Hopkins Airport Slightly Less Shitty Than Before, Ranking Finds

Come 2032, Cleveland will welcome a new $1.1 billion terminal at Hopkins that will be built on the site of the current smart parking garage, along with new parking options. The massive development has been welcomed as a long-overdue upgrade to a beleaguered airport that has fallen in favor with travelers.

Until then, there’s only so much the airport can do to improve the experience of flying the friendly-ish skies out of Northeast Ohio. But what it has done has paid some minor, immediate dividends.

By upgrading food, beverage and retail options, Hopkins has now vaulted from dead last among mid-sized North American airports in J.D. Power’s annual ranking to second to last in the most recent results.

“CLE improved across all the dimensions we measure versus a year ago,” Michael Taylor, managing director of travel, hospitality and retail at J.D. Power, told Cleveland.com.

Hopkins was ranked 17th out of 18 airports in the category, with the data coming from 30,439 survey respondents who were asked about ease of travel through the airport, level of trust with the airport, terminal facilities, airport staff, departure from and arrival to the airport, and food and beverage options.

It beat out Edmonton for the noble caboose spot. Indianapolis was rated the best in the category.

Between now and 2032, however, there will be years of construction headaches that will likely dent Hopkins’ ranking, but clear skies and a climb up the leaderboard, judging by how respondents feel about modern air travel.

“A big part of this recent increase in passenger satisfaction is due to recently completed improvements in many airport facilities themselves,” Taylor said in a release this week. “A few big capital improvement projects have now been completed and many more are underway or about to break ground. A decades long trend of bringing unique, local flavor to the passenger experience has positively impacted the airport experience with these local touches having a major influence on passenger satisfaction.”

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