Air travel has come back from the pandemic in a big way, despite a slowdown in 2025.
More than 10 million people passed through TSA checkpoints over the long Labor Day weekend, according to a Transportation Security Administration release, and the nearly three million travelers that Aug. 29 marked the highest volume ever for the Friday before labor Day and teh 15th busiest day in the nearly quarter century of TSA’s existence.
Amazingly, the 20th annual North American Airport Satisfaction Study from J. D. Power for 2025, released Sept. 17, shows that customer satisfaction was up 10 points on a 1,000-point scale, despite the crowds and widespread cancellations and delays. The survey revealed overall satisfaction increases of 8 points for mega airports, 10 points for medium airports and 15 points for large airports.
The lists saw some familiar names on top, with Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport scoring the highest passenger satisfaction among mega airports for the second year while John Wayne Airport, Orange County ranked highest again among large airports and Indianapolis International Airport once again took top marks among medium-sized airports.
But Florida’s airports acquitted themselves well, with Orlando International Airport moving up one place to 7th for mega airports and Miami International Airport moving into 8th. Tampa International held on to 2nd for large airports, and airports in Jacksonville, West Palm Beach and Fort Myers were all near the top for medium airports.
“While the annual growth rate in passenger volume seems to be leveling off, we’re still seeing record numbers of travelers pass through the nation’s airports, and, for the most part, they are enjoying the experience,” said Michael Taylor, managing director of travel, hospitality and retail at J.D. Power.
The study credited the increase to improvements in the dining and retail offerings and “ease of travel” through the airports, along with some larger capital improvement projects. Also, an emphasis on local color helped a lot, the study found.
“One of the bigger drivers of this year’s increase in passenger satisfaction is food, beverage and retail programs, which improved 14 points year over year across all airport segments. Airport efforts to incorporate authentic local food and beverage brands into their terminal offerings have helped to fuel that increase,” J.D. Power said.
Better experiences also translated to more spending. Passengers who rated their airport experience as “perfect” spent an average of $42.39 in the terminal, the study said. That was $16.54 more than passengers who rated their airport experience as “just OK.”
Bigger airports saw more crowding in 2025 study
Security (and long lines) is more of an issues in the big airports.
The study found that, on average, 56% of passengers traveling through medium airports and 50% of travelers in large airports spent 10 minutes or less getting through security. Those passengers were also the ones most likely to call an airport “mildly crowded” or “not at all crowded.”
However, 23% of mega airport passengers spent 21 minutes or more getting through security and 57% describe the airport as “moderately crowded.”
The Department of Homeland Security has been taking steps in the last few months to streamine TSA checkpoints such as dropping the requirement to remove shoes, launching facial recognition eGates to speed up verification, and adding a faster PreCheck lane and programs to expedite families at some airports and military travelers at airports near larger military installations.
Here’s how Florida airports ranked in the 2025 North American Airport Satisfaction Study.
Mega airports: Orlando International Airport (MCO) ranks 8th
On a 1,000-point scale based on 30,439 completed surveys of U.S. or Canadian passengers on items such as ease of travel, level of trust, terminal facilities, staff, food, beverage and retail, and more, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) was the highest ranked among mega airports (again) with 660, down slightly from last year’s 671.
Mega airports are defined as those with 33 million or more passengers per year.
Orlando International Airport (MCO) ranked 7th with 618, more than 20 points above its score of 596 in 2024. The national average was 603.
Miami International Airport (MIA) slid into Orlando’s old spot at No. 8 with 615, up from 591.
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) also moved up to No. 11 with 606. Last year it was below average with 593.
Large airports: Tampa International Airport (TPA) is No. 2, again
John Wayne Airport, Orange County (SNA) kept its No. 1 ranking for large airports with a huge increase, jumping 43 points to 730 compared to last year’s 687.
But Tampa International Airport (TPA) kept up, holding second place and moving up 24 points to 709, compared to 685 in 2024.
Large airports are defined in the study as airports with 10 to 32.9 million passengers per year.
There were no other Florida airports in the large airport category.
Medium airports: Jacksonville International Airport (JAX) drops to 4th, Palm Beach moves up, Southwest Florida down to 7th
Indianapolis International Airport scored the best (713) for medium airports once again, meaning those with 4.5 to 9.9 million passengers per year.
But three of the top seven were from Florida, although they moved around a bit compared to last year.
Jacksonville International Airport (JAX), which ranked 2nd in 2024, moved down to No. 4 this year even though it earned more points (695, up from 686).
Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) moved up to 5th with 688 points, up from last year’s 7th place with 669.
Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) also earned more points this year but dropped in the rankings from third (675) to 7th, coming in with 683 in 2025.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: These Florida airports ranked among America’s best in 2025 customer satisfaction study
Reporting by C. A. Bridges, Daytona Beach News-Journal / Palm Beach Post
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