From the best dining and shopping to the most efficient immigration and baggage delivery, the recent Skytrax World Airport Awards highlighted the airports at the top of their fields.
And for those who didn’t pick up a bigger prize, like the most family-friendly airport, cleanest hub or the gong for best airport staff, there’s always the award for the world’s best airport for art (because sometimes you need a little inspiration when your flight is repeatedly delayed or when every zone gets called to board your plane before you).
So who excelled in each area of an airport’s operations? We present the winners of the awards that matter most to travellers.
And the winners are…
Fewer things are more important at airports than streamlined immigration and security – just ask the poor passengers at the end of an hour-long passport control line.
Covering multiple aspects of the arrivals, transfer and departures border control process, including waiting times, queuing systems, priority lanes, e-gate systems, overall efficiency and courtesy of immigration staff, the prize for the World’s Best Airport Immigration Service this year goes to Singapore Changi.
World’s Best Airport Immigration Service 2024
- 1 Singapore Changi
- 2 Zurich
- 3 Bahrain
- 4 Seoul Incheon
- 5 Taiwan Taoyuan
- 6 Helsinki-Vantaa
- 7 Doha Hamad
- 8 Hong Kong
- 9 Muscat
- 10 Rome Fiumicino
Security screening is even more of a bugbear to many than border control. But some airports make it less painful than others.
The winner of the award for World’s Best Airport Security Screening excelled the most in various aspects of the security process including waiting times, queuing systems, priority lanes, smart security options, preparation and repacking facilities, efficiency and courtesy of staff. And the winner in 2024 is Rome Fiumicino.
“Rome Fiumicino Airport has invested significantly in technologies and services with the aim of making sure that passengers have an efficient and safe travel experience,” Skytrax CEO Edward Plaisted said.
World’s Best Airport Security Screening 2024
- 1 Rome Fiumicino
- 2 Zurich
- 3 Seoul Incheon
- 4 Doha Hamad
- 5 Tokyo Haneda
- 6 Singapore Changi
- 7 Dubai
- 8 Tokyo Narita
- 9 Taiwan Taoyuan
- 10 Bahrain
Another priority for passengers is baggage handling – because whilst uncommon, luggage gets lost more often than you’d think.
Based on the waiting time for bag collection, efficiency of baggage delivery and response to lost luggage, the World’s Best Airports for Baggage Delivery award goes to Japan’s Kansai airport. Incredibly, the Osaka hub received the prize for the eighth time this year.
“We believe that the record of having no baggage lost since the opening of the airport is the result of the daily efforts and careful work of everyone involved, including airlines and handling companies,” Kansai said in a statement.
World’s Best Airports for Baggage Delivery 2024
- 1 Kansai
- 2 Singapore Changi
- 3 Bahrain
- 4 Doha Hamad
- 5 Centrair Nagoya
- 6 Helsinki-Vantaa
- 7 Tokyo Haneda
- 8 Taiwan Taoyuan
- 9 Seoul Incheon
- 10 Dubai
Passengers remember friendly airport staff, especially because they’re usually the first encounter travellers have with a destination (and we also remember the unfriendly experiences).
The award for World’s Best Airport Staff recognises the quality of service (attitude, friendliness, efficiency) delivered across front-line positions at an airport, including those working at customer help desks, immigration and security, retail, and food and beverage outlets. This year’s winner is Tokyo Narita.
World’s Best Airport Staff 2024
- 1 Tokyo Narita
- 2 Munich
- 3 Seoul Incheon
- 4 Singapore Changi
- 5 Tokyo Haneda
- 6 Hong Kong
- 7 Bahrain
- 8 Doha Hamad
- 9 Haikou Meilan
- 10 Centrair Nagoya
Best Airport Staff in Australia/Pacific 2024
- 1 Perth
- 2 Auckland
- 3 Melbourne
- 4 Adelaide
- 5 Gold Coast
- 6 Brisbane
- 7 Nadi
- 8 Sydney
- 9 Wellington
- 10 Alice Springs
The award for the World’s Most Family Friendly Airport considers the quality and quantity of family-friendly initiatives at airports – from dedicated family security and immigration facilities to the standard of play areas, and baby and childcare rooms. When it comes to family-friendly hubs, none do it better than Seoul Incheon.
World’s Most Family Friendly Airport 2024
- 1 Seoul Incheon
- 2 Istanbul
- 3 Singapore Changi
- 4 Amsterdam Schiphol
- 5 Zurich
- 6 Munich
- 7 Bahrain
- 8 Doha Hamad
- 9 Rome Fiumicino
- 10- London Gatwick
One can only imagine how difficult it is to keep an airport clean, as millions of passengers from all over the world pass through its doors, onto its floors and in and out of its bathrooms. But some hubs manage to keep it cleaner than others – like Tokyo Haneda Airport, which defended its World’s Cleanest Airports crown from last year.
Presenting the awards, Skytrax says that after the COVID-19 pandemic “the standards of airport cleanliness have become much more important to customers and airports maintaining these highest standards are well featured in the best airport cleanliness results”.
World’s Cleanest Airports 2024
- 1 Tokyo Haneda
- 2 Seoul Incheon
- 3 Singapore Changi
- 4 Doha Hamad
- 5 Centrair Nagoya
- 6 Tokyo Narita
- 7 Kansai
- 8 Hong Kong
- 9 Taiwan Taoyuan
- 10 Zurich
The World’s Best Airport Dining Experience award covers the selection and quality of food and beverage outlets at airports (including cafes, bars, restaurants, fast food etc) as well as value for money. Airport dining can also be a platform to showcase local cuisine.
If you enjoy a good feed at an airport, look no further than this year’s winner Istanbul, which incidentally Australians now have direct access to from Melbourne, thanks to the launch of Turkish Airlines flights in March.
World’s Best Airport Dining Experience 2024
- 1 Istanbul
- 2 Singapore Changi
- 3 Seoul Incheon
- 4 Doha Hamad
- 5 Rome Fiumicino
- 6 Dallas/Fort Worth
- 7 Munich
- 8 Tokyo Haneda
- 9 Houston George Bush
- 10 Atlanta
Whether it’s to pick up a last-minute souvenir (the one you’ve overlooked until now), a $5 trinket or a $5,000 luxury handbag, airports can be a great place for a spot of shopping. And even if you don’t intend to buy something, do some browsing… it’s good for the soul (and for your wallet, if it’s duty-free). The best airport for shopping, like it was last year, is Doha Hamad.
“Our continuous investment in our facilities and pioneering initiatives in retail and hospitality within a single expansive terminal has made this achievement possible,” Qatar Airways Group CEO Badr Mohammed Al-Meer said after Hamad picked up the award.
World’s Best Airport Shopping 2024
- 1 Doha Hamad
- 2 London Heathrow
- 3 Singapore Changi
- 4 Paris CDG
- 5 Dubai
- 6 Seoul Incheon
- 7 Tokyo Narita
- 8 Istanbul
- 9 Munich
- 10 Rome Fiumicino
Based on guest surveys that assessed hotel standards including overall experience, access to/from a terminal, friendly and professional staff, cleanliness, comfort, amenities (including in-room and leisure facilities), quality of food and value for money, the Airport Hotel Awards is as comprehensive as it is competitive. Considering all of this criteria, the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport once again comes out on top.
World’s Best Airport Hotels 2024
- 1 Crowne Plaza Changi Airport
- 2 Hyatt Regency Shenzhen Airport
- 3 TWA Hotel New York JFK
- 4 Hilton Munich Airport
- 5 Fairmont Vancouver Airport
- 6 Grand Hyatt at SFO
- 7 Mövenpick Hotel Bahrain
- 8 Hilton Schiphol Airport
- 9 Pullman Guangzhou Airport
- 10 Sofitel London Heathrow
Best Airport Hotels in Australia/Pacific 2024
- 1 Pullman Sydney Airport
- 2 Pullman Auckland Airport
- 3 Parkroyal Melbourne Airport
- 4 Pullman Brisbane Airport
- 5 Novotel Brisbane Airport
An award in just its second year, the prize for World’s Best Art in an Airport might sound unimportant, but a deeper dive reveals its relevance for travellers – and indeed the destinations in which they find themselves.
“Airports serve as both the welcome and farewell to the city, and in many cases, the airport provides local, regional or cultural memories,” Skytrax says on the World Airport Awards website.
“Airport art and sculpture can be a valuable means of customer engagement and marketing and an excellent stimulus to comfort, distract, and entertain. Many customers today use social media while travelling, and airport artwork is a popular feature to post.”
The results for this award are based on a Skytrax audit analysis rather than customer survey results.
World’s Best Art in the Airport 2024
- 1 Houston Airport System
- 2 Mumbai
- 3 Singapore Changi
- 4 Doha Hamad
- 5 Los Angeles
- 6 Amsterdam Schiphol
- 7 Vancouver
- 8 Bangalore
- 9 Atlanta
- 10 Sacramento
“Houston Airports is dedicated to creating a 5-Star global air service gateway that celebrates the magic of flight,” Houston Airports Director of Aviation Jim Szczesniak said upon receiving the award.
“It’s an honour to know that our unique arts program resonates with our passengers and the thoughtful ways we delight and entertain create positive and lasting memories.”
Find out which hub was crowned best overall airport in the Australia-Pacific region for the fourth time in five years, and which airport picked up the prestigious prize of World’s Best Airport at the 2024 World Airport Awards held in Germany.
