The J.D. Power 2022 North America Airport Satisfaction Study, released Wednesday, shows overall satisfaction down 25 points on a 1,000 point scale from the 2021 score. Newark Liberty International Airport had the worst score among mega-airports.
U.S. passenger volume is nearing pre-pandemic levels. On Sunday, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration screened 2,371,992 passengers at airport checkpoints. That figure is 94% of the same weekday in 2019.
But as that survey progressed into 2021, and the third and fourth waves of the study, traveler satisfaction steadily declined as passenger volume crept back up.It was based on more than 26,500 surveys from US or Canadian residents who traveled through at least one US or Canadian airport during the past 30 days. Travelers evaluated either a departing or arriving airport from their round-trip journey.
Among the mega-airports evaluated in the study -- those airports with 33 million or more passengers per year -- Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport ranks highest in customer satisfaction with a score of 800 out of 1,000. San Francisco International Airport and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport were also among the top airports in the satisfaction study.
Newark's $2.7 billion Terminal A overhaul is expected to open later this year, and there are big plans to improve the food, beverage and retail offerings in the new terminal.