FILE – Passengers wait in a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) line at JFK airport in New York City on January 17, 2019. (Photo: JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)
AUSTIN, Texas – The security screening process can vary depending on where a traveler is departing from. A new study based on passenger complaints to the TSA sheds light on the most stressful airports.
Austin, Texas-based travel company Upgraded Points analyzed complaint data from TSA contact centers between 2015 and 2023, examining the number and type of complaints filed at U.S. airports.
The study shows which airports have the most complaints from dissatisfied passengers, which complaints occur most frequently, in which months these complaints occur most frequently and at which airports the flight process runs most smoothly overall.
The average for all airports examined was 3.92 complaints per 100,000 passengers, the company said.
US airport with the most TSA complaints overall
Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey is “by far” the airport with the most complaints in the United States, according to the Upgraded Points study.
According to the study, they receive almost twice as many complaints as the average airport. Many of these relate to TSA PreCheck (44.8% of all complaints), customer service (14.6%) and mishandled baggage (14%).
- 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
US airports with the fewest TSA complaints
Of all the airports studied, Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina had the fewest TSA complaints, with fewer than two complaints per 100,000 passengers over the past eight years, according to the report.
According to the study, only about half as many complaints are processed there as at the average U.S. airport.
Here are the five airports with the fewest complaints:
- Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) – 1.97 complaints per 100,000 passengers
- Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) – 2.63 complaints per 100,000 passengers
- Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) – 2.74 complaints per 100,000 passengers
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) – 2.75 complaints per 100,000 passengers
- Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) and Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) (tied) – 2.8 complaints per 100,000 passengers
Months with the most TSA complaints at US airports
TSA agents accused of stealing from passengers during security checks at Miami International Airport
Two Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents have been charged with stealing money from passengers at Miami International Airport in Florida after a video surfaced showing them rummaging through their luggage at a security checkpoint. (Source: Miami-Dade State Attorney Office via Storyful)
Depending on the time of year, airport security can become increasingly difficult. Upgraded Points’ study found that travelers encounter the most problems in the last few months of the year – especially during the holiday season.
- December: 1,457 complaints per day
- October: 1,450 complaints per day
- November: 1,398 complaints per day
“Perhaps not surprisingly, the highest complaint rates occur in December, October and November, likely due to increased travel during the holiday season,” says the Upgraded Points report. “These months are considered the most difficult for travelers, as they involve increased stress and potential disruption.”
In the first months of the year – especially in January and February – there was a significant decline in complaints, the study says.
