How to Travel Between Terminals A and F at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)

Last Updated: May 17, 2021

If you have a connecting flight inside of Philadelphia International Airport's Terminal A when your flight came into terminal F (or vice-versa), you may find that the approximate fifteen-minute^{[1]
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Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Using the Shuttle (Preferred by Airport Agents)

1
Arrive at either of the two Terminals - A (East or West) or F. Get through the TSA checkpoints or arrive via your original connecting flight, depending on where you are coming from originally.
- Terminal A contains long-range flights (international and coast-to-coast flights) containing big jumbo-jets. In contrast, Terminal F contains shorter more-regional (American Eagle) flights that don't last very long and aren't very big. There's still an occasional US Airways plane that is still on-site that won't leave, and some older paint schemed American planes still have the US Airways logo to some minimal locations departing Terminal F.
2
Locate both ends of the shuttle stop on the map. The connection point for Terminal A's shuttle is just east of the A-East - between A-East and B just to the west of the American Credit Union/UPS Store/Minute Suite Travelex Currency Exchange station along the main interior walkway connecting all of the terminals. At Terminal F, you'll find that you'll have to walk outside the doors near the "mall" section connecting the two separately-directed gates.

Please Consider This: Getting the free American Airlines app and free AAdvantage account and turning on real-time location tracking will allow you to see your position on the Terminal apps available inside the app for any airport they have - Philadelphia International is listed - and will "get you to these locations."

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3
Walk to one of these entrances. However, the shuttle entrance is easily accessible from two points. You may need to walk down the main corridor, not exiting out to the unticketed side at any point, then taking the escalator down (Terminal A location) or opening the doors and walking in (Terminal F location).
- If you need help getting down the shuttle entrance near Terminal A and have handicapped accessibility issues, ask a terminal attendant, and they should be able to help assist you in the best way possible. Sometimes, a golfcart-like vehicle travels the airport to pick up and drop-off disabled passengers on the ticketed side on an on-call basis if directed by airline employees.
- Passengers at the farthest end of Terminal A-West (terminals A17-A26, may want to consider alternate forms of movement to propel them to the shuttle stop closest to them
4
Find out what time the shuttle leaves. Although shuttles leave about every 20 minutes from each location, if there's bad weather in the area, this may either be increased to every 30 minutes or canceled until the bad weather passes - leaving you with walking between the terminals.
- American Airlines representatives (this is a regional hub airport for them) may be approached for schedule times and might know where the shuttle is when you are at a gate inside one of these terminals.
5
Exit out the door. It might be guarded with an American Airlines associate, but talking with them about how you have to board a flight in the opposite terminal may be your only hope, and they will be more than happy to let you out once it arrives or is very close to arriving.
- Latecomers will often be denied exit until the next shuttle bus arrives - making some other passengers late to their connecting flight.
6
Get on the bus. Assuming the bus-doors are open, exit into the back entrance with your carry-ons and personal belongings. Although this shuttle is often not too packed and you may be able to keep your carry-ons next to you on the floor, sometimes the shuttle driver may ask that you move your belongings to a specially-designed area at the back of the "van."
- There are a few seats, but the majority of the space is standing room spots, and unless there aren't many people, you may be forced to stand.
- The bus stands a few inches off the ground, but explaining the problems to the driver, for those handicapped, you may end up showing them you need help from them (or the bus) to get on.
7
Let the shuttle take you to the opposite terminal. Although you'll pass underneath terminals B, C, D, and E on your way to F or A, the ride isn't too fabulous but gets you where you need to go quicker than walking. It contains less bumpiness than most people assume, but it may make some passengers rather annoyed because it travels "too close for comfort" near the other terminals. Approximate travel time is about five minutes but could take longer if bad weather (snow, rain, lightning) is encountered.^{[2]
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8
Wait for the shuttle to come to a complete halt. The shuttle driver may mention that they are approaching the opposite terminal, and you should prepare to disembark at that time.
9
Get out of the shuttle - taking your belongings with you and walk towards the doors which should be in front of you.
10
Prepare to open the door. Sometimes there might be an airline associate opening the door, but that won't happen too often at the exit point if there aren't very many on the shuttle to begin with.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Walking the Route (Not Preferred and Longer)

1
Realize that there are so many differences between each of the terminals that it would be hard to describe the entry from-and-to each terminal. A path connects each terminal, but other differences are described in this article as necessary.
- This article's details are written as taken from Terminal F to Terminal A - seems to be the easiest route and most beneficial. For those coming from Terminal A, you might want to read the description from bottom to top and reverse directions left with right and right with left.
2
Find your gate at Philadelphia International Airport. For those in gates F24 and F26-F39, your gates form a part of the revised-L formation where you need to walk down the main walkway and take a right out of the mall-like plaza. For those not in any of those, take a right and make your way towards Baggage Claim (since all these gates are on the same side).
- Don't walk past the TSA exit to Baggage Claim, though. You are not exiting out to Baggage Claim to get to Terminal A, and you must follow directions here to a T. You are only to walk the direction of the Baggage Claim signs. The walkway path you need is still on the Gates side of the TSA, and you will need a ticket to get there.
- The mall-like plaza contains a conference room, a coat, and luggage room (for temporary storage), a workroom, a bar, and a set of bathrooms.
3
Travel up the escalators or stairs as you near the main concourse walkway connecting the gates. If you need help traversing the stairs, ask a gate-attendant for help at the first available gate near this escalator or near gate F1, F3, F5 (gates along this route are labeled in odd-numbered increments).
- The map on the American Airlines app looks a bit confusing in this respect. Escalators aren't marked in the app but only exist in Terminal F near the exit onto the main walkway concourse. Terminal F sits lower into the ground than other terminals, though viewing it from afar looks deceiving. If there are no escalators/stairs, things do change regularly, and they might have been removed with other forms of transport to get you to the main concourse walkway.
4
Take a left and walk down the walkway between Terminals. You will find it long between terminals F and E, but the path is relatively straightforward.
5
Veer around the corner of the TSA at Terminal E and continue walking the concourse. Walk in the direction of Hudson News.
6
Watch for changing patterns near Terminal D. Take a left into terminal D and walk in the direction of D1 and D2. Terminal D now terminates the long, continual walkway, but you can take the revised pattern and continue on the walking concourse.
7
Find the pathway picking up again just before D1 and D2. You'll need to take a right to walk back onto the pathway. If you walk down the pathway leading towards the United Club location (or could be marked on signage now), you should be going in the right direction. The main concept is walking in the direction of Terminals A-C as marked on signage, and you must follow these signs.
- For those walking from Terminal A-East or A-West, you'll want to look for the path leading to gates D-F by reading signs and following the arrows.
8
Be careful of "Bud and Marilyns." Bud and Marilyn's will be on your left, and you'll need to take this walk just past it and take the short left, then nose-dive back onto the pathway and to the right, being careful not to exit out of Terminal C's TSA exit. Travel in the direction of "Time to Fly" or "Brooks Brothers" as designated by the signs on each shop along the concourse.
- You will find your first charging station (if necessary) right outside of Brooks Brothers and Tumi with another one near Soma and the all-caps Mac.
9
Be careful as you reach Terminal B. Walk past the TSA exit to Terminal B but take a right then an immediate left following signage to Terminal A. If you can spot the restrooms, you'll be in the right area on the concourse. (This is the most confusing area of this airport's Terminal B along the concourse walkway.)
10
Learn about the setup of Terminal A. Terminal is split into two sides. A-East and A-West. Gates A3, A7, and A9 will start the A-East terminal continuing with A2, A4, A6, A8, A10, A12, A13, and A11, continuing this pattern to the termination point. There are several gates along the concourse route with A14-A17, picking up with A18-A26 inside A-West. You must walk around several obstacles taking right and left turns (some gates you have to travel around International departures and Customs gate agent desks), and you'll want to be aware of their area.
11
Walk past the shuttle stop as you near Terminal A. If you have a gate in A-East, it's a straight path after taking the first left in Terminal A (past the shuttle entrance). Still, if you have a gate in A-West, although it's a bit curvy at first, it has another slightly larger nub at the end that seems to curve into a slight V-shape, and to get to a few gates (A24 in particular), you'll need to turn right and walk towards that boarding gate. Most other A gates are self-explanatory, with those few A14-A17 existing along the main pathway.

Warning: If you choose to walk the entire route (and have time), make sure to download the American Airlines app and create (or log into) your AAdvantage account so you can access the airport map, as there are many tricky spots along the route.