Singapore Changi Airport has once again topped Skytrax’s ranking of the world’s best airports, which was revealed at the 2023 World Airport Awards ceremony on March 15. The airport was named Number one in the world for eight consecutive years from 2013 to 2020, setting the record for the longest winning streak since the institution of the awards in 2000. However, due to the pandemic, the airport lost the crown to Hamad International Airport and Haneda Airport in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Let’s take a look at the world’s finest and most expensive airports in 2023:
Singapore’s Changi Airport
The airport has literally everything — While its construction cost was $1.7 billion, the airport’s hub was only built in 2014. Changi has a stunning, world’s highest 40-meter indoor waterfall, a butterfly garden, an IMAX theatre, and over 280 retail and eating establishments. It has a yearly passenger traffic of 85 million, serves more than 90 airlines, and links Singapore to 140 locations around the world.
Changi Airport has gym and shower facilities, resting places, a 16-meter-tall indoor play area, and a swimming pool overlooking a runway throughout its four terminals. Terminal 1 is immediately connected to the 10-story shopping complex Jewel Changi Airport, which features seven themed gardens, and a forest valley with over 2,000 trees. And mind you, this is all within the airport’s premises.
Doha’s Hamad International Airport
Doha’s Hamad International Airport costs $15 billion and was on number 1 in 2021 and 2022. The airport’s design is sleek and contemporary, but it pays attention to Qatar’s rich cultural legacy and natural surroundings.
The airport features a water-drop-shaped mosque, two hotels, 12 lounges, big duty-free retail sections, and a health club with two squash courts, a gym, a sauna, and a swimming pool. A large public art program features work by renowned local and international artists. The airport also features the well-known ‘Lamp Bear’ sculpture by Swiss artist Urs Fischer.
Tokyo’s Haneda Airport and Seoul’s Incheon International Airport
In the top ten list, Tokyo’s Haneda Airport has been ranked third, while Incheon International Airport was fourth. This year, Japan has two airports in the top ten, with Narita International Airport ranking ninth.
Other top airports included Paris (fifth), Istanbul (sixth), Munich (seventh), and Zurich (eighth). Except for Osaka’s Kansai International Airport, which was replaced by Spain’s Madrid-Barajas Airport (tenth), every one of the airports in last year’s top ten list returned.
Several variables were also included in the Skytrax poll to rank airports. Seoul’s Incheon International Airport has the “best airport employees in the world,” while China’s Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport has the “most upgraded airport.”
Skytrax uses systematic unbiased passenger surveys to assess traveler experiences across a range of airport facilities and key performance metrics, including check-in, arrivals, transfers, shopping, security, and immigration, as well as a departure at the gate for the select winners each year.