Once the scourge of Canadians flying to Florida and connecting on to other points south, Miami International Airport (MIA) has been ranked as the best “mega” airport for passenger satisfaction in the eastern US and Canada in the recently released JD Power 2020 North America Airport Satisfaction Study.
Based on surveys from US or Canadian residents who travelled through at least one American or Canadian airport from August 2019 through July 2020, the facility achieved a score of 801 out of 1,000 – second overall only to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, which earned a score of 805, among mega airports in North America. Third was McCarren International in Las Vegas while Toronto Pearson placed 17th in the category.
The study defines mega airports as those serving 33 million or more passengers per year. Other categories included large and medium airports, all of them measured for overall traveller satisfaction in six areas (in order of importance): terminal facilities; airport arrival/departure; baggage claim; security check; check-in/baggage check; and food, beverage and retail.
MIA jumped from 11th place in last year’s study to 2nd place overall, while serving a record-high 46 million passengers in 2019 – an increase of nearly one million passengers over the previous year.
Nearly one-third of travellers surveyed said their opinion of the airport improved after seeing its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this month, MIA became the first airport in Florida, second in the US, and third in North America to be accredited under the Airports Council International (ACI) Airport Health Accreditation program. The accreditation is based on evidence that MIA is following best practices and has implemented key measures to prevent further spread of COVID-19.
The airport had also been enhancing services before COVID, including the introduction of a new automated baggage delivery system and expedited passport screening via biometrics.
In other categories in the survey, Dallas was voted the top “large” airport (Vancouver – 12th; Calgary – 13th; Montreal – 18th), and Indianapolis best “medium” facility (Ottawa – 16th; Edmonton – 18th).
The influential JD Power report, now in its 15th year, covers both departure and arrival experiences, and includes travellers’ evaluations from either a departing or arriving airport from their round-trip experience.
Perhaps surprisingly, the survey notes that customer satisfaction amongst North American airports has actually increased this year during the pandemic.
“A year ago, the biggest challenge confronting airports was overcrowding,” says the survey. “Today, they are comparatively empty. While the sharp decline in volume is a big problem for airport revenue, it has been a boon for traveller satisfaction, (which has) risen sharply since the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, reaching an (average) record high of 784 (on a 1,000-point scale) as passengers breeze through security checkpoints, baggage claim and food and retail services.”