New York and LA didnt win Americas best mega airport title, but one Midwest hub did
A Midwestern airport has once again come out on top among North America’s largest hubs, outpacing better-known coastal airports serving New York and Los Angeles.Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport topped the mega airport category for the third consecutive year, according to new 2026 rankings from J.D.Power of North America’s best airports.Tampa International Airport and Charleston International Airport also took top honors in their respective size categories, the same survey found. “Minneapolis does a lot of things well,” Gary Leff, a Texas-based travel industry expert and author of the blog “View From the Wing,” told Fox News Digital.“Connecting passengers have plenty of amenities without having to leave security,” Leff said.
“Local passengers have an airport relatively close to both downtowns, with light rail access.”Leff said Minneapolis passengers may face long walks between gates, but he said it still feels manageable.The airport’s score was 684 on J.D.Power’s 1,000-point scale. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport ranked second among mega airports with 663 points, followed by Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport with 642.Tampa ranked first among large airports with a score of 715, followed by Portland International Airport with 708 and Dallas Love Field with 698.Charleston led the medium airport category with 712 points, ahead of Ontario International Airport with 705 and Indianapolis International Airport with 695.“Tampa is very well organized, even though you do have to transit between your concourses,” Leff said.Charleston is not overbuilt, he said, so it’s easy to get through the airport.“What is an airport for? An airport is a place that you go to get to, through and out of quickly.
You’re flying, you’re trying to go somewhere very efficiently.The best airports are the ones that help you do exactly that,” Leff said.Overall passenger satisfaction increased across all three airport categories.J.D....