World’s Best Airport

A new “World’s Best” Airport

Hamad International Airport

There are many contests, and many ways, to pick “The Best Airport in the World.”

One of the most coveted is the Skytrax World Airport Awards. And this year’s awards present a bit of an upset.

For the past eight years Singapore’s Changi Airport (SIA) has won the Skytrax award for Best Airport in the World, but this year Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar has claimed that prize. The airport also took home prizes for Best Airport in the Middle East, the World’s Best Airport in the 25 to 35 million Passenger category, and for the Best Airport Staff in the Middle East.

Here’s the rundown of the Skytrax 10 Top Airports for 2021

  1. Hamad International Airport
  2. Tokyo Haneda Airport
  3. Singapore Changi Airport
  4. Incheon International Airport
  5. Narita International Airport
  6. Munich Airport
  7. Zurich Airport
  8. London Heathrow Airport
  9. Kansai International Airport
  10. Hong Kong International Airport

Some other airports winners of note: Istanbul Airport got the nod for World’s Most Improved Airport. Singapore’s Changi Airport got the award for World’s Best Airport Staff. And Tokyo Haneda Airport was declared the World’s Cleanest Airport.

No U.S. airport made the Global Top Ten list, but here are the winners in the Best Airports in North America category this year:

  • Vancouver International Airport
  • George Bush Intercontinental Airport
  • Toronto Pearson Airport
  • Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport
  • Denver International Airport
  • Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
  • Houston Hobby Airport
  • Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
  • San Fransico International Airport
  • Montreal International Airport

Another category we like to call out in the Skytrax contest is the World’s Best Airport Hotels. But because many airport hotels have and still are being used for COVID arrival quarantine purposes or were fully or partially closed during the height of the pandemic, Skytrax decided to skip that category this year. The Best Airport Leisure Amenities category, Best Airport Shopping, and some other categories were skipped this year as well.

Winners: World’s Best Airports for 2020

Even if spending time in an airport was once your least favorite part of traveling, we bet standing in line to go through security is probably sounding pretty good.

And when the time comes to begin traveling again, we hope that adventure will begin or end in one of the winners from the 2020 Skytrax World Airport Awards.

To no one’s surprise, Singapore’s Changi Airport wins the award for the World’s Best Airport for the eighth consecutive year.

Already a four-terminal wonderland of shops, restaurants, gardens, wide-open spaces and fun activities, in 2019 Changi opened The Jewel.

The bonus addition connects three of the airport’s four terminals and is filled with more shops, restaurants, gardens and activities built around a circular 130-foot tall Rain Vortex that is the world’s tallest indoor waterfall.

Courtesy Changi Airport

Changi also won the award for the World’s Best Airport Leisure Amenities, ahead of South Korea’s Incheon Airport and Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.

Here’s the full list of the winners for World’s Top 10 Airports 2020:

  1. Singapore Changi Airport
  2. Tokyo Haneda Airport
  3. Hamad International Airport Doha
  4. Incheon International Airport
  5. Munich Airport
  6. Hong Kong International Airport
  7. Narita International Airport
  8. Central Japan International Airport
  9. Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
  10. Kansai International Airport
Richmond, British Columbia on December 16, 2015. (BEN NELMS for YVR)

In the Best Airports in North America category, Vancouver International Airport (YVR) took the top spot, followed by Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), Denver International Airport (DEN) and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).

No North American airport shows up on the 2020 list of winners for World’s Cleanest Airports (Tokyo’s Haneda Airport wins that category) or World’s Best Airport Dining (Narita International Airport in Tokyo wins there).

However, the Houston Airport System took first place in the World’s Best Website and Digital Services category.

See the full list of winners in all categories on the Skytrax World Airport Awards website.

World’s Best Airport? Changi clinches it again

For the sixth year in a row, Singapore’s Changi Airport has been named the World’s Best Airport by Skytrax, which tallied 13.73 million surveys covering passenger experiences in 550 airports worldwide for the 2018 World Airport Awards.

Changi Airport also topped the list for the World Best Airport Leisure Amenities and the Crown Plaza Changi once again took top spot in the World’s Best Airport Hotel category.

Vancouver International was named the Best Airport in North America and the Fairmont Vancouver Airport the Best Airport Hotel in North America.

Denver International Airport came in first for Best Regional Airport in North America.

The surveys ask travelers to evaluate airports in almost 40 categories, covering everything from check-in, shopping and dining to cleanliness, staff courtesy, entertainment, signage and WiFi service.

Here are the winners in just some of the many categories in this year’s awards:

The World’s Top 10 Airports

Changi Airport – Terminal 4

Singapore Changi
Incheon
Tokyo Haneda
Hong Kong
Doha Hamad
Munich
Chubu Centrair Nagoya
London Heathrow
Zurich
Frankfurt

Best Airports in North America

Vancouver
Denver
Cincinnati
Toronto Pearson
Houston
Atlanta
San Francisco
Dallas/Fort Worth
Seattle
Montreal

Best Regional Airport: North America

Denver
Cincinnati
Seattle
Halifax
Minneapolis-St. Paul
Phoenix
Detroit
Raleigh-Durham
Houston – Hobby
Toronto City

The World’s Cleanest Airports

Tokyo Haneda
Centrair Nagoya
Incheon
Taiwan Taoyuan
Singapore Changi
Tokyo Narita
Hong Kong
Zurich
Doha Hamad
Helsinki

The World’s Best Airport Hotels

Crowne Plaza Changi
Pullman Guangzhou Airport
Hilton Munich Airport
Fairmont Vancouver Airport
Sofitel London Heathrow
Hong Kong Sky City Marriott
Langham Place Beijing
Regal Airport Hong Kong
Sheraton Amsterdam Airport
Hilton Frankfurt Airport