Survey: Customer Satisfaction At Airports Dips As Passengers Return To Long Concession Lines
Passengers, nearly all wearing face masks to guard against the new coronavirus, wait to go through security at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, in Atlanta on Wednesday, July 1, 2020. Hartsfield-Jackson ranks No. 9 in customer satisfaction in a recent study conducted by J.D. Power. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves)
Airports around the country, including Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International, are busy again. But a shortage of workers has some airport restaurants and shops closed.
According to one study, passengers are beginning to notice.
A J.D. Power study released Wednesday ranks airports according to passenger satisfaction. It found scores have dropped over the past several months after remaining relatively high during the first part of the pandemic.
Hartsfield-Jackson comes in at No. 9 for the second year in a row among so-called “mega” airports. Miami International Airport ranks first.
“Considering the size of Atlanta, it’s doing very, very well in the study and has been rising in the rankings in the last five years,” said Michael Taylor with J.D. Power. He says the Atlanta airport’s design makes it well-equipped to handle the enormous volume it normally sees.
“When you come up from the escalator off the people-mover, that’s where the food beverage and retail is massed, and you never feel that far away from your gate,” said Taylor.
But like many airports, waiting passengers at Hartsfield-Jackson have fewer shopping and food options as the pandemic drags on. This wasn’t the case for most of 2020, when passenger volume was off significantly. But now that travelers have returned, they’re being met with shuttered stores and long lines.
“They can’t find the people, people won’t come at a certain rate of pay to make it profitable to operate those outlets,” said Taylor. “So it’s kind of a no-win situation.”
Availability of food, beverage and shopping options is now a top indictor of airport satisfaction, Taylor says, displacing concern over airport construction.
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