The Best and Worst Airports in North America

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If you fly often enough, you have at least one airport on your list of places to avoid at all costs. A good airport can make your trip a breeze by making it easy to get to your connection, offering tasty restaurant options, and giving you a clean and comfortable place to rest before your flight. A bad airport can stress you out with crowds, dirty facilities, and poor dining options.

J.D. Power just released its Annual North America Airport Satisfaction Study to find the best and worst airports to fly through. The study surveyed passengers on seven factors:

1. Ease of travel through the airport
2. Level of trust with the airport
3. Terminal facilities 
4. Airport staff
5. Departure airport experience
6. Food, beverage, and retail
7. Arrival airport experience

For the survey, airports were broken down into three categories: Mega airports (33 million or more passengers per year), large airports (10 to 32.9 million passengers per year), and medium airports (4.5 to 9.9 million passengers per year. 

Next time you fly, consider avoiding these airports, ranked the lowest for customer satisfaction. 

“The common issue with low-ranking airports are older terminal facilities that were not designed to handle the number of passengers they currently service,” Michael Taylor, managing director of travel, hospitality and retail at J.D. Power, told SmarterTravel. “Many airports that perform poorly in the J. D. Power study have physical structures that are in need of overhaul or updating… and many of those airports are either in the midst of construction projects or have massive plans that are about to begin. “

The Worst Mega Airports

1. Newark Liberty International Airport
2. Toronto Pearson International Airport 
3. O’Hare International Airport
4. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport
5. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport

The Worst Large Airports

1. Philadelphia International Airport
2. Montreal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport
3. St. Louis Lambert International Airport
4. Honolulu International Airport
5. Chicago Midway International Airport

The Worst Medium Airports

1. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
2. Pittsburgh International Airport
3. Hollywood Burbank Airport
4. Albuquerque International Sunport
5. Eppley Airfield

If you do have to fly through one of the worst airports, Taylor recommends leaving extra time. “Traveling by air is one of the few times that persons face a strict deadline and that creates stress.  Overcrowded terminals that force parkers to use lots that are farther from the terminal, have longer-than-expected wait times at TSA and have a lack of gate area space put further stress on travelers.”

For an easier trip, plan your travels to take you through one of these top-rated airports, which scored highly for passenger satisfaction. 

The Best Mega Airports

1. Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport
2. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
3. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
4. John F. Kennedy International Airport
5. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport

The Best Large Airports

1. John Wayne Airport, Orange County
2. Tampa International Airport
3. Kansas City International Airport
4. Dallas Love Field
5. Nashville International Airport

The Best Medium Airports

1. Indianapolis International Airport
2. Jacksonville International Airport
3. Southwest Florida International Airport
4. Orlando International Airport
5. Ontario International Airport

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