How Charlotte’s airport fared in new national customer satisfaction survey
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Charlotte Douglas ranked 19th out of 21 mega airports in 2025 satisfaction study.
- CLT scored 581 out of 1,000, falling below the 2025 airport average of 603 points.
- Ongoing $4B expansion under Destination CLT aims to improve terminal services.
Passengers using Charlotte’s airport for flights are becoming less pleased with services at the complex, according to J.D. Power’s 2025 North America Airport Satisfaction Study released Wednesday morning.
The study ranked Charlotte Douglas International Airport 19th out of 21 North American airports in the mega category. The airport received a score of 581 out of 1,000 points for overall customer satisfaction among airports serving more than 33 million passengers annually.
Last year, CLT came in 15th place, with 585 points.
The average score for this year was 603.
The study, now in its 20th year, measures passenger satisfaction at airports in North America in seven areas. In order of importance, these include: ease of travel through the airport; level of trust with the airport; terminal facilities; airport staff; departure/to-airport experience; food, beverage and retail; and arrival/from-airport experience.
J.D. Power based its 2025 study on more than 30,400 surveys from travelers in the U.S. or Canada who used airports in their countries for departing, arriving, and connecting flights. The study took place between July 2024 and July 2025.
In the mega airports category, Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport came in first place with a score of 660 for the second consecutive year. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport followed with 649 points, and Phoenix Sky Harbor International was third with 634.
Raleigh-Durham International Airport was fifth with 688 points in the large category for complexes serving 10 to about 33 million passengers per year. Piedmont Triad International Airport did not appear in the study’s rankings.
More on CLT airport
Charlotte Douglas is the sixth-busiest airport in the world for takeoffs and landings, according to preliminary rankings released in April by Airports Council International.
The airport had 596,583 flights last year — an 11% increase from 2023, when it was ranked seventh internationally.
CLT is the second-largest hub for American Airlines, which accounts for about 90% of all flights out of the airport. The airline provides flights to more than 170 destinations in 27 countries worldwide at CLT through its global network.
The airport is making improvements through its Destination CLT initiative, a project to renovate and expand the facility. The total capital investment is $4 billion. Some of those plans include terminal lobby expansions, concourse upgrades, and traffic improvements.
CLT is celebrating its terminal lobby expansion on Wednesday, a five-year project with a 175,000 square feet of brand-new space and revitalized another 191,000 square feet to improve passenger experiences.
This story was originally published September 17, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
