The Insider’s Guide To The World’s Best Airports

Airports Council International (ACI) World recently revealed this year’s Airport Service Quality awards which highlight the world’s best airports as judged by their customers.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a dramatic impact on global passenger traffic in 2020 as well as changing customer perceptions and expectations of the airport experience. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, airports managed to collect ASQ surveys from their customers throughout the year and 108 awards have been won by 89 individual airports around the world.

Based on new hygiene related questions added to the survey questionnaire, ACI has introduced a new award – ‘Best Hygiene Measures by Region’ – of which there are 33 inaugural winners.

This award provided airports with a reliable method of gauging customer response to new health measures and recognizes airports’ success in responding to the intense focus on hygiene. The new category also complements ACI’s Airport Health Accreditation programme, launched last year, which has resulted in more than 275 airports being accredited already.

“ACI’s Airport Service Quality awards represent the highest possible accolade for airport operators around the world,” ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira said. “This year more than any other, the awards recognize those airports that have listened to their customers and adapted the services and experiences they offer to meet changing needs and expectations under very trying circumstances.

“I am proud of the achievements of all ASQ award winners which shows their focus on delivering excellence in customer experience and setting an example of excellence for their peers. As we come together as an industry to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the focus on customers that the ASQ programme provides will help guide the way.”

BEST HYGIENE MEASURES BY REGION

Award CategoryAirport NameCity and Country
Best hygiene measures by region
AFRICA
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International AirportPort Louis, Mauritius
ASIA PACIFIC
Beijing Daxing International AirportBeijing, China
Chandigarh AirportChandigarh, India
Depati Amir AirportPangkal Pinang, Indonesia
Husein Sastranegara AirportBandung, Indonesia
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International AirportKolkata, India
Pune AirportPune, India
Soekarno-Hatta International AirportJakarta, Indonesia
EUROPE
Aeropuerto de Alicante-ElcheAlicante, Spain
Aeropuerto de Federico García Lorca Granada-JaénGranada, Spain
Aeropuerto de MenorcaMenorca, Spain
Aeropuerto de PamplonaPamplona, Spain
Aeropuerto Internacional Región de MurciaMurcia, Spain
Aeropuerto Seve Ballesteros-SantanderSantander, Spain
Belgrade Nikola Tesla AirportBelgrade, Republic of Serbia
Faro AirportFaro, Portugal 
Helsinki-Vantaa AirportHelsinki, Finland
Joao Paulo II AirportPonta Delgada, Portugal
Keflavik International AirportKeflavik, Iceland
Madeira AirportMadeira, Portugal
Porto AirportPorto, Portugal
Skopje International AirportSkopje, North Macedonia 
Tallinn AirportTallinn, Estonia
LATIN AMERICA-CARIBBEAN
Daniel Oduber Quirós International AirportLiberia, Costa Rica
Punta Cana International AirportPunta Cana, Dominican Republic
MIDDLE EAST
King Khalid International AirportRiyadh, Saudi Arabia
Salalah AirportSalalah, Oman
NORTH AMERICA
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International AirportAtlanta, United States of America
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International AirportNew Orleans, United States of America
San Antonio International AirportSan Antonio, United States of America
Tampa International AirportTampa, United States of America
Toronto Pearson International AirportToronto, Canada
Victoria International AirportVictoria, Canada

BEST AIRPORT BY SIZE & REGION

Award CategoryAirport NameCity and Country
Best Airport by Size and Region
AFRICA
Under 2 million passengersMoi International AirportMombasa, Kenya
2 – 5 million passengersKotoka International AirportAccra, Ghana
5 – 15 million passengersJomo Kenyatta International AirportNairobi, Kenya
Nnamdi Azikiwe International AirportAbuja, Nigeria
ASIA-PACIFIC
Under 2 million passengersDepati Amir AirportPangkal Pinang, Indonesia
Silangit AirportTapanuli, Indonesia
Sultan Thaha AirportKota Jambi, Indonesia
2 – 5 million passengersChandigarh AirportChandigarh, India
Husein Sastranegara AirportBandung, Indonesia
Jenderal Ahmad Yani International AirportSemerang, Indonesia
Lal Bahadur Shastri International AirportVaranasi, India
Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International AirportAmritsar, India
Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International AirportPalembang, Indonesia
Supadio AirportPontianak, Indonesia
5 – 15 million passengersChangchun Longjia International AirportChangchun, China
Cochin International AirportCochin, India
Shijiazhuang Zhengding International AirportShijiazhuang, China
Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan International AirportKalimantan, Indonesia
Sultan Hasanuddin Makassar International AirportUjung, Indonesia
Xi’ning Caojiapu AirportQinghai, China
15 – 25 million passengersHaikou Meilan International AirportHaikou, China
Rajiv Gandhi International AirportHyderabad, India
Shenyang Taoxian International AirportShenyang, China
25 – 40 million passengersBeijing Daxing International AirportBeijing, China
Kempegowda International AirportBangalore, India
Over 40 million passengersBeijing Capital International AirportBeijing, China
Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International AirportMumbai, India
Guangzhou Baiyun International AirportGuangzhou, China
Indira Gandhi International AirportDelhi, India
Shanghai Pudong International AirportShanghai, China
Shenzhen Bao’an International AirportShenzhen, China
Singapore Changi AirportSingapore, Singapore
EUROPE
Under 2 million passengersAeropuerto de Federico García Lorca Granada-JaénGranada, Spain
Aeropuerto de San SebastiánSan Sebastián, Spain
Inverness AirportInverness, United Kingdom
Joao Paulo II AirportPonta Delgada, Portugal
2 – 5 million passengersKrasnoyarsk International AirportKrasnoyarsk, Russian Federation
Skopje International AirportSkopje, North Macedonia
Tallinn AirportTallinn, Estonia
Zagreb AirportZagreb, Croatia
5 – 15 million passengersBelgrade Nikola Tesla AirportBelgrade, Republic of Serbia
Faro AirportFaro, Portugal 
John Paul II International Airport Krakow – BaliceKraków, Poland
Keflavik International AirportKeflavik, Iceland
London City AirportLondon, United Kingdom
Malta International AirportMalta, Malta
Porto AirportPorto, Portugal
Sochi International AirportSochi, Russian Federation
15 – 25 million passengersHelsinki-Vantaa AirportHelsinki, Finland
Prague AirportPrague, Czech Republic
Pulkovo AirportSt Petersburg, Russian Federation
25 – 40 million passengersLisbon AirportLisbon, Portugal 
Moscow Domodedovo AirportMoscow, Russian Federation
Zurich AirportZurich, Switzerland
Over 40 million passengersAeroporto di Roma-FiumicinoRome, Italy
Sheremetyevo International AirportMoscow, Russian Federation
LATIN AMERICA-CARIBBEAN
Under 2 million passengersCuraçao International AirportCuraçao, Netherlands Antilles
Daniel Oduber Quirós International AirportLiberia, Costa Rica
2 – 5 million passengersAeropuerto Internacional José Joaquin de OlmedoGuayaquil, Ecuador 
5 – 15 million passengersPunta Cana International AirportPunta Cana, Dominican Republic
Quito International AirportQuito, Ecuador
MIDDLE EAST
5 – 15 million passengersQueen Alia International AirportAmman, Jordan
15 – 25 million passengersAbu Dhabi International AirportAbu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
NORTH AMERICA
Under 2 million passengersVictoria International AirportVictoria, Canada
2 – 5 million passengersGreenville-Spartanburg International AirportGreer, United States of America
Portland International JetportPortland, United States of America
5 – 15 million passengersIndianapolis International AirportIndianapolis, United States of America
John Glenn Columbus International AirportColumbus, United States of America
San Antonio International AirportSan Antonio, United States of America
15 – 25 million passengersAustin-Bergstrom International AirportAustin, United States of America
Dallas Love Field AirportDallas, United States of America
25 – 40 million passengersBaltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall AirportBaltimore, United States of America
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County AirportDetroit, United States of America
Over 40 million passengersHartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International AirportAtlanta, United States of America
Toronto Pearson International Airport
Toronto, Canada

The Airport Service Quality programme is the world’s leading airport customer experience measurement and benchmarking programme. The ASQ Departures programme measures passengers’ satisfaction across 34 key performance indicators. More than half of the world’s travellers pass through an ASQ airport.

ACI adapted the rigorous quality control process for the ASQ awards programme to ensure the benchmarking and findings from the ASQ surveys remained of the highest quality during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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