J.D. Power released its annual North America Airport Satisfaction Study, which ranks large airports based on overall customer satisfaction on a 1,000-point scale. A large airport is defined as having 10 million to 32.9 million passengers per year.
The study is based on 27,147 completed surveys from U.S. and Canadian residents, fielded between August 2022 and July 2023. It measured overall traveler satisfaction with large North American airports by evaluating six factors:
- Airport accessibility (getting to the airport/leaving the airport)
- Check-in/baggage check (as applicable)
- Security check
- Food, beverage and retail
- Terminal facilities (concourses, lounges, signage, restrooms and gate areas)
- Baggage claim (as applicable)
No. 1 large airport in North America: Tampa International Airport
For the second year in a row, Tampa International Airport is the best large airport in North America based on customer satisfaction with a score of 832/1,000.
In 2021, CN Traveler ranked the airport in the top 10 in America and in 2020, Airports Council International named it the best airport in North America for its size, according to the airport's website.
The Florida airport services more than 90 nonstop destinations across multiple airlines, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue and others.
10 best large airports in North America, 2023
- Tampa International Airport (TPA)
- John Wayne Airport, Orange County (SNA)
- Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
- Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL)
- Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU)
- Sacramento International Airport (SMF)
- William P. Hobby Airport (HOU)
- Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY)
- San Antonio International Airport (SAT)
- Calgary International Airport (YYC)
The John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, ranked as the second-best large airport in the U.S. with a score of 829/1,000. The California airport was renamed in 1979 in honor of the actor John Wayne, who lived in nearby Newport Beach and died that same year.
According to the Newport Beach government website, as of 2022, SNA handles more than 11.3 million annual passengers and approximately 130 commercial flights, not including General Aviation flights, per day.
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Salt Lake City International Airport is the third-best large airport in North America with a score of 825/1,000. For the fiscal year between July 2022 and June 2023, the Utah airport broke a passenger count record set in 2019 with 26,421,401 passengers, according to Fox13. Of those passengers, 1,085,640 were international — a 22% increase from 2019.
Salt Lake City International Airport ranked No. 1 in North America and third in the world for being on time this year, according to aviation analytics company Cirium.
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