Denver International Airport ranked 18th out of 20 mega airports in J.D. Power's newly released 2026 North America Airport Satisfaction Study, even though its overall score ticked up slightly from the year before. DIA scored 602 out of 1,000 points, according to the survey, a modest gain of six points from last year but still well behind the top performers nationally.
The findings, first reported by The Denver Post, come from a study that surveyed 24,710 travelers who had used at least one U.S. or Canadian airport, according to delco.today. The survey measured passenger satisfaction across seven areas, including ease of travel, trust in the airport, terminal facilities, airport staff, transportation, and food, beverage and retail options.
Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport held onto the top spot among mega airports for the third consecutive year, scoring 684 out of 1,000, per the Denver Post's reporting on the study. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport came in second with a score of 663, while Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport ranked third with 642, according to metrophoenix.com. J.D. Power defines mega airports as those serving 33 million or more passengers annually.
A Rocky Recent History for DIA's Rankings
DIA's 18th-place finish this year continues an uneven stretch in the rankings. The airport placed 14th among mega airports in 2025, 12th in 2024, seventh in 2023, and 14th in 2022, according to the Denver Post. Even as its raw score improved this year, DIA lost ground relative to other mega airports that posted bigger gains.
J.D. Power auto and travel analyst Michael Taylor said construction almost always negatively impacts passenger satisfaction at airports, though he added that satisfaction may improve once the work is finished, per the Denver Post's reporting. DIA has continued major construction projects, including the ongoing Great Hall renovation, even as it made its biggest gains this year in airport staff and ease of travel.
Great Hall Project Nears Its Final Phase
DIA is in the final phase of its $1.3 billion Great Hall project, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2027, according to the Denver Post's reporting. The airport has also improved passenger satisfaction with the security process, particularly wait times, along with check-in and overall staff friendliness — improvements officials tie to a broader concourse expansion program.
Christine Pomorski said DIA passengers are tired of construction related to renovations and upgrades, according to the Denver Post. She added that DIA's projects and initiatives begin with improving the customer experience, even as parts of the airport remain unmodernized while work continues.
More Construction Still Ahead
DIA plans to begin additional construction in 2027, including converting a dormant underground tunnel into pedestrian walkways, per the Denver Post's account. Those walkways are expected to be 17 feet wide and open in 2028, giving travelers another way to reach concourses without relying on the airport's train system.
The airport handled more than 82 million passengers in 2025, making it the fourth-busiest airport in the United States and the 10th-busiest in the world that year, according to the Denver Post. Airport design has long influenced how travelers spend time and money in the terminal, and major improvement projects at airports nationwide are generally aimed at streamlining passenger flow, adding food and beverage options, and improving the overall passenger experience.
How the Rest of the Country Fared
Nationally, passenger satisfaction rose even as passenger volumes remained high and major improvement projects neared completion at many airports, the Denver Post noted. J.D. Power found that construction and modernization projects helped push the large-airport category's average score up 13 points this year, according to delco.today, while overall satisfaction rose 14 points for mega airports, 13 points for large airports, and 16 points for medium airports, per metrophoenix.com. Food, beverage, and retail satisfaction also improved by eight points year over year across all airport segments.
Not every airport benefited equally. Philadelphia International Airport scored 596 out of 1,000, placing it last among the 24 large airports surveyed, even as its score climbed 26 points since 2025 and 55 points since 2024 amid the airport's nearly $2 billion modernization program, according to delco.today. Tampa International Airport topped the large-airport category with 715 points, well above that category's average of 657. Because J.D. Power divides airports by passenger volume, results from the mega, large, and medium categories should not be treated as one universal ranking, according to qeepl.com.
