checkpoint. While the airport is open 24/7, the checkpoint closes at 9 p.m., so if you leave for a smoke or walk, you won’t likely get back to the secure side until 4 a.m.

Lounges

The Club, a Priority Pass lounge just past security, is open daily from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m. It boasts drinks and refreshments and holds 196 people. You can stay for up to three hours before your flight. Non-members pay a fee to visit. As the WNY Freedom Lounge Military likes to say, “freedom isn’t free, but access to our facility is, to those who defend it.” Active military, veterans and their families can use this space and get snacks, drinks, internet, reading material, comfortable seating and a TV and phone.

Services and amenities

A Buffalo AKG Art Museum kiosk hopes to inspire people to visit the city’s cultural district. It sometimes offers artmaking activities and hangs prints at washroom entrances. A new Reflection Room is for those wanting space to meditate, pray or take a sensory break. Watch for Paws for Love therapy dogs making the rounds of the terminal. Pet relief areas are playfully billed as “The #1 Choice for Your Pet’s #2 Needs.”

Fisher-Price, headquartered in nearby East Aurora, has created three play areas. Kids can have fun with oversized versions of the toy company’s iconic Chatter Telephone and Rock-A-Stack rings, and commune with Thomas the Tank Engine. I like to chill out on one of the wooden rocking chairs, usually from Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, that line the halls between gates.

BUF doesn’t have currency exchanges. Two Video Relay Service (VRS) units let American Sign Language users communicate with voice telephone users through video equipment. Electric carts that ferry passengers to the gates sport bicycle bells instead of annoying beeps. Be aware there are two meet-and-greet areas. The east side one is for passengers getting off Delta, JetBlue, Southwest and United flights. The west side one is for American and Frontier. Volunteer ambassadors who staff the information desk near the baggage claim area a wealth of information.

Food, Drink and Retail

Buffalo’s Anchor Bar, which invented chicken wings in 1964, has a restaurant here where it also sells bottles of its signature sauce. In a nod to both Canada and hockey, the Blue Zone features Labatt’s beers. Queen City Kitchen sells sponge candy from Fowler’s (a local chocolate shop) and buffalo plush toys, while the Market on Elmwood specializes in sandwiches. A food court has Bocce Club Pizza, BurgerFi and Canadian coffee/donut chain Tim Hortons. The Coffee Beanery is nearby with espresso options.

Two JetSet Market branches serve as convenience stores and newsstands. Frivolous is a fun shop that sells gifts that you wouldn’t expect from an airport, like Blue Q socks with cheeky sayings. Before security, the Strive Market space has vending machines full of microwavable meals, snacks and drinks but is expanding.

Architecture and Design

When viewed from the air, the terminal looks like a giant aircraft poised for flight. Opened in 1997, the airport design is a nod to the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright and the importance of aviation and flight to the region. The lead member of the design team, New York’s Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, created the crystalline structure to symbolize flight. Some 27,000 square feet of glass dominate the wide lobby with its soaring ceiling and arching walls.

Portland artist and sculptor Robert E. Calvo created a 13,000-square-foot artwork on the terminal floor with multicolored terrazzo tiles depicting the region’s geological and sociological history. The woven pattern in the centre of the design serves as a metaphor for the region. But tougher security since the September 11 attacks have changed the space and make it hard to actually see the floor, so look for large explanatory tiles on the wall before security.

Hotels

A cluster of about 10 hotels has sprung up directly across from BUF and there are more nearby. They’re popular with Canadians and while parking is free the night you stay, there is a reasonable cost for extended parking. My favourite is Aloft Buffalo Airport, a music-inspired, design-forward Marriott brand with its W XYZ bar and lounge area. There’s a 24-hour gym, indoor splash pool and free airport shuttle.

Things to do near BUF

The Walden Galleria mall is just 11 minutes away. Charlie The Butcher’s Kitchen on Wehrle Drive is even closer. I recommend getting a takeout beef on weck for your flight. Buffalo’s signature sandwich pairs slow-roasted, freshly carved beef with a kummelweck roll studded with caraway seeds and coarse salt and dipped in warm au jus. If your flight is delayed, take the walkway through the airport parking lots to Genesee Avenue for Starbucks, McDonald’s and Pizza Hut.

Only at BUF

How many airports have barbershops? Egypt-born Hamdi Ismail has been cutting hair and trimming beards at Hamdi’s Barber Shop for two decades. Loyal customers come from across the region (getting free parking) but walk-ins can occasionally be accommodated. Open Monday to Saturday, Hamdi’s is on the departures level near the administrative offices. Just past security, a silver plaque marks a time capsule waiting to be opened in 2026 that contains memorabilia from the airport’s 1926 founding through its 50th anniversary in 1976.