Toronto Pearson just ranked embarrassingly low in customer satisfaction

To the surprise of no one who’s ever experienced travel woes at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, it has once again ranked near the bottom of the list for overall customer satisfaction.

In a new North American airport study conducted by J.D. Power, Pearson ranked 20th out of 21 mega airports, earning just 749 points on a 1,000-point scale.

This year’s score is even worse than last year’s 755 points, which saw Toronto in 17th place out of 21.

In order to measure overall satisfaction, the study looks at six factors: terminal facilities, airport arrival/departure, baggage claim, security check, check-in/baggage check, and food, beverage and retail.

Outage results in messy travel day at Toronto Pearson Airport ahead of long weekend https://t.co/Z5bZyDM1aB #Toronto #Pearson #Travel

— blogTO (@blogTO) September 1, 2023

For 2023, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport ranked in the top spot in passenger satisfaction among mega airports, scoring 800 points. Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport ranked second with 796 points, and Harry Reid International Airport ranked third with 787 points.

Surprisingly, overall passenger satisfaction at North American airports managed to improve in 2023 despite the odds stacked against them; from a combination of record-high passenger volumes coupled with a pilot shortage impacting available flights, weather delays, and cancellations, customer satisfaction was up three points on average.

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However, Pearson definitely wasn’t a contributing factor to the climb, tumbling six points. Back in 2021, Pearson received a much higher score of 780, climbing from its score of 763 in 2020.

It’s certainly been a tough go for the Toronto airport, also falling over 20 spots in SkyTrax’s annual rankings of the world’s Top 100 Airports for 2023. Long lines, baggage claim issues, outages, and delays were widely reported among passengers.

A look at the new travelling upgrades at Toronto Pearson International Airport ✈️ @TorontoPearson #Sponsored pic.twitter.com/0etyWh5eYx

— blogTO (@blogTO) July 13, 2023

Pearson has since been working diligently to overcome such challenges, implementing a variety of new enhancements and innovations.

Employing digital tools and technology, artificial intelligence for baggage handling, and increasing staffing are several of the ways the airport plans to regain its status as a leader among North American airports.