cleanest airports

These Airports Offer Winning Customer Service

Great airports not only make it easy to get from here to there, but they also make sure passengers enjoy the time they spend inside the terminals.

Which airports do it best?

That can be hard to measure. But the Air Service Quality Awards, handed out by Airports Council International (ACI) since 2006, do a good job of recognizing excellence in airport customer experience and in a variety of other categories.

To pick the winners, ACI and Amadeus, a travel technology company, interview travelers while they are in airports. The surveys include questions about wayfinding, check-in, shopping and dining offerings, as well as cleanliness, staffing, and other performance indicators.

The Winners

For 2022, 144 awards are being awarded to 75 airports around the world. Categories include Best Airports by size and region, as well as Airport with the Most Dedicated Staff, Easiest Airport Journey, Most Enjoyable Airport, and Cleanest Airport.

You can see the full list of winning airports here, but we’ve picked out some highlights.

Cleanest Airports

In North America, the cleanest airport awards go to Fort McMurray International Airport (YMM) in Alberta, Canada; Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) in Grand Rapids, MN; and Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP) in South Carolina.

Most Enjoyable Airports

ACI says this award recognizes the top surveyed airports for their offerings (restaurants, shops, entertainment) and for their efforts to make the waiting time enjoyable and comfortable.

Fort MacMurray International Airport (YMM) and Gerald Ford International Airport (GRR) – winners in the cleanest airports category – picked up awards in this category as well, along with Willian Hobby Aiport (HOU) in Houston.

Best Airports

DFW ART in Terminal D

The Best Airport awards go to airports with the top 20% overall satisfaction score by size and region.

Here are the winners in North America:

Over 40 million passengers per year: Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO);

25 to 40 million passengers: Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) and Minneapolis/St Paul International Airport (MSP);

15 to 25 million passengers: San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC);

5 to 15 million passengers: Indianapolis International Airport (IND), Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY), and Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport (MKE);

2 to 5 million passengers:

Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR) and Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP):

Under 2 million passengers: Fort McMurray International Airport (YMM).

World’s Best Airports – and the cleanest

The 2017 Skytrax World Awards have been announced and – no surprise – Singapore Changi Airport has been named as the World’s Best Airport for the fifth consecutive year.  The Crown Plaza Changi Airport was also named Best Airport Hotel – again.

Awards were announced in a wide variety of other categories – including cleanest airports and most improved.

A few of those lists are below. You can see the all the awards here.

The World’s Top 10 Airports

  1. Singapore Changi Airport
  2. Tokyo International Airport (Haneda)
  3. Incheon International Airport
  4. Munich Airport
  5. Hong Kong International Airport
  6. Hamad International Airport
  7. Chubu Centrair Nagoya
  8. Zurich Airport
  9. London Heathrow Airport
  10. Frankfurt Airport

The World’s Cleanest Airports

  1. Tokyo Haneda
  2. Seoul Incheon
  3. Centrair Nagoya
  4. Taiwan Taoyuan
  5. Tokyo Narita
  6. Singapore Changi
  7. Hong Kong
  8. Zurich
  9. Kansai Osaka
  10. Doha Hamad

The World’s Most Improved Airports

  1. Soekarno–Hatta
  2. Hamad Doha
  3. Houston IAH
  4. Delhi
  5. Haikou Meilan
  6. Guangzhou
  7. Phoenix
  8. Tokyo Narita
  9. Paris CDG
  10. Los Angeles

The World’s Best Airport Hotels

  1. Crowne Plaza Changi Airport
  2. Pullman Guangzhou Airport
  3. Hong Kong Sky City Marriott
  4. Hilton Munich Airport
  5. Regal Airport Hong Kong
  6. Langham Place Beijing
  7. Fairmont Vancouver Airport
  8. Mövenpick Hotel Bahrain
  9. Hilton Frankfurt Airport
  10. Sofitel Heathrow

The World’s Best Regional Airports

  1. Centrair Nagoya
  2. Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky
  3. Hamburg
  4. Denver
  5. Cologne / Bonn
  6. Durban King Shaka
  7. London City
  8. Dusseldorf
  9. Xi’an
  10. Gimpo