From AstrillVPN
Summary: A study of 30 major U.S. airports found Miami International Airport tied for first in website security with a score of 97.5. Orlando International Airport tied for third with a score of 90.
A new study has revealed that Miami International Airport is tied for first place for website security among the United States' 30 large hub airports.
Reliable VPN service AstrillVPN tested website security for the United States' 30 large hub airports and rated each for HTTP header security and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) security. The airports were given a grade for each metric from A+ to F, and then these were converted to scores out of 100. These scores were averaged for an overall score out of 100, which was used to rank the airports.
Proper header security helps prevent various cyberattacks like clickjacking, and excellent SSL security ensures data is encrypted and less vulnerable to interception.
The U.S. airports with the best average score out of 100 for website security
| Rank |
Airport |
State |
Website |
Security Headers Grade |
SSL Labs Grade |
Total Security Score / 100 |
| =1 |
Miami International Airport |
FL |
miami-airport.com |
A |
A+ |
97.5 |
| =1 |
Detroit Metropolitan Airport |
MI |
metroairport.com |
A |
A+ |
97.5 |
| =1 |
Philadelphia International Airport |
PA |
phl.org |
A |
A+ |
97.5 |
| =1 |
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport |
GA |
atl.com |
A+ |
A |
97.5 |
| =1 |
Seattle–Tacoma International Airport |
WA |
portseattle.org/sea |
A |
A+ |
97.5 |
| =1 |
John F. Kennedy International Airport |
NY |
jfkairport.com |
A |
A+ |
97.5 |
| =1 |
Newark Liberty International Airport |
NJ |
newarkairport.com |
A |
A+ |
97.5 |
| =1 |
LaGuardia Airport |
NY |
laguardiaairport.com |
A |
A+ |
97.5 |
| 2 |
Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport |
FL |
broward.org/airport |
A |
A- |
92.5 |
| =3 |
Orlando International Airport |
FL |
flymco.com |
B |
A+ |
90 |
| =3 |
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport |
TX |
dfwairport.com |
B |
A+ |
90 |
| =3 |
Charlotte Douglas International Airport |
NC |
cltairport.com |
B |
A+ |
90 |
Eight large hub airports tied for the top spot with near-perfect scores of 97.5 out of 100. Seven airports recorded an A+ in SSL security and an A in header security, including Miami International Airport, and the New York metro area’s three large hub airports (John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, and LaGuardia Airport).
The other three airports to earn A's for header security and A+'s for SSL security, scoring 97.5 out of 100, are: Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Philadelphia International Airport, and Seattle–Tacoma International Airport.
Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport was the only airport of the eight tied-first airports to record an A+ in HTTP header security and an A in SSL security.
Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport ranked second. The airport scored 92.5 out of 100 after recording an A for header security and an A- for SSL security.
Orlando International Airport, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, and Charlotte Douglas International Airport all scored 90 and tied for third place. The three airports all earned a B grade in header security and an A+ grade in SSL security.
Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Hawaii recorded the lowest score for website security among the nation's large hub airports, with a score of just 50 out of 100. Despite earning a B for SSL security, its F grade in header security dragged its score down.
Four major airports tied for second-worst with security scores of 57.5. San Diego International Airport, Austin–Bergstrom International Airport, Nashville International Airport, and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport all received F grades in header security but A grades in SSL security.
Arqam Zafar, Marketing Director of AstrillVPN, commented on the findings:
“Airport websites are handling important, personal traveler information that can truly impact a person’s life if it falls into the wrong hands. Booking a flight and arranging other travel necessities are often stressful situations, and airport website security should not be at the forefront of a traveler's mind. Ensuring digital security should be paramount for any airport, especially with the upcoming holiday season.
“While this should be an airport’s priority, those booking flights can protect themselves by using the most up-to-date web browsers and preventing unnecessary scripts from running. This will lessen the risks of being affected by these vulnerable websites.
“It is concerning that five large hub airports recorded F grades for header security, which means these websites are more vulnerable to cyberattacks that insert malicious code into website structures. This allows seemingly benign elements of a website to redirect users to other websites, or to cause users to unknowingly send information to hackers. Airports with lower scores could make simple improvements to boost their security, such as updating security headers. This would help prevent attacks like clickjacking and malicious redirects.”
This study ranks each U.S. large hub airport based on how secure their website is. Large hub airports are determined by the FAA as those that handle more than 1% of total passenger enplanements in the United States.
Two websites were used to give each airport a total security score: Security Headers for a grade relating to HTTP header security, and SSL Labs for an SSL security grade.
Each airport was given a security grade by each site, then these grades were assigned a score out of 100. These two scores were averaged for each airport, and these figures were used to rank airports.
Scores out of 100 for each assigned grade
| Grade |
Score |
| A+ |
100 |
| A |
95 |
| A- |
90 |
| B+ |
85 |
| B |
80 |
| B- |
75 |
| C+ |
70 |
| C |
65 |
| C- |
60 |
| D+ |
55 |
| D |
50 |
| D- |
45 |
| E+ |
40 |
| E |
35 |
| E- |
30 |
| F+ |
25 |
| F |
20 |
| F- |
15 |
30 Large hub airports in the United States ranked by the average score out of 100 for the security of their websites
Key Points:
- Miami International Airport tied for first among 30 major U.S. airports, scoring 97.5 out of 100.
- Eight airports shared the top ranking.
- Orlando International Airport tied for third place with a score of 90.
- Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport ranked second with 92.5.
- The study evaluated website security headers and SSL encryption.
- Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu ranked last with a score of 50.
