Article courtesy of TravelPulse by Northstar.
Travelers are reporting growing satisfaction with the air travel experience when it comes to airports, according to the J.D. Power 2025 North America Airport Satisfaction Study.
Overall passenger satisfaction scores are up a considerable 10 points (on a 1,000-point scale) this year, with a couple of key factors influencing travelers' improved state of mind.
What's Driving Airport Satisfaction?
Enhanced food, beverage and retail offerings in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and ease of travel through the airport, assisted by significant TSA policy changes and programs such as "Families on the Fly," are playing key roles in this positive trend even as passengers take to the skies in record numbers and combat tricky airfares and nagging delays in some cases.
The study, now in its 20th year, measures overall passenger satisfaction with mega (33 million or more passengers per year), large (10 to 32.9 million passengers per year) and medium (4.5 to 9.9 million passengers per year) North American airports by analyzing passengers' experiences across seven core dimensions, including (in order of importance) ease of travel through airport; level of trust with airport; terminal facilities; airport staff; departure/to airport experience; food, beverage and retail; and arrival/from airport experience.
This year's J.D. Power study is based on more than 30,400 surveys of U.S. or Canadian residents who traveled through at least one U.S. or Canadian airport within the past 30 days between July 2024 and July 2025.
"While the annual growth rate in passenger volume seems to be leveling off, we’re still seeing record numbers of travelers pass through the nation’s airports, and, for the most part, they are enjoying the experience," Michael Taylor, managing director of travel, hospitality and retail at J.D. Power, said in a statement.
Mega airports saw a satisfaction increase of 8 points, while medium airports rose 10 points and large airports reported the largest increase at 15 points.
"A big part of this recent increase in passenger satisfaction is due to recently completed improvements in many airport facilities themselves," says Taylor. "A few big capital improvement projects have now been completed and many more are underway or about to break ground."
J.D. Power scores for food, beverage and retail programs improved 14 points year over year across all airport segments and airports are being rewarded for recent efforts to incorporate authentic local food and beverage brands into their terminal offerings. J.D. Power found that when airports create a genuine sense of location, overall satisfaction scores improve by 190 points on average.
"A decades-long trend of bringing unique, local flavor to the passenger experience has positively impacted the airport experience, with these local touches having a major influence on passenger satisfaction," added Taylor.
Top Performing Airports for 2025
Despite changes in air travel satisfaction, the same airports are leading the way.
Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport continues to impress travelers, ranking highest in passenger satisfaction among mega airports for a second straight year with a score of 660 (on a 1,000-point scale).
Meanwhile, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (649) ranks second, with Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (634) rounding out the top three mega hubs.
When it comes to the most satisfying large airports in North America, Southern California's John Wayne Airport also secures the top spot for a second consecutive year, receiving a score of 730. Tampa International Airport (709) ranks second and Dallas Love Field (705) ranks third.
Indianapolis International Airport (713) ranks highest among medium airports for a fourth straight year, according to J.D. Power. California's Ontario International Airport (709) ranks second and Buffalo Niagara International Airport (698) ranks third among this group.
Looking Ahead to 2026
It's undeniable that the airport experience is getting better as we head into the hectic holiday season, but these travel hubs still have plenty of room for improvement.
According to J.D. Power, only 11 percent of passengers rated their experience as "perfect."
However, like with anything, any future improvements will be tied to value since those passengers who rated their airport experience as “perfect” spent an average of $42.39 in the terminal, $16.54 more than passengers who rated their airport experience as “just OK.”
As security screening gets less complicated and airports offer more in the way of food, beverage and retail, satisfaction improvements will likely hinge on the economic climate.
