OHIO — J.D. Power released its North America Airport Satisfaction Study for this year, and among medium-sized airports, Ohio's didn't fare as well as others.

What You Need To Know

  • The U.S. is in the midst of a booming air travel year

  • The North America Airport Satisfaction Study analyzed 6,290 surveys between August 2023 and July 2024 from U.S. or Canadian residents who traveled through at least one U.S. or Canadian airport

  • Cleveland Hopkins ranked among the lowest of the three Ohio medium-sized airports, Cincinnati/Kentucky International ranked second and John Glenn ranked first

The U.S. is in the midst of a booming air travel year. The Transportation Security Administration reported more than 3 million passengers passed through its checkpoints on July 7 this year, setting a record for one-day passenger travel volume. 

Additionally, as travel rebounds since the pandemic, many areas are seeing increased volumes of air travel over the holidays. 

Despite the hustle and bustle of airports and crowds, this hasn't stopped people from traveling, and for the most part, many people find their travel experience satisfactory, according to the study. 

The North America Airport Satisfaction Study analyzed 6,290 surveys between August 2023 and July 2024 from Americans or Canadian residents who traveled through at least one U.S. or Canadian airport. The rankings are based on seven factors: ease of travel through the airport, airport staff, departure and arrival experience, food and beverage, and more. Each score was set out of 1,000 points.

The list was then broken down by size: mega airports, large airports and medium airports. 

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport ranked among the lowest of the three Ohio medium-sized airports, Cincinnati/Kentucky International Airport ranked second and John Glenn Columbus International Airport ranked first. However, among the entire list of medium-sized airports, these three airports fell into the bottom half.

 

Other key findings of the report include: 

  • As record passenger volumes increased, many airports were able to adjust. Around 60% of North American airport passengers said they either "somewhat agree" or "strongly agree" that they enjoyed their time in one of the airports. Around 59% said the airport helped alleviate their stress. 
  • Rising costs may have calmed down. Overall, passengers spent around $3.53 per person less than they did last year on food and other items. 
  • Crowds impacted airport scores greatly. Airports that passengers said are "not at all crowded" scored an average of 736 out of 1,000 points on the scale. However, the score tanked for airports that passengers said were "severly crowded," down to 429.

The full report can be found here.

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