Miami airport falls in traveler satisfaction. Read why based on JD Power survey
Miami International Airport fell from being the best “mega airport” in the country in 2021 based on satisfying travelers, to being just above average in 2022, according to J.D. Power’s North American Airport Satisfaction Study released Wednesday.
Crowds and long lines at South Florida’s biggest airport are to blame.
“Miami is a victim of its own success, passenger volume has essentially doubled in the past year,” said Mike Taylor, managing director of travel, hospitality and retail research at J.D. Power. “Anything involving wait times, they [Miami airport] were terrible at; they were crushed there. It’s not a reflection of poor work from TSA [Transportation Security Administration] or MIA, it’s just the huge increase in passenger volume that MIA experienced in 2022.”
During the pandemic, Miami airport went from second in customer satisfaction in 2020 to the top spot among the biggest airports in 2021. That was thanks to the low passenger flow and subsequent short lines. But earlier this year, the airport had the longest average wait time in the country. And increased crowds from the surge in travel this year has caused Miami airport to slip to ninth in customer satisfaction in J.D. Power’s survey of North America’s 20 largest airports.
The influential report is based on responses from 27,000 residents of the U.S. and Canada who traveled through a North American airport within the past 30 days.
J.D. Power determined its fresh rankings based on six factors: terminal facilities; access arriving and departing; baggage claim; passenger security lines; check-in service; and food, beverage and retail offerings.
Miami airport was ranked just above the average score on a 1,000-point scale, and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport was No. 12 out of the 20 airports included in the survey’s “mega airport” category. Each of these airports handle over 33 million passengers a year.
Taylor noted Miami airport’s consistently high ranking for its terminal facilities and array of quality food, beverage and retail options as the airport’s strongest points. He also said Fort Lauderdale airport lacks in both of those categories but has plans to improve retail and infrastructure.
Overall, the survey of the biggest airports found that customer satisfaction declined at almost every airport in 2022 due to increased passenger traffic following pandemic travel disruptions and persistent labor shortages. The best-ranked mega airport in 2022 is Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, followed by San Francisco International Airport, which was the only airport where customer satisfaction improved from last year. Coming in last with the lowest customer satisfaction score was Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, slightly better than O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. The survey’s full results can be viewed here.
Miami airport and South Florida tourism traffic have roared back this year, after pandemic slowdowns and international travel bans. The airport has consistently broken its own passenger traffic records. In July, airport officials said they were on pace to expect 55 million airline passengers in 2022, which would easily surpass the airport’s previous record of 45 million air travelers in 2019.
The high passenger volume, which spikes through the winter, spring break and on holiday weekends, has prompted airport officials to recommend that travelers arrive up to 3 hours before domestic flights and 3.5 hours before international flights. Passengers can also cut their wait times — and stress levels — by applying and paying for expedited security-screening services like TSA PreCheck, Global Entry and CLEAR.
In a continued effort to shorten its passenger lines, Miami airport recently launched a pilot program enabling passengers to schedule their security screening times before going to the airport. The service, known as MIA Reserve, is only available for American Airlines passengers during the initial six-month trial.
“As MIA continues to set new records in passenger traffic, I’m proud to see that we are also exploring new ways to streamline the airport experience for our visitors,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said. “MIA Reserve has the potential to help many of our travelers get through the security checkpoint faster than ever before.”
This story was originally published September 21, 2022 at 1:13 PM.
