The North American airports that travelers find the most – and least – satisfying

Sky-high passenger volumes. A shortage of pilots. Weather delays and cancellations. Sounds like a recipe for disgruntled air travelers. But an “amazing thing” happened at North American airports over the last year, according to a news release from consumer insights and analytics firm J.D. Power: passenger satisfaction improved. That’s the big takeaway of the J.D. Power 2023 North America Airport Satisfaction Study, which was released Wednesday. The study evaluates three airport categories – mega-airports, large airports and medium-sized airports – based on more than 27,000 traveler surveys collected from August 2022 through July 2023. The improvement is “not totally unexpected,” says Michael Taylor, managing director of travel, hospitality and retail at J.D. Power. “Crowds at the airport have leveled off for the most part, if not dropping slightly at some airports. The ‘slowing’ of crowding will have a positive effect on scores,” he told CNN Travel. Passenger volume has largely stopped rising by double digits, Taylor said. The gradual recovery of food, beverage and retail services – “more staffing, more hours” – has also had a positive effect on airports’ scores. Overall customer satisfaction with North American airports improved by 3 points this year – bringing the overall score to 780 on a 1,000-point scale. The airports were evaluated by looking at six factors, listed in order of importance: terminal facilities; airport arrival/departure; baggage claim; security check; check-in/baggage check; and food, beverage and retail. This year’s uptick in satisfaction was driven by three factors – terminal facilities; food and beverage and retail service; and baggage claim. “Terminal facilities” refers to the cleanliness, comfort and ease of navigating areas including concourses, restrooms and gates as well as the quality of Wi-Fi service. Story has details.<br/>