Travel in and out of the densely populated region of Southern California can be hectic — but that didn’t stop one of its busiest airports from being named top in North America.
According to the 2024 North American Airport Satisfaction Survey from JD Power, Orange County’s John Wayne Airport is the best large airport in North America. The “large airport” category includes airports that receive between 10 and 32.9 million passengers per year.
Orange County’s lone commercial airport beat out competitors like Tampa International Airport (No. 2), Kansas City International Airport (No. 3), Dallas Love Field (No. 4) and Nashville International Airport (No. 5).
Other California airports ranked in that category include Sacramento International Airport (No. 7), San Jose International Airport (No. 10), Oakland International Airport (No. 19) and San Diego International Airport (No. 21).
Other California airports earned high placements in other categories. In the “mega airport” category, for airports that receive 33 million or more passengers per year, Los Angeles International Airport ranked No. 13.
Topping that category was Minnesota’s Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. Rounding out the top five included Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (No. 2), Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (No. 3), John F. Kennedy International Airport (No. 4) and Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport (No. 5).
For medium airports, which receive between 4.5 to 9.9 million passengers per year, Hollywood Burbank Airport ranked No. 13.
The survey ranked the airports based off of customer satisfaction scores. The criteria, listed in order of importance: ease of travel through airport; level of trust with the airport; terminal facilities; airport staff; departure/to airport experience; food, beverage and retail; and arrival/from airport experience.
The full rankings can be seen here.
