Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport ranks below average among the largest airports in a new North American airport satisfaction study released Wednesday by J.D. Power.
In the “mega airports” category, the Atlanta airport came in at 17th out of 20 airports ranked. It is ahead of only Chicago O’Hare, Toronto Pearson and Newark Liberty airports.
One key factor: Some travelers don’t like crowds, according to the J.D. Power study, and Hartsfield-Jackson is the world’s busiest airport.
The average score of airports perceived as “not at all crowded” was 736. “That score plummets to 429 when terminals are perceived to be ‘severely crowded,’' according to J.D. Power.
In the study, Hartsfield-Jackson got a score of 574 out of 1,000 points, putting it below the average of 595 in the mega airports category.
“There’s a lot of overcrowding in Atlanta,” said Michael Taylor, J.D. Power’s managing director of travel, hospitality and retail. “It’s like Mardi Gras every day in there.
“This is a problem the airport wants to have, is too many people. But it makes it really difficult to navigate the airport,” he said.
Hartsfield-Jackson handled 104.7 million passengers in 2023, more than any other airport in the world. It saw a 3.6% decline in passenger traffic in July amid Delta Air Lines’ mass flight cancellations after the CrowdStrike outage, but the Atlanta airport is still on track for a year-over-year increase in passengers in 2024.
The airport is also in the midst of a multibillion-dollar modernization, called ATLNext, aimed at relieving some congestion issues. Included in the projects is an expansion of Concourse D, the airport’s narrowest, new parking decks and terminal renovations.
Credit: Source: Hartsfield-Jackson
Credit: Source: Hartsfield-Jackson
Ranking at the top of the mega airports category — defined as airports with 33 million or more passengers a year — was Minneapolis-St. Paul International with a score of 671. Minneapolis-St. Paul, like Atlanta, is a Delta hub.
The highest ranking airport in the large airport category, with 10 million to 32.9 million passengers a year, was John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California. And among medium-sized airports with 4.5 million to 9.9 million passengers a year, Indianapolis International ranked highest.
Local flair can help airports score better in the study. Airports that “celebrate the region” with restaurants, stores, signs and decor perform better, according to J.D. Power. About 70% of passengers said they believe their airports reflects “a genuine sense” of the city or region.
The J.D. Power airport satisfaction study was done differently in 2024 than previous years, so scores are not comparable to past years. The 2024 study examines ease of travel through airports; level of trust with airports; terminal facilities; airport staff; departure/to airport experience; food, beverage and retail; and arrival/from airport experience.
The study was based on 26,290 completed surveys August 2023-July 2024 from U.S. or Canadian residents who traveled during the past 30 days.
J.D. Power North America Airport Satisfaction study
Customer satisfaction index ranking based on a 1,000-point scale
Mega Airports category
Minneapolis-St. Paul International, 671
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County, 643
Phoenix Sky Harbor International, 633
New York’s John F. Kennedy International, 628
Dallas/Fort Worth International, 623
Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International, 611
San Francisco International, 611
Orlando International, 596
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International, 593
Boston Logan International, 591
Miami International, 591
Denver International, 588
Los Angeles International, 588
George Bush Intercontinental, 586
Charlotte Douglas International, 585
Seattle-Tacoma International, 575
Hartsfield-Jackson International, 574
Chicago O’Hare International, 569
Toronto Pearson International, 559
Newark Liberty International, 552
Source: J.D. Power 2024 North American Airport Satisfaction Study
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