Detroit airport ranks last

Detroit Metro Airport ranks lowest overall among 36 other metropolitan airports, according to a survey published by a Los Angeles-based research firm, Plog Research, Inc.

University students said they use the airport on a regular basis and many said they agreed with the survey's findings.

"Every time I go there, there is always something wrong," said LSA first-year student Patrick Sweeney. "Whether it's waiting on the runway for 45 minutes or (waiting) an hour for a commuter bus back to Ann Arbor, there's always something (inconvenient) going on."

Metro Airport scored the lowest in four of the eight categories, including speed of baggage delivery, ease of reaching gates, availability of ground transportation and ease of following signs.

LSA first-year student Patrick Mellon said that during an international flight he took last year, he and his family experienced problems at Metro.

"When I took a flight to London, our baggage was mistagged and the flight was delayed because the pilots were late," he said. "The security was terrible as well. The rivets on my jeans caused 10 minutes in delays, but some guy with a gun probably walks right through."

Detroit ranked low in the study along with New York's John F. Kennedy Airport and Boston's Logan International Airport. Tampa International Airport received the top ranking, according to the study.

The survey, which was conducted late last year, was commissioned by 36 airports. Passengers were surveyed during the early part of 1996, but airport officials refused to release the findings. The Detroit News uncovered the report last week.

Students said that the airport is not only inefficient in its layout, but the service provided by the airport employees is mediocre.

"The way that the airport deals with delays is terrible," said LSA first-year student David Hesford. "The workers are incredibly unfriendly. On my recent flight to New York, my plane was two and a half hours delayed, and nobody at the airport seemed to care."

Mellon said that the food court could also use a renovation.

"The airport is old and it really needs an upgrade," he said. Despite the low ranking, Metro Airport has already started a $1.6- million improvement plan that will eventually lead to 74 new gates and more than 1.6 million square feet.

"It's not the Ritz-Carlton of airports, but we're trying," Northwest spokesperson Jim Faulkner told The Detroit News.

Northwest is the airport's largest carrier, responsible for 70 percent of Metro Airport's traffic.

-The Associated Press contributed to this report.

02-17-98