John Glenn Columbus International Airport falls in passenger satisfaction rating
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- It was in the top 10 just a year ago, but John Glenn Columbus International Airport has slipped in a major national ranking of passenger satisfaction.
The 2025 North America Airport Satisfaction Study from J.D. Power came out Wednesday revealing Columbus scored 11th out of 18 medium-sized airports.
"It looks at all the dimensions of people's experiences at the airport from getting to the airport through going through TSA, what are the terminal facilities like, how clean is the bathroom, how friendly are the people," said Michael Taylor, managing director of travel, hospitality and retail at J.D. Power.
The study ranked airports in three categories; mega, large, and medium. It examined the passenger experience across seven core dimensions (in order of importance: ease of travel through airport; level of trust with airport; terminal facilities; airport staff; departure/to airport experience; food, beverage and retail; and arrival/from airport experience).
According to J.D. Power, the latest data shows how airports are doing a great job of balancing crowded terminals, widespread flight delays, and soaring costs and seeing gains in satisfaction. Driving this increase in satisfaction is improvements with airport facilities themselves, with lots of projects now complete, as well as continued efforts to bring local flavor to passenger experiences.
Taylor said believe it not, the single most important feature of an airport is how people react to the bathroom.
"What I say is if you're going to tear down your house, would you repaint the bathroom?" Taylor said. "No, you wouldn't. And that's really what's happening here at CMH. They're getting ready to have to spend several billion dollars or a billion dollars at least to improve the airport. So, it's not unusual for us to see that terminal facility scores go down a little bit."
A spokesperson for John Glenn Columbus International Airport released this statement:
“We believe Central Ohio travelers deserve facilities that match the region’s growth and energy. Many of the top-ranking airports in the J.D. Power study have newer, modern facilities, while our current terminal has been serving the community for nearly 70 years. That’s why we’re investing in a new, first-class terminal opening in 2029. In the meantime, our team is fully committed to providing the best possible service and experience for every passenger, every day.”
Taylor said it's not uncommon for airports like Columbus to receive a lower ranking in the midst of an improvement renovation project.
"I used to live in Worthington, and the airport is a relatively old kind of industrial design," Taylor said. "You know, there are a lot of pillars and not a lot of line of sight, not a lot of natural light. And the new plans call for a lot of things that are going to fix that."
Overall, travelers coming and going through Columbus said they're quite pleased with their experiences.
"I love a small airport being from Chicago, where you've got to go down and around and through," Cindy Scully said. "A lot of a lot of walking there."
Cindy Scully flew to Columbus for a reunion. Her friend Diana traveled from South Carolina for it and planned to meet her at the gate.
"I could not do that without coming all the way out and rechecking in, so I did find her, but I was hoping to meet her at her gate since we planned our tickets just a few minutes apart on our landing," Diana Teitsma said. "So, it was fine. No big deal."
So, what makes a top-ranked airport? According to J.D. Power, it's a mix of modern design and local culture.
"Have things that you wouldn't be able to find at other airports," Taylor said. "There's Max and Erma's actually at other airports, believe it or not. But having more of a flavor of central Ohio is something that would probably serve them very well. And there's a high correlation in doing that, achieving that, and getting ranked really highly in J.D. Power."
Meanwhile, according to travelers, simple cosmetic improvements could go a long way.
"Freshen it up, you know, have new signage, all those new sort of things that make it look sparkly," Teitsma said. "Of course, restrooms being really nice and clean and new are a great plus for us women."
John Glenn Columbus International Airport's first-class terminal is set to open in 2029. Taylor said the airport industry is spending hundreds of billions of dollars to make the experience better for people, it just takes a long time to complete.
At the top of the rankings in each category were the Indianapolis International Airport (medium), the John Wayne Airport in California’s Orange County (large) and the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (mega).