Are travelers more satisfied with MIA and FLL? National survey ranks airports

Travelers like Miami International Airport better than a year ago, according to a respected survey measuring passenger satisfaction.

J.D. Power’s 2025 North America Airport Satisfaction Study ranked MIA 8th of 20 airports in the mega airport category, said the survey, released on Wednesday. That’s an improvement over last year when the county-run airport tied for 10th place with Boston’s Logan International Airport.

MIA got back to scoring above average after falling below average last year.

“Respondents were significantly more satisfied with MIA this year,” Michael Taylor, managing director of travel, hospitality and retail at J.D. Power, said in an interview with the Miami Herald.

J.D. Power, the global consumer insight and advisory firm, divided North American airports into three categories — mega, large and medium — and ranked them. The survey measured traveler satisfaction based on seven factors: ease of travel;level of trust; terminal facilities; staff; departure experience; arrival experience; and food, beverage and retail.

Improvement at MIA and FLL airports in South Florida

“MIA went up in every dimension we measured,” Taylor said, noting that the airport notched the biggest improvement in food, beverage and retail.

Ease of travel and level of trust improved, too, he said.

Mega airports are defined as those with 33 million or more passengers a year; large airports, 10 million to 32.9 million travelers; and medium airports, 4.5 million to 9.9 million.

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport ranked 11th in the same mega category. That’s a decline from last year’s ninth place finish, when it beat MIA.

But FLL’s score in the new survey actually went up compared to last, Taylor said, along with most other airports.

MIA has faced criticism in recent years for broken elevators, moving walkways that don’t move and antiquated restrooms.

But the airport is in the middle of a massive $9 billion modernization effort that includes fixing or replacing hundreds of escalators, elevators and walkways. And as of August, 94% of them are working, up from 80% a little over one year ago. It’s also renovating restrooms.

J.D. Power’s Taylor says travelers are noticing, even if the upgrades are years away from completion.

“These are the little things that signal the airport cares about passengers,” he said. “They are fixing things that are annoying.”

That also helped MIA score higher on ease of travel and level of trust.

Orlando International, the other Florida airport in the mega division, beat MIA and FLL in ranking seventh.

Across airports throughout the state, Tampa International won bragging rights again. In the large airport category, Tampa placed second among 27. Even after having to shut down twice last year, for Hurricanes Helene and Milton, it had the highest numerical score among all Florida airports.

Some out-of state-airports it crushed in the satisfaction survey include New York’s La Guardia, which ranked 18th, and Texas’ Austin-Bergstrom, which was 16th.

National findings among airports

The 2025 rankings are based on 30,439 surveys from U.S. or Canadian travelers who went through at least one U.S. or Canadian airport in the past 30 days. Passengers evaluated either a departing or arriving airport from their round-trip experience. The study was done from July 2024 through July 2025.

This year’s survey, in its 20th year, found that airports across the country had done a good job handing high volumes of travelers and that overall traveler satisfaction had increased.

A big part of why was “recently completed improvements in many airport facilities themselves,” Taylor said. “A few big capital improvement projects have now been completed and many more are underway or about to break ground.”

He also cited a longtime effort among airports to bring a “unique, local flavor” to food, beverage and retail.

Overall satisfaction increased by 8 points for mega airports, 15 points for large airports and 10 points for medium airports.

Best and worst airports

The winners and losers in each category:

MEGA

Best: Minneapolis-Saint Paul

Worst: Newark Liberty

LARGE

Best: John Wayne, Orange County, Calif.

Worst: Philadelphia International

MEDIUM

Best: Indianapolis International

Worst: Edmonton International

This story was originally published September 17, 2025 at 5:50 AM.