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There’s nothing like landing at your dream destination only to discover your entire wardrobe was somehow lost along the way. Or being stuck in an hours-long security line and nearly missing your flight.
The airport experience can make or break your travel plans—and not all airports are created equal. UpgradedPoints analyzed TSA complaint data for the 44 most popular airports in the United States to discover which of the bunch are the most likely to aggravate travelers. Let’s find out where you should try to avoid spending your next layover.
The Airports With the Most TSA Complaints
UpgradedPoints looked at data from 2015–2023 to figure out the airports’ number of complaints per 100,000 passengers. The company analyzed how often travelers complained about issues regarding TSA PreCheck, the mishandling of passenger property (luggage), customer service, screening, and special handling.
Ranking | Airport | Number of Complaints per 100,000 Passengers |
|---|---|---|
1 | Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) | 6.83 |
2 | Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) | 5.78 |
3 | Orlando International Airport (MCO) | 5.6 |
4 | Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) | 5.5 |
5 | Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) | 5.38 |
6 | John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) | 5.25 |
7 | Logan International Airport (BOS) | 4.72 |
8 | Tampa International Airport (TPA) | 4.68 |
9 | Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) | 4.67 |
10 | LaGuardia Airport (LGA) | 4.42 |
Newark Liberty International Airport ranks as the top U.S. airport for complaints, significantly outpacing others with one more complaint per 100,000 passengers than the second-highest airport. Newark receives nearly double the number of complaints compared to the average airport included in the study, with a large portion of these issues related to TSA PreCheck (44.8 percent), customer service (14.6 percent), and mishandled baggage (14 percent). John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport, which also serve New York City, landed spots in the top 10 as well.
Travelers headed to Florida may also want to start mentally preparing for a potentially rough time. Four of the state’s airports—Palm Beach International Airport, Orlando International Airport, Southwest Florida International Airport, and Tampa International Airport—appear on the list.
When are most TSA complaints filed?
Now that you know where to avoid flying, it’s also important to find out when. There appears to be a steady increase in TSA complaints throughout the calendar year, with January being the month with the fewest complaints and December having the most (followed by October and November). This makes sense when you consider that the busiest holidays for travel all occur toward the end of the year. The TSA logged an average of 1457 complaints a day in December, compared to 1135 daily in January.
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