How satisfied are travelers with the Miami and FLL airports? There are some issues
How satisfied are you with Miami International Airport?
A well-known travel survey put MIA about in the middle of major airports across the country, as traveler complaints started catching up with massive growth.
In J.D. Power’s 2024 North America Airport Satisfaction Study, MIA ranked slightly below average and tied for 10th with Boston’s Logan Airport out of the 20 airports in the mega airport group, according to the survey released on Wednesday. Miami International came in just behind regional competitor Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
J.D. Power, the global consumer insight and advisory firm, divided airports into three categories — mega, large and medium — and ranked them. The survey measured traveler satisfaction based on seven factors: ease of travel through an airport; level of trust with an airport; terminal facilities; airport staff; departure experience; food, beverage and retail; and arrival experience.
Mega airports handle 33 million or more passengers each year. Large airports have 10 million to 32.9 million passengers. Medium airports handle 4.5 million to 9.9 million passengers.
FLL in Broward County finished ninth in the mega group. Palm Beach International finished in seventh place in the medium airport category.
Elsewhere in the Sunshine State, Tampa International Airport took second place in the large airports group. Among medium airports, Jacksonville finished second and Southwest Florida International Airport near Fort Myers ranked third.
Orlando took eighth place in the mega category, the second Florida airport in that division to outscore MIA. Florida was the only state with three airports in the mega category.
Issues at Miami International Airport
What’s responsible for MIA’s less than stellar ranking?
“What’s slowing them down is a problem that every airport wants to have: too many passengers,” said Michael Taylor, senior managing director of travel, hospitality, retail and customer service for J.D. Power. “It’s almost impossible to have satisfaction go up with the increases they have had,”
Last year, Miami International served about 52 million passengers, a record for a second-straight year. It continues to grow as a global hub.
Aeromexico will start non-stop flights between MIA and Cancun on Dec. 19, American Airlines is adding daily service to Rome next year. And British Airways recently said it would double the number of daily flights between Miami and London.
But with growth come growing pains.
Passengers have complained about broken elevators, escalators and out of order restrooms. Last September, Skytrain shut down. The system, which provides an alternative to long walks in Concourse D, American Airlines’ home, is not yet completely up and running.
National findings among airports
The J.D. Power survey found that nationwide, airports had successfully handled high volumes of travelers.
“Despite record numbers of passengers and widespread cancellations and delays, 60% of North American airport passengers say they ‘somewhat agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ that they enjoyed spending time in their airport,” the report said. “Another 59% said they agree their airport helped to alleviate the stress of travel.”
Yet the rankings found that rising costs at airports “may finally be reaching a breaking point.” In past years, higher costs didn’t affect passengers’ overall satisfaction. But this year, passengers on average spent $3.53 per person less than they did in 2023 on food, beverages and other items in the terminal. That drop was even greater at large airports, where it averaged $6.31, the survey found.
Other notable airports that fared better in passenger satisfaction than MIA were JFK International in New York, which ranked fourth, and San Francisco International, which placed seventh. Chicago’s O’Hare was near the bottom, in 18th place.
The J.D. Power 2024 study is based on 26,290 completed surveys from U.S. or Canadian residents who traveled through at least one U.S. or Canadian airport during the past 30 days. Travelers evaluated either a departing or arriving airport from their round-trip experience.
Best and worst airports
The winners and loser in each category:
▪ Mega airports
Highest: Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport
Lowest: Newark Liberty International Airport
▪ Large airports
Highest: John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California
Lowest: Philadelphia International Airport
▪ Medium airports
Highest: Indianapolis International Airport
Lowest: Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
