I've flown out of St. Louis Lambert International Airport many, many times over the years. I…read moretypically fly out of Terminal 2 since that's where Southwest is based, so that's the terminal I'm most familiar with.
This airport can be VERY hit or miss when it comes to security. Sometimes you can get through in the blink of an eye, and other times you're waiting close to 45 minutes and starting to worry that you're going to miss your flight. I think a lot of it depends on what's happening in St. Louis--whether there's a big conference, spring break, a holiday, etc.--and I'm not sure the staffing always adjusts accordingly. Because of that, I always recommend checking the security wait times before you leave so you have an idea of how much extra time you need.
Once you actually get through security, the airport is pretty easy to navigate. It's not a massive terminal, and you're generally at your gate fairly quickly. There can still be quite a bit of walking, though. One of my biggest annoyances is arriving late at night when there are barely any other planes coming or going, but your plane happens to be at something like Gate E40. Then you have to walk ALL the way down to E13 to exit when all the gates in between are completely empty. Why?!
Finding the elevators, escalators, and baggage claim is pretty straightforward, and there are several food and drink options available. I personally don't usually eat or drink at the airport because I'm typically flying for vacation and like to eat at home before I leave.
Drop-off is generally easy, but pickup is a little more of a hot mess. There seems to be one extreme or the other. They used to have security officers down there who would wave you along if you waited for even 10 seconds. Now, I've seen people park, load up their car, go inside to use the restroom, and come back out before leaving. There doesn't seem to be much middle ground.
Because of that, if I don't have checked bags, I usually have my mom pick us up from the departures level instead of arrivals. It's just easier and less stressful.
Overall, Lambert is a pretty easy airport to navigate. It gets you where you need to go without being overwhelmingly large, and I've only experienced a few major delays there. Usually, when something has gone wrong, it hasn't really been the airport's fault--it's been an issue with the airline, the aircraft, or something else outside of the airport's control.
It may not be the fanciest airport around, but after flying out of here so many times, I know my way around and generally find it easy to get in, get through, and get on my way.
