Personally, I quite disagree with some of these 10 best airports that I am about to list out here. I can definitely come up with another equally fabulous list, especially when it comes to beauty and aesthetics. But yes, I am not about to go debating with Skytrax, an agency that considers over 39 different evaluation factors to come up with the annual Skytrax World Air Awards.
The awards presented by Skytrax are the world’s most prestigious ones for the airport industry, where service quality and product factors from the airports of over 160 countries are judged according to passenger surveys. The awards are known for their impartiality and independence from alliances, and are often considered as the world’s airport quality benchmark. The following airports featured in the 2014 awards, were announced by Skytrax in a ceremony held on 26th March 2014, in Barcelona, Spain. The results were based on the opinions of a staggering 12.85 million customer nominations, across 110 air traveler nationalities. In the 410 airports worldwide, these 10 caught all the accolades!
10) London Heathrow International
9) Vancouver International
via:www.vancouver-cityofpeace.ca
For the fifth time in a row, Vancouver International Airport has been taking the accolade of being the best airport in North America. Vancouver airport came 9th in the overall world rankings. As the second busiest airport in Canada, the airport serves over 17 million travelers annually, and handles over 258,000 landings and take-offs per year. In 2013, the airport was expanded and revamped on a spending of about $1.4 billion. The airport sports a large collection of Pacific Northwest native art for travelers to enjoy, and one can only guess how many photos get taken here for Facebook updates! The airport has not just ranked on facilities, visual appeal and ease of travel, but it is actually the staff that makes the airport experience out of this world. Volunteers, known as green coat ambassadors, work tirelessly here, to ensure that air passengers get all the help they may require at airports.
8) Zurich Airport
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Zurich airport, the largest international airport in Switzerland, gets at least 24.8 million annual passengers. The airport was expanded in 2003 to include a new terminal and the Skymetro, an underground train that is automated. Dining facilities, airport security processing services and smooth immigration are what makes this airport popular with travelers. If you ask me though, it is the mix of interesting “other” facilities that make it unique. For example, I find the fact that they have showers for travelers in transit (or otherwise) particularly amusing. For just CHF 15, they even give you a towel, shampoo, shower gel, body lotion and a hair dryer. Cool right? Well, that’s not enough. The airport even has a porter service where your luggage is sorted right up to the final destination.
7) Beijing Capital International Airport
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Beijing Capital International Airport, better known as China Gateway, is one of the busiest and largest aviation hubs in the world; and according to these awards, it is also one of the best! About 78.7 million passengers find themselves in this airport each year. Considering that it is the second busiest airport in the world, it is no surprise that the city wishes to build another supplementary airport. The airport did well in the best airport hotel and best new terminal categories. What passengers here might have been impressed with are the various facilities provided by the airport for easing journeying travelers. With the usual banks, arms and currency exchange kiosks, their airport also has a post office, an hourly lounge and children’s’ play areas.
6) Tokyo International Airport Haneda
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The Tokyo International Airport Haneda is one of Tokyo’s primary airports and caters to about 62.6 million travelers annually. In 2010, the airport opened a third terminal for international passengers and thus, increased capacity to about 90 million annual passengers. There is still more upcoming construction though, as the airport plans a terminal expansion of about 8 new gates, additional parking and another hotel. The appeal of this airport lies in its duty-free and otherwise shopping areas and restaurants. The airport also won in the best domestic airport category and was appreciated for its cleanliness and security processes.
5) Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
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Amsterdam’s main International airport, the Schiphol airport, has won numerous awards across diverse categories in the last 30 years. It has been equally celebrated by both passengers, as well as airline agencies. With 49.8 million annual passengers commuting through the airport and with its military airfield addition, the airport is already in the ‘busiest airports’ league. Waiting time here is a ball for most passengers, for they can play poker in the casino, dig into a great book at the library or even get a relaxing massage. I for one, wouldn’t mind getting stranded here, The Terminal style! The airport is also rated highly in the excellent dining, leisure facilities and shopping categories.
4) Hong Kong International Airport
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Hong Kong International Airport features high in this best airports list, despite being just a ‘two terminal and two runways’ facility. Despite falling short in largess, this airport offers over 100 airlines with connectivity, and caters to the needs of over 53.5 million travelers annually! This is also one of the busiest airports in the world, which comes as no surprise considering that half the world’s flying population is just 5.5 flight hours away! This airport wows passengers in the dining, baggage delivery, shopping and cleanliness areas. If you have a long transit here, you can even play golf! They have a 9-hole golf course right at your disposal!
3) Munich International Airport
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Munich International Airport is Germany’s second busiest airport and has an annual influx of about 37.8 million passengers. The terminals and the walkways between them are beautiful and aesthetically pleasing. By using a lot of glass in the structure, designers of the airport have ensured that its areas appear larger and there is a lot of natural light filtering through. Though the airport is widely praised for its shopping and dining options, it offers some excellent leisure activities such as a casino and play arcade too. The visitors viewing facilities at this airport are also interesting, wherein visitors can enjoy the ‘viewing park’ and the ‘viewing hill’ where 3 historic air crafts, namely the Super Constellation, Douglas DC-3 and Junkers Ju 52/3m, are on display.
2) Incheon International Airport
(2) Incheon International Airport (Via www.forcade-wayfinding.com)
South Korea’s Incheon International Airport bagged the Skytrax runner-up award this year. Incheon is South Korea’s largest airport and has about 39.2 million annual passengers, and serves more than 70 airlines! Incheon has the honor of holding one of the only three 5-star ratings that Skytrax has ever given to airports worldwide. Even Airports Council International commends this airport for being their top ranked airport for every consecutive year, from 2005 to 2012! Not only is the airport a favorite because of its shopping facilities, cleanliness, rest areas, internet access and food joints, but it also sparkles in its cultural facilities. The airport has an in-house museum that displays local cultural artifacts and highlights Korean culture. Now that’s something unique, no?
1) Singapore’s Changi International Airport
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For the second time in a row, Singapore’s Changi International airport has been crowned as the best airport in the world by Skytrax. It also laid its claim on the award for the best leisure amenities. Changi opened its T3 terminal in 2008, and wowed the world with its ‘we are green’ concepts. The terminal is lit with skylights, making artificial lighting almost negligible during the stay, and has indoor gardens that feature over 200 varieties of foliage! T3 also has a 4-story slide for those who dare to take it; and for the more movie inclined passengers, there is a movie theater too! If you are in transit, you can take a round in the indoor butterfly garden or indulge yourself in the 130 odd shopping and dining facilities provided! The airport is singularly designed to alleviate your stress levels and it is definitely one airport where you’d rather not mind any long layovers.
All passenger figures in this article are courtesy of the Airports Council International.
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