ST. LOUIS — St. Louis Lambert International Airport is losing ground when it comes to passenger satisfaction.
Data analytics firm J.D. Power said that passenger satisfaction with Lambert ranked it 23rd out of 27 large airports. It scored 765, while the average among large airports was 784.
Last year, Lambert scored 801, ranking it 14th out of 20 large airports. That had represented an improvement over 2020.
J.D. Power surveyed 26,519 passengers from August 2021 through July 2022 on six factors: terminal facilities; airport arrival and departure; baggage claim; security check; check-in and baggage check; and food, beverage and retail. U.S. or Canadian residents who traveled through at least one airport in one of the countries were surveyed.
In Lambert's category, the only airports scoring worse were LaGuardia Airport in New York, Kansas City International Airport, Honolulu International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport. Comprising the top five were Tampa International Airport; John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California; Dallas Love Field; Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport; and Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
Among larger airports, which J.D. Power calls "mega," Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airpot was best, and Newark Liberty International Airport worst.
J.D. Power said that as global passenger volume ticks back up to 91% of pre-pandemic levels, with labor shortages causing record flight cancellations, satisfaction scores have fallen.
"The combination of pent-up demand for air travel, the nationwide labor shortage and steadily rising prices on everything from jet fuel to a bottle of water have created a scenario in which airports are extremely crowded and passengers are increasingly frustrated — and it is likely to continue through 2023,” Michael Taylor, travel intelligence lead at J.D. Power, said in a statement. “In some ways, this is a return to normal as larger crowds at airports tend to make travelers more frazzled, but in cases where parking lots are over capacity, gates are standing room only and restaurants and bars are not even open to offer some reprieve, it is clear that increased capacity in airports can’t come soon enough."
Read more of the story on the St. Louis Business Journal website.
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