Hopkins Scores Low Among Medium Airports

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport recently scored the dubious distinction of being rated the third worst medium-sized airport for traveler satisfaction.

The survey was conducted by consulting firm J.D. Power and rated airports in Indianapolis and Pittsburgh the top two respectively.

A medium-sized airport is defined as handling 4.5 million to 9.9 million passengers annually.

Ranking below Hopkins were Hollywood Burbank Airport in California and Kahului Airport in Hawaii. There are 18 medium-sized airports in the United States.

The J.D. Power survey queried travelers on such factors as terminal facilities, baggage claim, and food and beverage options.

The consulting firm noted in announcing its results that overall customer satisfaction declined in 2022 amid airline staff shortages, flight cancellations, fare hikes, and lack of suitable parking at airports.

Michael Taylor of J.D. Power said travelers groused about crowded airport terminals and rising prices for everything from jet fuel to a bottle of water at an airport newsstand.

More than half of the respondents (58 percent) described airport terminals as severely or moderately crowded. A quarter said they avoided food and beverage purchases because of the expense.

Despite its ranking third from the bottom, Taylor told The Plain Dealer that Hopkins was one of the few airports to see an improvement in its scores from 2021 to 2022 with its score improving from 772 to 780 out of a possible 1,000 points.

In the past year Hopkins officials have overseen improvements in security screening and airport access.

The Plain Dealer report said Hopkins has increasingly ranked below its medium-sized peers in recent years on traveler satisfaction scores.

In the mega airports category of more than 32 million passengers a year, Minneapolis-St. Paul, San Francisco and Detroit airports were the top three with the bottom three being Los Angeles, Chicago O’Hare and Newark.

In the large airport category (10 million to 32.9 million passengers annually), Tampa, John Wayne (California) and Dallas Love were the top three, while Kansas City, Honolulu and Philadelphia were the bottom three.

Tags: airport satisfaction surveys, Cleveland airports, Cleveland Hopkins Airport, Northeast Ohio airports