Indianapolis Airport travelers among 'least angry' in country, Twitter data survey finds
Around 850 million people took off their shoes (unless they are TSA pre-checked), waited hours or sprinted to their terminals and boarded flights at airports across the country last year. The ritual of waiting for or rebooking a canceled flight leaves many travelers to express their displeasure online. However, the millions of travelers passing through the Indianapolis International Airport were the least angry — at least on Twitter.
According to a new study of Twitter data, the airport was ranked last of 52 airports in angriness expressed through Tweets. The airport fielded about 42% of Tweets classified as angry, compared to John Wayne Airport in California, the angriest airport according to the study, which saw 65%. The study found, if a traveler is tweeting at an airport, more likely than not, they had a bone to pick.
The researchers at Forbes Advisor parsed through 37,000 tweets that mentioned an airport's Twitter handle last year. They identified key words and assigned them scores based on emotions like sadness, love, and surprise. This study focused on Tweets categorized as anger, ranking and pulling what made passengers the most irritable at those airports.
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"Canceled," "delays," "delayed" and "waiting" were the most popular buzzwords for jetsetters upset with their flying experience. "Crash" was also included, but there have been no commercial crashes tied to the airport since 1987.
The airport is no stranger to top ratings. It was the best medium-sized airport in the J.D. Power 2022 North America Airport Satisfaction Study. For the past 11 years, it has reigned supreme as the "Best Airport in North America" for those servicing 5 to 15 million passengers per year — the only airport to have won the accolade for a straight decade. Lastly, it was awarded with a 2022 ACI Voice of the Customer Honor, which recognizes airports that listen and respond to passenger feedback.
"The Indy airport is the Best Airport in North America in its category, and it’s earned that title for 11 years in a row because of our worldwide reputation for delivering an outstanding customer experience – and we pull out all the stops for our guests all year round," said Megan Carrico, Indianapolis Airport Authority director of public affairs, in a statement.
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In addition to John Wayne Airport, Jacksonville International Airport in Florida and Eppley Airfield in Nebraska drew high percentages of disheartened travelers' Tweets. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington and Kansas City International Airport in Missouri joined Indianapolis as the least angry.
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The mid-sized airport is well-liked among reviewers. While it's not a hub for any airline, it offers several direct flights all over the country. For idling passengers, the airport has several amenities including:
Free Wi-Fi, charging stations and under-the-seat charging ports
A service plaza with a gas station, money transfer services and restrooms for those coming and going in cars
Several local and chain restaurant and shopping options
Specialty areas like nursing mothers' rooms, meditation room and pet relief areas
The airport has been described as easily navigable, efficient, less crowded and well-maintained on an airline review site. Complaints reviewers did express were over restaurants' limited hours.
Contact IndyStar Pulliam Fellow Cate Charron at ccharron@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @catecharron.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis Airport travelers 'least angry' Twitter data survey finds
