Getting to the airport, through security, and to your gate can either be an easy journey or a pretty daunting task. If you travel enough, you’re already programmed to expect long wait times and crowded gates.
The experts at Travel Lens, an online travel publication, looked at the 50 busiest airports in the U.S. and ranked them based on several factors, including:
- wait times
- passenger satisfaction levels
- Google review ratings
Travel Lens used data from FAA, J.D. Power, AWT, Google Maps, and Airport Tracker to rank the airports.
The report found that the Tampa International airport in Florida had the highest score for passenger satisfaction, with a score of 846/1000.
On the other end, Newark Liberty International airport received the lowest score with 719/1000.
The top 10 best airports in the U.S.
- Southwest Florida International (RSW)
- John Wayne (SNA)
- Portland International (PDX)
- Tampa International (TPA)
- Dallas Love Field (DAL)
- Sacramento International (SMF)
- Indianapolis International (IND)
- Harry Reid International (LAS)
- Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall (BWI)
- Washington Dulles International (IAD)
Southwest Florida International takes the top spot with an airport rating of 8.06/10. The airport is located in the South Fort Myers area and has a Google review rating of 4.5/5.
According to Travel Lens, the airport isn’t the biggest in the state, but it is currently the second-busiest single-runway airport in America.
The airport that came in second place is John Wayne in Orange County, California. The John Wayne Airport is famous for its short runways and has an average wait time of around six minutes.
It scored an airport rating of 7.96/10, 826/1000 for passenger satisfaction, and an average Google review rating of 4.6.
Rounding out the top three is Portland International, which is Oregon’s largest airport. Despite having an average wait time of 12 minutes, the Portland International airport received an 803/1000 passenger satisfaction score and a 4.5/5 Google review rating.
Sign up now: Get smarter about your money and career with our weekly newsletter
Don’t miss:
Arrive extra-early at these 15 U.S. airports—up to 3 hours—if you don’t want to miss your flight
These are the top 10 safest airlines in the world for 2023—see which U.S. carrier made the list