The Best and Worst Airports in North America

Caroline Morse Teel is the Managing Editor for SmarterTravel Media. Follow her on Instagram @TravelWithCaroline.

Caroline joined Boston-based SmarterTravel in 2011 after living in Ireland, London, and Manhattan. She's traveled to all seven continents, jumped out of planes, and bungeed off bridges in the pursuit of a good story. She loves exploring off-the-beaten path destinations, anything outdoorsy, and all things adventure.

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If you fly often enough, you have at least one airport on your list of places to avoid at all costs. A good airport can make your trip a breeze by making it easy to get to your connection, offering tasty restaurant options, and giving you a clean and comfortable place to rest before your flight. A bad airport can stress you out with crowds, dirty facilities, and poor dining options.

J.D. Power just released its Annual North America Airport Satisfaction Study to find the best and worst airports to fly through. The study surveyed passengers on six factors:

Terminal facilities
Airport arrival/departure
Baggage claim
Security check
Check-in/Baggage check
Food, beverage, and retail

For the survey, airports were broken down into three categories: Mega airports (33 million or more passengers per year), large airports (10 to 32.9 million passengers per year), and medium airports (4.5 to 9.9 million passengers per year.

Flyers’ overall satisfaction with the airport experience increased slightly this year compared to 2022. “It has not been an easy year for North American airports, but major capital improvements they’ve made over the last several years and new investments in getting food, beverage and retail operations back up and running at full capacity have helped them manage the crush of passengers,” said Michael Taylor, managing director of travel, hospitality and retail at J.D. Power.

Next time you fly, you might want to consider avoiding the lowest-ranked airports if you can.

Blurry images of people walking through a large central airport terminal — chungking | Adobe Stock

The Worst Mega Airports

Newark Liberty International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
Boston Logan International Airport

The Worst Large Airports

Philadelphia International Airport
Honolulu International Airport
Montreal-Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport
Oakland International Airport
San Diego International Airport

The Worst Medium Airports

Kahului Airport
Hollywood Burbank Airport
Bradley International Airport
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
Eppley Airfield

Empty airport terminal with large window — indukas | Adobe Stock

For an easier trip, try to plan your travels to take you through one of these top-rated airports.

The Best Mega Airports

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport
Harry Reid International Airport
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
Miami International Airport

The Best Large Airports

Tampa International Airport
John Wayne Airport, Orange County
Salt Lake International Airport
Raleigh Durham-International Airport
Sacramento International Airport

The Best Medium Airports

Indianapolis International Airport
Southwest Florida International Airport
Ontario International Airport
Palm Beach International Airport
Albuquerque International Airport

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