Which US airports had the most TSA complaints? Here are the rankings from travelers
When it comes to airport security, travelers say the experience is more stressful at some airports than others.
Passengers traveling through New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport were the least satisfied with the Transportation Security Administration checkpoints there, filing the most complaints compared to other U.S. airports, according to a study by Upgraded Points.
The report, published Aug. 12, ranked airports the most prone to passenger complaints based on TSA Contact Center Complaint data from 2015 to 2023, the Texas-based travel company said.
The data is based on grievances per 100,000 passengers at the nation’s 44 largest hubs for air travel. Complaints were then normalized by passenger volume to ensure “accurate comparisons across airports of varying sizes,” the company said.
“Security checks are an unavoidable part of air travel, but the experience can vary greatly depending on the airport,” Keri Stooksbury, editor-in-chief at Upgraded Points, said in a news release. “And since navigating security can be such a high-stress experience, we identified where passengers are most and least satisfied with TSA.”
Florida was home to three of the top four airports where travelers were angry enough to file a grievance, according to the study:
- Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) – 6.83 complaints per 100,000 passengers
- Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) – 5.78 complaints per 100,000 passengers
- Orlando International Airport (MCO) – 5.6 complaints per 100,000 passengers
- Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) – 5.5 complaints per 100,000 passengers
- Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) – 5.38 complaints per 100,000 passengers
Moreover, Tampa International Airport (TPA) ranked eighth with 4.68 complaints per 100,000 passengers, giving Florida four of the top eight airports with the most complaints.
The national average among the nation’s 44 largest airports was 3.92 complaints per 100,000 passengers.
Top TSA complaints among travelers
The most common complaints among travelers were issues with expedited passenger screening programs (think TSA PreCheck), mishandling of passenger property and poor customer service, according to the Upgraded Points study.
More than half (59.7%) of the TSA complaints at San Francisco International Airport were about expedited passenger screening, data shows.
The least common grievances overall were lost and found and civil rights violations, the report said.
Upgraded Points also found that passenger complaints peaked around holiday season during the last few months of the year and fell during January and February.
This was true across all airports in the study, “suggesting a calmer travel period at the start of the year,” the report said.
This story was originally published August 14, 2024 at 9:40 AM with the headline "Which US airports had the most TSA complaints? Here are the rankings from travelers."