Three airports in the Midwest scored the highest of all North American airports in customer satisfaction, according to a J.D. Power and Associates survey released yesterday.

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County was named the best large airport, Kansas City International the best midsize airport and Indianapolis International the best small airport. Honolulu International Airport ranked in the middle of the pack in the midsize category.

The survey was based on responses from more than 12,000 passengers who flew on a roundtrip flight last year. Airports were judged on six factors: accessibility, the check-in and baggage-check process, baggage claim, terminal facilities, security check, and food and retail services. It's J.D. Power's first airport survey in two years.

Indianapolis airport, a new facility that opened in November 2008, received the highest satisfaction score this year — 777 on a 1,000-point scale. Kansas City scored 742 and Detroit, 705. Honolulu scored a 675.

The combined satisfaction score for all North American airports averaged 690 — an improvement from 675 in 2008.

This year's survey found that the areas that most affected passenger satisfaction are speed of baggage delivery, ease of check-in and bag check, comfort in terminals and amount of time to pass through security.

"For many passengers, basic needs such as seating comfort and ease of moving through the airport are not consistently being met," says Stuart Greif, a J.D. Power vice president.

Passengers spend more at shops in airports with high satisfaction scores, the study also found.