Cleveland Hopkins’ Score Drops as Other Medium Airports Improve in J.D. Power Survey
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Cleveland Hopkins International Airport scored 597 out of 1,000 in J.D. Power’s 2026 North America Airport Satisfaction Study, 75 points below the average for medium-sized airports.
A year earlier, Hopkins scored 611, 45 points below the medium airport average of 656, according to J.D. Power’s 2025 ranking. Hopkins’ score fell 14 points while the category average rose 16 points to 672, widening the gap from 45 points to 75.
In the original article, cleveland.com reported that Hopkins finished last among the 14 medium airports in the 2026 study.
J.D. Power cautions that rankings are based on numerical scores and are not necessarily statistically significant.
Passenger satisfaction rose across all three airport-size categories this year, according to J.D. Power’s study. Medium airports - the smallest of the three groupings - recorded the largest increase, gaining 16 points from 2025.
The study was based on 24,710 completed surveys from U.S. and Canadian residents who had traveled through at least one U.S. or Canadian airport during the previous 30 days. It was conducted from July 2025 through July 2026 and covered both arrival and departure experiences, including connecting airports.
J.D. Power measures seven parts of the passenger experience, in order of importance: ease of travel through the airport; trust in the airport; terminal facilities; airport staff; departure and trip-to-airport experience; food, beverage and retail; and arrival and trip-from-airport experience.
The publicly available results do not show Hopkins’ individual scores in those seven areas, so they do not identify which factors contributed to its overall decline.
J.D. Power attributed the broader increase in airport satisfaction in part to major capital projects reaching completion. It also said the highest-ranked airports had recently completed, or were close to completing, major multiyear projects. The study does not establish that the timing of construction at Hopkins affected its score.
Hopkins broke ground July 1 on the Gold Lot, which airport officials described as the first major construction milestone in its CLEvolution modernization program. The project is expected to add about 1,600 parking spaces.
Some passenger-facing work has already been completed. Hopkins finished its Central Security Checkpoint expansion May 19, increasing screening lanes from two to four and expanding queuing space from 150 to 300 linear feet.
The checkpoint opened near the end of J.D. Power’s yearlong survey period. The publicly available results do not indicate how many respondents traveled through the expanded checkpoint.
Larger changes remain years away. Hopkins plans a new 6,000-space parking garage, ground transportation center and relocated Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority station, which airport officials say are slated to open in 2029.
After the new garage is completed, the airport plans to demolish the existing Smart Parking Garage and redevelop the front of the terminal. Hopkins estimates that project at $1.1 billion and expects it to be completed in 2032. Further airline funding approvals will be required.
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