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The Best and Worst Airports of 2022
San Francisco and Sacramento top The Wall Street Journal’s rankings for large and midsize airports; Newark and LaGuardia rank last

By Dawn Gilbertson
Updated Nov. 17, 2022 5:31 am ET

SAN FRANCISCO—San Francisco International Airport sure tries hard to make travelers forget they’re in an airport.

The place is oddly quiet, even during rush hour, due to strict limitations on overhead announcements about lost items, gate changes and boarding groups. Signs urge travelers to use headphones as they traverse the terminal and wait for flights.

Passengers can retreat to yoga rooms, a museum, art exhibits and outposts of local restaurants like Bun Mee and Boudin Bakery, or catch occasional live music. New touchless water-filling stations have hot, cold and room temperature settings and might soon dispense free seltzer.

It’s all scant comfort when flights are delayed—a chronic problem given the city’s signature fog—but a topper to a great airport experience when things go well. And things have been going unusually well at SFO since travel began rebounding in 2021. The airport has been running on-time rates of more than 80%, a solid 10 points higher than prepandemic levels despite major travel troubles in other cities.

The one-two punch of more reliable flights and top-notch amenities vaulted the airport to first place in The Wall Street Journal’s first ranking of the country’s busiest airports since 2019. Atlanta and Minneapolis filled out the top three.

The Best Large U.S. Airports

RANK AIRPORT WSJ SCORE RELIABILITY VALUE CONVENIENCE
▶ 1 San Francisco (SFO) 61 72 28 69
▶ 2 Atlanta (ATL) 59 65 44 48
▶ 3 Minneapolis (MSP) 57 67 26 55
▶ 4 Detroit (DTW) 54 62 32 55
▶ 5 Phoenix (PHX) 53 55 52 51
▶ 6 Los Angeles (LAX) 52 60 46 40
▶ 7 Houston Bush (IAH) 51 54 49 35
▶ 8 Las Vegas (LAS) 49 42 58 49
▶ 9 Charlotte (CLT) 46 48 34 56
▶ 10 Seattle (SEA) 46 57 28 35
▶ 11 Denver (DEN) 41 34 58 49
▶ 12 Boston (BOS) 41 42 45 56
▶ 13 Philadelphia (PHL) 39 41 40 35
▶ 14 Chicago O'Hare (ORD) 38 39 37 40
▶ 15 Orlando (MCO) 38 17 81 61
▶ 16 Miami (MIA) 37 28 51 48
▶ 17 Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) 36 28 38 66
▶ 18 Fort Lauderdale (FLL) 36 19 73 47
▶ 19 New York JFK (JFK) 24 10 46 43
▶ 20 Newark (EWR) 19 7 42 46

Sacramento International Airport, just 100 miles northeast of SFO and a competitor for some Northern California fliers, nabbed the top spot among midsize airports and the highest score overall. Airport director Cindy Nichol, who used to work at San Francisco International, attributes Sacramento’s high score to good weather, plenty of runway space and customer service. The airport’s landscapers even pitch in to direct travelers, she says, earning passenger compliments.

The San Diego and San Jose airports were Nos. 2 and 3 among midsize airports, creating a California trifecta.

The worst performers in the large and midsize classes, respectively, were Newark and LaGuardia Airport. Both are plagued by flight delays and other issues but have big plans for fixes. LaGuardia’s physical makeover is already well under way and you won’t recognize the place if it’s been a while. And Newark’s new Terminal A makes its debut in early December.

...

The Best Midsize U.S. Airports

RANK AIRPORT WSJ SCORE RELIABILITY VALUE CONVENIENCE
▶ 1 Sacramento (SMF) 70 80 50 56
▶ 2 San Diego (SAN) 67 74 61 52
▶ 3 San Jose (SJC) 66 79 52 31
▶ 4 San Antonio (SAT) 65 70 58 63
▶ 5 Portland (PDX) 65 74 48 63
▶ 6 Honolulu (HNL) 63 76 49 38
▶ 7 Tampa (TPA) 63 49 89 80
▶ 8 Salt Lake City (SLC) 62 67 49 55
▶ 9 Santa Ana (SNA) 61 64 57 40
▶ 10 Oakland (OAK) 60 70 48 40
▶ 11 Raleigh/Durham (RDU) 59 58 66 55
▶ 12 Pittsburgh (PIT) 58 54 70 60
▶ 13 Kahului (OGG) 58 66 53 42
▶ 14 Houston Hobby (HOU) 54 49 52 74
▶ 15 St. Louis (STL) 53 61 49 20
▶ 16 Kansas City (MCI) 53 63 42 36
▶ 17 Washington Dulles (IAD) 53 57 37 63
▶ 18 Indianapolis (IND) 52 48 61 45
▶ 19 Fort Myers (RSW) 51 41 69 54
▶ 20 Chicago Midway (MDW) 50 54 42 35
▶ 21 Cincinnati (CVG) 49 42 67 56
▶ 22 Nashville (BNA) 48 54 32 44
▶ 23 New Orleans (MSY) 48 42 60 49
▶ 24 Baltimore (BWI) 47 43 56 51
▶ 25 Dallas Love (DAL) 47 35 52 65
▶ 26 Austin (AUS) 44 39 47 57
▶ 27 Cleveland (CLE) 44 41 57 50
▶ 28 Washington Reagan (DCA) 43 39 47 68
▶ 29 New York LaGuardia (LGA) 38 36 62 22

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-bes...22-11668645546

From Oakland to Sactown
The Bay Area and back down
Cali is where they put they mack down!