Other airports getting accolades include Seattle-Tacoma International in the second spot and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in third. Los Angeles Airport and Orlando International Airport rounded out the top five.

But the picture wasn’t so cheery for passengers at Newark Liberty International Airport, which ranked at the bottom of the list for the second year in a row. The Daily Beast says on-time departures were only 76 percent, on-time arrivals 73 percent, on-time holiday departures 77 percent, and on-time holiday arrivals 76 percent at the New Jersey airport, though average security wait time was only 7 minutes. Newark also ranked 24th in terms of safety and 26th in terms of airport amenities.

John F. Kennedy International in New York also ranked at the bottom of the list.

George Bush Intercontinental Airport (I said “airport” – not the man himself!) in Houston was ranked number one in 2009, but fell all the way to the number nine spot this year. The airport lost points for having a 77 percent on-time arrival rate during the holidays, as well as being near the bottom of the list in the “tarmac nightmares” category.

Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, however, was one of the biggest rank gainers since last year. The airport came in at number eight, a seven-spot jump from last year.

To pull together their list, the Daily Beast used data from groups such as the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Flight Explorer and the JD Power and Associates 2009 North American Airport Satisfaction study.