The Skytrax World Airport Awards are a vital indicator of customer satisfaction of airports globally. Regarded as a quality benchmark for the world airport industry, the awards are customer-led, ensuring they are entirely independent.
In its first year, in 1999, the World Airport Awards managed to survey over 1 million passengers at airports around the globe. Since then, these awards have grown massively, and in the latest survey, over 100 nationalities participated gave their opinions on more than 500 airports.
Passengers were asked to give feedback on a range of issues, from airport lounges to the ease of checking in. All aspects of the airport are covered, and results are collated fairly to rank airports accordingly. No payments were taken for the surveys, and no membership subscription, registration, or any charge for an airport was given in the study.
Unsurprisingly, the latest winner was Singapore Changi Airport in 2023 at the World Airport Awards held at Passenger Terminal EXPO in Amsterdam. Changi Airport also won the awards for the World’s Best Airport Dining and World’s Best Airport Leisure Amenities.
It was the 12th time Changi Airport was named the World’s Best Airport. The 2021 and 2022 Airport of the Year, Hamad International Airport, Doha, took second place in the global ranking and won three top awards for the World’s Best Airport Shopping, the Best Airport in the Middle East and the Cleanest Airport in the Middle East.
Tokyo Haneda Airport, No 3 in the global ranking, continued its previous year successes winning awards as the World’s Cleanest Airport, the World’s Best Domestic Airport and the Best Airport PRM & Accessible Facilities. Seoul’s Incheon Airport, ranked No 4 globally, won awards for the World’s Best Airport Staff Service, the World’s Best Airport Immigration Processing, and Best Airport Staff in Asia.
The World’s Best Airports are:
- Singapore Changi Airport
- Doha Hamad International Airport, Qatar
- Tokyo Haneda Airport, Japan
- Seoul Incheon International Airport, South Korea
- Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France
- Istanbul Airport, Turkey
- Munich Airport, Germany
- Zurich Airport, Switzerland
- Tokyo Narita Airport, Japan
- Madrid Barajas Airport, Spain
Amongst other global Award winners, Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport was named the World’s Most Improved Airport, and Chubu Centrair International Airport, Nagoya, won the World’s Best Regional Airport award, with Centrair’s Terminal 2 receiving the Best Low-Cost Airline Terminal award.
Crowne Plaza Changi Airport won the World’s Best Airport Hotel award, this achievement for a remarkable eighth consecutive year.
Zurich Airport repeated its success, winning the World’s Best Airport Security Processing award, and Bahrain International Airport took top honours with the award for the World’s Best Airport Baggage Delivery and the Best Airport Staff in Middle East.
Terminal B, LaGuardia Airport, received the World’s Best New Airport Terminal award on the same day that this new Terminal B received the highest 5-Star Airport Terminal Rating from Skytrax.
Paris CDG Airport was named the Best Airport in Europe, with Munich Airport winning the Best Airport Staff Service in Europe award and the Best Airport in Central Europe. Helsinki Airport was a repeat winner of the Best Airport in Northern Europe award. At the same time, Istanbul Airport won awards for the Most Family Friendly Airport and the Best Airport in Southern Europe.
Montréal–Trudeau International Airport received the award for Best Airport Staff in North America, while Bogota’s El Dorado International Airport won the Best Airport in South America award.
San José’s Juan Santamaría International Airport took top honours by winning the Best Regional Airport in Central America & Caribbean awards and Best Airport Staff in Central America & Caribbean. In Africa, Cape Town International Airport continues its multi-year success by winning the Best Airport in Africa and Best Airport Staff in Africa awards.
In the Australia / Pacific region, Melbourne Airport won the awards for the Best Airport in Australia & Pacific and the Best Airport Staff in Australia & Pacific. Delhi Airport was awarded the Best Airport in India & South Asia.
Hyderabad Airport won awards for the Best Regional Airport in India & South Asia and the Best Airport Staff in India & South Asia. In China, Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport won the award as the Best Airport in China, with Haikou Meilan International Airport winning awards for the Best Regional Airport in China and the Best Airport Staff in China.
Andy Probert is an independent journalist based in Turkey. He writes about travel, aviation, new tech and business. His work has appeared on the BBC, in The Daily Telegraph, Hurriyet Daily News and other newspapers worldwide.
