Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Survey Ranks LaGuardia and Newark Worst, JFK Sucks Too
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 19, 2010
Modified Feb 19, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
John Del Signore
Published Feb 19, 2010
Modified Feb 19, 2010
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
LaGuardia and Newark both rank dead last in a survey of customer satisfaction at airports nationwide. Travelers say LaGaurdia is the most dissatisfying medium-size airport, while Newark is absolutely the worst big airport. The survey, conducted annually by market researcher J.D. Power & Associates, rates airports based on a variety of factors. JFK ranked 15 out of 19 large airports surveyed. (A large airport serves at least 30 million passengers a year, while a medium-size airport handles between 10 million and 30 million.)
It's a major fall from grace for our hometown airports; Newark ranked ninth and Kennedy seventh among large airports back in 2008. "They have been cursed with terminal designs that simply, for lack of space, have not been able to keep up with the growth of those airports," Jay Sorensen, president of an airline consulting firm, tells Business Week. "And security issues have just pushed them over the top." Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County was named the best large airport, Kansas City International schooled us for the best midsize airport.
But a Port Authority spokesperson urged everyone to keep living in the past, telling NY1, "Our airports have fared well in other previous surveys, including J.D. Power's results in 2006 and 2008 when LaGuardia placed first and second respectively." And anyway, what are people going to do, not fly into New York? As David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, observes, "The bottom line is, these kind of rankings won’t change the passenger’s purchasing decision. There’s no real issue for the passengers. They won’t pick one airport over the other because of the quality of the airport itself." Yep, they've got us right where they want us: sleeping on the floor, eating at Chili's, and sneaking by security to kiss loved ones goodbye.
Tagged
airport
nyc
Survey
worst
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NYPD hate crime unit investigates smashed windows, ‘Pal Action’ graffiti at UES Capital One
The bank previously faced protests over a $90 million loan to an Israeli drone company.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 20, 2026 at 8:35 a.m. ET
A reliably Republican part of NJ, until ICE came to town
The Trump administration’s plan to convert a warehouse in Roxbury into an ICE detention center has upended local politics ahead of the midterm elections.
By
Mike Hayes
News
A reliably Republican part of NJ, until ICE came to town
The Trump administration’s plan to convert a warehouse in Roxbury into an ICE detention center has upended local politics ahead of the midterm elections.
By
Mike Hayes
NYC school integration debate exposes tensions between Black parents and Mamdani
By
Elizabeth Kim
Queens man charged with hate crime at Jewish-owned bagel shop displaying Israeli flags
By
Giulia Heyward
MTA train yards are in such bad shape plants are growing out of the roof, watchdog says
By
Stephen Nessen
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .