Ranked: 100 best airports in the world

The best airports in the world have been named in the latest World Airport Awards. We take a look at the results

The best airport in the world is Doha’s Hamad International Airport in Qatar. The 2023 champion and 12-time previous winner, Singapore Changi Airport – famed for The Jewel – a glass circular building with 280 restaurants and stores and a multi-story circular indoor waterfall surrounded by terraced gardens – came second in the global ranking but was still named the best airport in Asia.

Rounding out the top five were Seoul Incheon International Airport, the largest airport in South Korea and one of the world’s busiest airports; Tokyo Haneda International Airport, Japan’s busiest airport just 30 minutes from central Tokyo; and Tokyo Narita Airport, an international airport serving the greater Tokyo area in Japan.

The World Airport Awards began in 1999 when Skytrax launched its first global airport customer satisfaction survey. The awards, which assess customer service and facilities across 597 airports with input from over 100 nationalities of airport customers, are widely regarded as the quality benchmark for the airport industry.

The survey’s methodology includes evaluating traveller experiences across 44 key indicators, including the check-in experience, queuing times, ease of transfer, shopping options, security and safety standards and baggage delivery times, among other passenger facilities and services.

What makes Doha the world’s best airport?

This is the second time that Hamad International Airport – the international airport for Doha, the capital city of Qatar – has taken the top spot after previously ranking number one in 2021 when it was recognised for its outstanding facilities, comfort, cleanliness, shopping, food and beverage options, staff service and security/immigration.

This year, the airport has won global recognition for its tropical gardens, The Orchard, which opened in 2023. The sprawling indoor gardens occupy 6,000 square meters and feature over 300 trees and 25,000 plants sourced from around the globe.

Hamad International Airport, which is a hub for national airline Qatar Airways, serves over 45 million passengers – a 31% increase compared to the previous year.

The airport also won praise for its array of luxury shopping and dining experiences. As such, it also won the award for the World’s Best Airport Shopping plus it was named the Best Airport in the Middle East for the 10th year in a row.

Regional top performers

Other highlights from the report include a host of Japanese airports. Tokyo Narita Airport was recognised for its customer service and named the World’s Best Airport Staff and Best Airport Staff in Asia. New Chitose Airport was voted the World’s Most Improved Airport while Chubu Centrair International Airport in Nagoya won the World’s Best Regional Airport award. Finally, Kansai International Airport was recognised for the World’s Best Airport Baggage Delivery.

In Italy, Rome Fiumicino Airport picked up the award for the World’s Best Airport Security Processing, while across the pond in New York, Terminal A, Newark Liberty Airport was crowned the World’s Best New Airport Terminal.

In France, Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport was praised for its Terminal 3 facility which was anointed the World’s Best Low-Cost Terminal. Paris Charles de Gaulle was also named Best Airport in Europe for a second successive year. London Heathrow in the UK was ranked 21st, London Gatwick 48th and London City 81st.

Turkey’s Istanbul Airport was voted the World’s Best Airport Dining Experience and the Best Airport in Southern Europe; Finland’s Helsinki Vantaa Airport was named the Best Airport in Northern Europe; and Budapest Airport in Hungary was once again named the Best Airport in Eastern Europe.

Cape Town Airport was named the Best Airport in Africa. Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport won the award for Best Airport in China and Delhi International Airport is the Best Airport in India and South Asia.

Melbourne Airport was named the Best Airport in Australia and the Pacific for the second successive year. Bogota El Dorado Airport, Colombia, won Best Airport in South America and Vancouver International Airport, Canada, the Best Airport in North America.

Complete ranking: 100 best airports in the world

1. Doha Hamad, Qatar
2. Singapore Changi, Singapore
3. Seoul Incheon, South Korea
4. Tokyo Haneda, Japan
5. Tokyo Narita, Japan
6. Paris CDG, France
7. Dubai, UAE
8. Munich, Germany
9. Zurich, Switzerland
10. Istanbul, Turkey
11. Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR
12. Rome Fiumicino, Italy
13. Vienna, Austria
14. Helsinki-Vantaa, Finland
15. Madrid Barajas, Spain
16. Centrair Nagoya, Japan
17. Vancouver, Canada
18. Kansai, Japan
19. Melbourne, Australia
20. Copenhagen, Denmark

21. London Heathrow, UK
22. Bahrain, Bahrain
23. Amsterdam Schiphol, The Netherlands
24. Seattle-Tacoma, USA
25. Guangzhou, China
26. Fukuoka, Japan
27. Haikou Meilan, China
28. Jakarta, Indonesia
29. Houston Hobby, USA
30. Paris Orly, France
31. Düsseldorf, Germany
32. Brisbane, Australia
33. New York LGA, USA
34. Frankfurt, Germany
35. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
36. Delhi, India
37. Shenzhen, China
38. Houston George Bush, USA
39. Bogota, Colombia
40. Muscat, Oman

41. Quito, Ecuador
42. Hamburg, Germany
43. Barcelona, Spain
44. Shanghai Hongqiao, China
45. Auckland, New Zealand
46. Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, USA
47. San Francisco, USA
48. London Gatwick, UK
49. New Chitose, Japan
50. Medina, Saudi Arabia
51. Dammam, Saudi Arabia
52. Perth, Australia
53. Montréal, Canada
54. Cape Town, South Africa
55. Sydney, Australia
56. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
57. Baku, Azerbaijan
58. Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Thailand
59. Bangalore, India
60. Los Angeles, USA

61. Hyderabad, India
62. Abu Dhabi, UAE
63. Toronto Pearson, Canada
64. Dallas/Fort Worth, USA
65. Adelaide, Australia
66. Taiwan Taoyuan, Taiwan
67. Athens, Greece
68. Gold Coast, Australia
69. Denver, USA
70. Atlanta, USA
71. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
72. Durban King Shaka, South Africa
73. Chengdu Tianfu, China
74. Denpasar Bali, Indonesia
75. Oslo, Norway
76. Seoul Gimpo, South Korea
77. Budapest, Hungary
78. Osaka Itami, Japan
79. Phoenix Sky Harbor, USA
80. Porto, Portugal

81. Stockholm Arlanda, Sweden
82. London City, UK
83. Johannesburg, South Africa
84. Málaga, Spain
85. Malta, Malta
86. Minneapolis St Paul, USA
87. Lyon, France
88. Milan Malpensa, Italy
89. Cologne / Bonn, Germany
90. Lisbon, Portugal
91. Okinawa, Japan
92. Goa Manohar, India
93. New York JFK, USA
94. Da Nang, Vietnam
95. Mumbai, India
96. Hanoi Noi Bai, Vietnam
97. Boston Logan, USA
98. Changsha, China
99. Detroit, USA
100. Berlin Brandenburg, Germany

More rankings and articles can be found in our remote work area:

► 1,000 most liveable cities in the world
► Most dangerous countries in the world
► Countries with the best healthcare in the world
► World’s worst countries to drive in
► Best countries for women
► Happiest countries in the world
► World’s most powerful passport
► Countries with the fastest internet in the world
► Most stressed countries in the world
► Most expensive cities for expats
► World’s most democratic countries

---

Enjoyed this post? pin it for later…

---

Lead image: Strikernia/Shutterstock