DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) set itself apart from most others in new reports rating national and international airports, according to Airhelp. 

How did the airports rank?

While the United States fell short of the top 10 airports on a global report, Airhelp, a part of the Association of Passenger Rights Advocates (ARPA) promoting and protecting passengers’ rights, established DTW among the top three for U.S. airports. 

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Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport took the first and second spots, respectively, ahead of Detroit Metropolitan Airport, the three scoring 8.15, 7.96, and 7.91 out of 10. 

When did Airhelp collect data?

The data for these scores was taken from January 1, 2023 until September 30, 2023. The majority of the score, 60%, relied on flights’ on-time performance, meaning that an 8.5 meant 85% of flights were on time. The remaining factors of the total score were service quality, 20%, and food and shops, 20%. 

According to Airhelp, the 2023 airport rankings were the largest to date, and assessed and ranked 194 of the world’s biggest and best known airports. 

“There are over 4,000 airports in our database, which we whittled down to 194, based on the busiest airports according to flight traffic, and most popular with air travelers,” Airhelp said in a statement. “We aim to rank the world’s major airports, but it’s worth noting that some are excluded due to a lack of data.” 

Airhelp said that its results were reliable due a number of factors including its reliance on cross-referencing data from numerous sources including: “government agencies, airport data, flight-tracking vendors, and historical resources.”

Best airports by region of international study.  

Airhelp’s rankings placed the best airports by region as follows: 

  1. Asia – Muscat International Airport (8.54/10)
  2. Europe – Bilbao Airport (8.04/10) 
  3. North America – Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (8.15/10)
  4. Oceania – Christchurch International Airport (8.02/10) 
  5. South America – Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport (8.49/10)

New national February report places DTW in Top 3 for U.S. airports.

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According to the Detroit Free Press, Airhelp examined how the nation’s busiest airports handled air travel in February, it found that the DTW provided just over 89% of flights on time. 

Top 5 best airports:

  • 1. Savannah/Hilton Head Airport in Georgia.
  • 2. McGhee Tyson Airport in Tennessee.
  • 3. Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Michigan.
  • 4. Albany International Airport in New York.
  • 5. Memphis International Airport in Tennessee.

Top 5 worst airports:

  • 1. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida.
  • 2. Denver International Airport in Colorado.
  • 3. San Francisco International Airport in California.
  • 4. Miami International Airport in Florida.
  • 5. Palm Springs Municipal Airport in California.

The rankings were determined after ranking more than 1,000 flights in February and the rate of flight disruptions according to Airhelp.