A new and revealing Upgraded Points study shared which airport TSA (Transportation Security Administration) in the U.S. left flyers with the most ire. Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)’s airport security ranked as the most complained about, getting nearly twice as much as the average. Nearly 45% of the complaints at the New York City-adjacent airport reportedly pertained to issues with TSA PreCheck.
The study analyzed TSA Contact Center Complaint data from 2015 to 2023. Upgraded Points looked into the number and types of grievances filed against airport security at 44 large U.S. airports. To be clear, the source didn’t explicitly specify that it analyzed the TSA complaints of the country’s largest airports.
From 2015 to 2023, Newark Liberty acquired 6.83 complaints for every 100,000 flyers. For comparison, the study found the average number of filed accusations to be 3.92 per 100,000 people funneled through an airport’s security check.
Following Newark Liberty, the second, third, and fourth most complained about TSA teams were in Florida airports. They were Palm Beach (PBI), Orlando (MCO), and Southwest Florida (RSW), consecutively. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) rounded out the top five.
The end-of-year holiday season — October through December — racked up the most complaints. The most common issue flyers had was with expedited screening programs (like TSA PreCheck). Another common one was the alleged mishandling of passenger property. The least filed complaints regarded pat downs, civil rights, and lost and found inquiries.
Which Airports’ TSA Were The Least Complained About?
The airport with the least grumblings against its TSA from 2025 to 2023 was Charlotte Douglas (CLT). Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), Salt Lake City (SLC), and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (ATL) followed consecutively. Over that period, Charlotte Douglas averaged 1.97 complaints per 100,000 flyers.
Chicago Midway (MDW) and Minneapolis Saint Paul (MSP) tied for fifth place regarding the airline hubs with the least problematic airport security.
