Among Phoenix’s many noteworthy attractions, the city is now home to the best-ranking airport in the country, per The Wall Street Journal.
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) recently landed at the top of The Wall Street Journal’s annual ranking of the country’s busiest airports. Despite Phoenix’s bustling growth, Sky Harbor is easy to get to for residents and visitors, while also offering a solid lineup of airlines and flights; rarely making travelers worry about flight delays and cancellations thanks to consistent weather. All these factors helped Sky Harbor earn the highest score among America’s largest airports.
The Wall Street Journal ranked the 50 largest U.S. airports across 30 measures to determine each location’s score in reliability, value and convenience. This year’s report also measured customer satisfaction through a survey conducted by Dynata for WSJ that asked travelers their opinions about what airports are doing right and wrong, ranging from food and drink to bathrooms and parking.
While no airport received a perfect score, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport got the closest with an overall score of 63.4 out of 100. According to the report, Sky Harbor is very reliable for travelers and offers relatively low prices on airfares and Uber rides to downtown Phoenix. The airport was also highlighted for its baggage claim and rental car facilities.
Plus, Sky Harbor had the fewest flight cancellations of any large airport at the time the rankings took place, as well as shorter flight delays than most and much shorter wait times on the tarmac before takeoff or after landing. The average time that it took a plane to take off after leaving the gate was under 15 minutes.
Located near downtown Phoenix, Sky Harbor operates on 3,400 acres and only three runways, which is relatively small compared to other large airports like Dallas/Fort Worth with 17,000 acres and seven runways. Yet, the Phoenix airport’s passenger traffic is up nearly 10% from last year and just about 75% of the passengers are local.
With this growth, Phoenix Sky Harbor is working to expand and upgrade its facilities to make the airport more enjoyable for travelers. The airport recently extended its PHX Sky Train service by 2.5 miles for easier access to the rental-car center and opened its newest concourse in Terminal 4 featuring acclaimed restaurants and shops. There are also plans to open an additional concourse in Terminal 3 and renovate existing ones in other terminals.
This isn’t the first time that Sky Harbor took the crown. WSJ also named Sky Harbor the best U.S. airport in 2019. Read this year’s report here.
Photos courtesy Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
