Singapore’s Changi Airport has been named “World’s Best Airport” for a record twelfth time.
The city-state airport reclaimed the title in “World Airport Awards 2023” announced yesterday by aviation research company Skytrax.
Changi Airport previously won the top spot in Skytrax’s annual ranking for seven consecutive years from 2013 to 2020, but was ranked behind Doha’s Hamad International Airport and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport in the past two years.
Global travelers representing more than 100 nationalities took part in the Skytrax survey, which also named Singapore’s Changi Airport as:
- The best airport in Asia
- The best airport in the world – restaurants and
- The world’s best airport – leisure facilities.
Customers rated the airport on a number of factors, including shopping, check-in, arrivals, transfers and security and immigration.
The newly renovated departure hall of Terminal 2 at Changi Airport.
Changi Airport Group
Doha’s Hamad International Airport was second, Tokyo’s Haneda Airport was third, and Incheon International Airport was fourth. Japan had two airports in the top 10 this year, with Narita International Airport in ninth.
The main airports in Paris (fifth), Istanbul (sixth), Munich (seventh) and Zurich (eighth) took the other leading places. All of the airports in last year’s top 10 made a reappearance except Osaka’s Kansai International Airport, which was replaced by Spain’s Madrid-Barajas Airport (10th).
The ‘Chandelier’ is a 16m high play structure that children can climb on in Terminal 4 of Changi Airport.
Changi Airport Group
The Skytrax survey also ranked airports by other metrics. “World’s Best Airport Staff” can be found at Incheon International Airport in Seoul, while China’s Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport won “World’s Best Airport”.
What you should know about Changi Airport
Changi Airport has now won more than 660 “Best Airport” awards. since its opening in 1981. The airport plans to expand the capacity of its Terminal 2 building by 5 million passengers per year and has started modernization work to be completed by 2024.
Changi Airport has a gym and showers, sleeping areas, a 16m high children’s structure and a swimming pool overlooking the runway at its four terminals.
Terminal 1 connects directly to the 10-storey Jewel Changi Airport retail complex, which features seven themed gardens, a forest valley with over 2,000 trees and the world’s tallest indoor waterfall.
Passengers outside shops decorated to look like Peranakan shops in Terminal 4.
Changi Airport Group
Skytrax CEO Edward Plaisted said the win “underlines[s] the airport’s popularity with international air travelers,” he said, returning to around 80% of pre-Covid 19 levels.
More about Changi Airport
- Annual handling capacity of 85 million passengers
- Served by more than 90 airlines, it connects Singapore to 140 cities around the world
- In 2022, its top five personal markets were Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Thailand
- Its lifestyle section, Jewel, has won 25 awards since opening in 2019
