This Southern State's Airports Earn Most Security Complaints

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening process is an infamous headache and pinch point for travelers across the country, but not all airports are created equally.

Travel site Upgraded Points surveyed TSA complaint data from airline passengers at 44 major airports across the country to determine the 10 worst airports in America for the security process. To determine its final rankings, the outlet compared the total number of customer complaints at a given airport with the location’s number of annual passengers from 2015 through 2023.

The U.S. airport with the highest number of customer complaints is New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport , with 6.83 complaints per 100,000 passengers. For some perspective, Upgraded Points found the average number of complaints was 3.92 grievances per 100K passengers.

Florida came in hot on Jersey’s heels, stealing the second, third, and fourth spots. Palm Beach International Airport landed at second with 5.78 complaints per 100K passengers; Orlando International ranked third with a score of 5.6; and Fort Myers’ Southwest Florida International scored 5.5.

Cleveland Hopkins International Airport took fifth place with a score of 5.38, but it was Florida which came out of the study looking particularly bad. Tampa International (4.68); Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (4.28); and Miami International (3.85) claimed spots eight, 15, and 22, respectively. In total, Florida claimed six spots in the upper reaches of the chart.

The outlet notes that a few of those airports had significantly higher complaint rates in 2023. Newark International topped that ranking with 12.84 complaints per 100K passengers, followed by Cleveland Hopkins (10.35), Palm Beach (8.98), and Southwest Florida (8.92).

Upgraded Points also deduced the major U.S. airports with the lowest number of complaints. At the top of that list was Charlotte Douglas International Airport with a staggeringly low score of 1.97. Dallas/Fort Worth International followed at 2.63. Salt Lake City International (2.74) and Minneapolis-Saint Paul International (2.8) came in third and fifth, respectively. Somewhat surprisingly, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International —one of the largest and busiest airports in the country—ranked fourth with a fairly low customer complaint rate of 2.75 for every 100K passengers.

At the end of the day, “airports with more TSA complaints could mean longer delays,” Upgraded Points explains. “Knowing an airport’s screening process can help you more effectively plan your trips so you aren’t in a huge rush when you arrive.”

You can check out Upgraded Points ’ complete study here .