A Look at the Top 11 International Airports

There exist many different ways in which an international airport can be evaluated and rated. Each and every year, a variety of lists are created that enumerate the so-called “top” international airports the world over.

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One of the most highly regarded, and widely utilized, annually rankings of all major airports around the world is the Skytrax World Airport Awards. The survey associated with the awards includes all major international airports. In addition to this resource, there are other entities that provide evaluations of different types of international airports around the world.

The Skytrax World Airport Awards Top 11 International Airports

The Skytrax World Airport Awards represent what oftentimes are considered the most prestigious accolades within the airport industry voted on by customers. As part of the efforts of the awards program is the largest, annual global airport customer satisfaction survey. From this survey, a listing of what are considered to be the top or best international airports is generated.

The survey itself is based upon 13.82 million airport survey questionnaires. This is the largest survey pool found anywhere in the industry. The surveys are completed by men and women from 105 different nations. The survey period ran from July 2016 to February 2017.

The survey covered 550 airports worldwide, including all of the major international airports in operation around the globe. The survey includes a consumer evaluation of different airport service and product areas that include:

• check-in
• arrivals
• transfers
• shopping
• security
• migration through airport from entry to departure

The Skytrax World Airport Awards Top are more commonly known as the World Airport Awards or the Passengers Choice Awards. The are considered to be a global benchmark of airport excellence.

Because of the ubiquitous nature of the survey, and its comprehensive nature, the Passengers Choice Awards are utilized throughout the industry as a means evaluating airports, including international ones. This includes utilization of the survey data and associated Passengers Choice Awards as a means of assisting travelers in regard to their own needs, goals, and objectives when departing from or arriving at different international airports around the world.

The most recent survey, released in 2017, ranks the top 11 international airports in this order:

1 – Singapore Changi

2 – Tokyo International Airport

3 – Incheon International Airport

4 – Munich Airport

5 – Hong Kong International Airport

6 – Hamad International Airport

7 – Centrair Nagoya

8 – Zurich Airport

9 – Heathrow Airport

10 – Frankfurt Airport

11 – Amsterdam Schiphol

The Busiest are Not Always the Best

Despite the incorporation of objective criteria in determining the top 11 international airports in the world, the final recounting is still subjective. For example, what is an important feature at an international airport for one traveler may not matter much to another.

One area in which completely objective data is utilized in crafting a list is an examination of the busiest international airports on the plant. Of course, busiest does not necessarily mean the “best,” but knowing which airports have the highest traffic can prove not only interesting but useful information for an international traveler.

The 11 busiest airports the world over at this juncture in time, together with passenger travel in the last year this data is available, are:

Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International (United States) – 101,489,887

Beijing Capital International (China) – 89,938,628

Dubai International (United Arab Emirates) – 78,010,265

Chicago O’Hare International (United States) – 76,942,493

Tokyo International (Japan) – 75,316,718

London Heathrow (United Kingdom) – 74,989,914

Los Angeles International (United States) – 74,704,122

Hong Kong International (Hong Kong) – 68,342,785

Charles de Gaulle International (France) – 65,771,288

Dallas Fort Worth International (United States) – 64,072,468

Atatürk International (Turkey) – 61,836,781

Condé Nast Traveler List of the Best and Worst Airports in the United States

Condé Nast Traveler is considered to be the magazine of choice for the discriminating traveler in the United States. Each year, Condé Nast Traveler presents a list of the 10 best and the 10 worst airports in the United States. As a general rule, most if not all of the airports on the Condé Nast Traveler lists are international.

The Condé Nast Traveler list ends at 10 rather than 11. However, a good many professionals in the industry might add Denver International Airport to both the best and worst lists. Denver International Airport, or DIA, has many of the most passenger-friendly amenities to be found at any international airport. On the other hand, the airport is a good distance from the city, which nearly always impacts the overall rating given to it by leisure and business travelers.

The Condé Nast Traveler 10 Best Airports in the United States:

Indianapolis International Airport

Tampa International Airport

Portland International Airport

Long Beach Airport

John Wayne Airport

Palm Beach International Airport

T.F. Green Airport

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

Raleigh-Durham International Airport

Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport

The Condé Nast Traveler 10 Worst Airports in the United States:

LaGuardia Airport

Los Angeles International Airport

John F. Kennedy International Airport

Newark Liberty International Airport

Miami International Airport

Philadelphia International Airport

Washington-Dulles International Airport

Kona International Airport, Hawaii

Memphis International Airport

Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport

Jessica Kane is a professional blogger who writes for Documents International LLC, a leading apostille service for individuals and businesses.