World's Best Airports - Yet Another Poll

[PeterRS]

How valuable these polls are is always questionable. Yet Skytrax has gained in popularity if only because its voters are (mostly) real travellers and it has a huge respondent base. So here are its 2025 top 10.

1. Singapore Changi Airport

2. Doha Hamad International Airport

3. Tokyo Haneda Airport

4. Seoul Incheon International Airport

5. Tokyo Narita International Airport

6. Hong Kong International Airport

7. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport

8. Rome Fiumicino Airport

9. Munich Airport

10. Zurich Airport

Not really surprising that the top six are all in Asia. Nine are in Europe. The only one from North America is Vancouver at #13. Top US airport is Houston Hobby (never head of it! It seems it has just one international route to Dusseldorf - and so I have to wonder how did it gain so many votes?). Houston George Bush comes in at 33 but pipped by New York's LGA at #29. Perhaps not surprisingly JFK is way down at #89. 

https://www.worldairportawards.com/worlds-top-100-airports-2025/

[reader]

Agree that Changi deserves top spot.

I most frequently transit Narita and find it efficient and easy to navigate due to good signage.

Doha is a sleek airport but I've gone to bus gates there too often.

 

[TMax]

Yeah no surprises with Changi coming in at number 1.

[khaolakguy]

I am not surprised to see Rome Fiumicino in the top ten. I recently transited there and was impressed by how friendly and helpful everyone was. The ITA lounge was great!

Actually I was surprised what an overall step forward ITA had taken compared to the old Alitalia.

[Keithambrose]

9 hours ago, PeterRS said:

How valuable these polls are is always questionable. Yet Skytrax has gained in popularity if only because its voters are (mostly) real travellers and it has a huge respondent base. So here are its 2025 top 10.

1. Singapore Changi Airport

2. Doha Hamad International Airport

3. Tokyo Haneda Airport

4. Seoul Incheon International Airport

5. Tokyo Narita International Airport

6. Hong Kong International Airport

7. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport

8. Rome Fiumicino Airport

9. Munich Airport

10. Zurich Airport

Not really surprising that the top six are all in Asia. Nine are in Europe. The only one from North America is Vancouver at #13. Top US airport is Houston Hobby (never head of it! It seems it has just one international route to Dusseldorf - and so I have to wonder how did it gain so many votes?). Houston George Bush comes in at 33 but pipped by New York's LGA at #29. Perhaps not surprisingly JFK is way down at #89. 

https://www.worldairportawards.com/worlds-top-100-airports-2025/

I always regard these polls with suspicious ion. I recall reading that there were terrible immigration  queues at Incheon,  for example. Also,  I find Charles de Gaulle a mess. I'm surprised  that any US airport is anywhere near the top!

[reader]

Long arrival or departure queues can give even otherwise good airports poor marks, and deservedly so. On my last three flights out of  US, luggage inspection has been speeded up noticeably at locations where TSA has installed new explosive detection screeners. No longer have to remove anything from carry-on bags.

These are same machines used to scan bags going into luggage compartments.

 

 

[Olddaddy]

Phillipines Ninoy Aquino had to be the worst followed by Sydney Airport 

Malaysia 🇲🇾 wasn't happy I had to get a bus from one side to the other .. ridiculous 😞 

[BjornAgain]

You'll be hard pressed to beat Barra Airport on the Isle of Barra in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland.

The world's only commercial airport that has a beach as the runway.

For those of you that remember the Crompton Mackenzie novel Whisky Galore!, based on the sinking of the SS Politician in 1941 off Eriskay, or the subsequent films, this is only 5km away, with people today still finding the odd bottle!

[floridarob]

9 hours ago, Keithambrose said:

I'm surprised  that any US airport is anywhere near the top

Other than long security lines at times, due to the volume of people (with children 🥺) MCO- Orlando Florida has always been my favorite airport in the US.

Land side check in to monorail for the gates.... hardly anytime from takeoff or landings, whereas so many airports you can taxi for 30 mins to an hour....

The Brightline train station to Fort Lauderdale and Miami is right in the Airport, terminal C..... 

Then there's this:

 

• Airport Planning:

  Disney has been involved in discussions about airport improvements and new terminal construction, highlighting their influence on airport development

   
• Disney's Influence:

  While not directly controlling MCO, Disney's influence is evident in the airport's operations 

[unicorn]

Rather ridiculous list IMHO. CDG is a convoluted mess, with poorly-connected terminals. Heathrow is among the worst. I recently (less than 2 days ago) had to go from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3, and it involved a bus ride through various roads and tunnels. The ride itself was 17 minutes. Add to that an 8 minute wait for the bus. Plus, when one switches terminals one has to go through security all over again, meaning one essentially has to count on a good 40 minutes just to switch terminals. Gatwick is even worse. When connecting flights, you have to go through immigration as well as security all over again! (Most countries, including Europe, will require an ETA (essentially an eVisa) just to connect in Gatwick, even if you're not spending any time in the UK). I didn't even have to show my passport to go through immigration at LAX. A machine just scanned my eyes, and voila, they just said "You're done!". However, traffic at LAX can be very problematic. I really enjoy DCA. 

[vinapu]

2 hours ago, unicorn said:

Rather ridiculous list IMHO. 

not to dispute it as I agree with you  but I'm certain that we , forummers here wouldn't agree on any list , be it best airports ., hotels , bars or even chicken with cashew nuts.

[Mavica]

On 4/12/2025 at 8:07 AM, Keithambrose said:

I always regard these polls with suspicious ion.

I don't see how many respondents there were, but responses would be almost entirely for 2024, not 2025 ... but that may be insignificant.  Polls are snapshots in time.  Sometimes valid, sometimes not ... but interesting to read.

[Mavica]

Quote

Other than long security lines at times, due to the volume of people (with children 🥺) MCO- Orlando Florida has always been my favorite airport in the US.

For frequent fliers, Orlando may be one of the very best departure points ... because there are direct flights to/from there from worldwide points - at decently priced fares.  That said, I prefer not to use the airport.  Throngs of families, long lines at security (oftentimes), etc.

[PeterRS]

3 hours ago, unicorn said:

Heathrow is among the worst. I recently (less than 2 days ago) had to go from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3, and it involved a bus ride through various roads and tunnels. The ride itself was 17 minutes. Add to that an 8 minute wait for the bus. Plus, when one switches terminals one has to go through security all over again, meaning one essentially has to count on a good 40 minutes just to switch terminals.

I have loathed Heathrow for years and always preferred to take Qatar through Doha to get to my UK destination. Last month, though, I had to take Cathay Pacific through Heathrow. I transferred in the opposite direction, from Terminals 3 to 5 and was not looking forward to it. Although quite a few flights had arrived around that time, surprisingly there were buses waiting and queueing was maximum of 1 minute. The bus trip was no more than 5 minutes, immigration was a breeze with the new facial recognition and security very fast. But I deplaned at 06:35 in the morning. I wonder when @unicorn arrived? I can't imagine how long that would all have taken had it been around midday.

[PeterRS]

On 4/12/2025 at 11:45 PM, BjornAgain said:

For those of you that remember the Crompton Mackenzie novel Whisky Galore!, based on the sinking of the SS Politician in 1941 off Eriskay, or the subsequent films, this is only 5km away, with people today still finding the odd bottle!

Sounds like a new twist on Duty Free! I do remember that first movie with much fondness. It had some great actors like Gordon Jackson, James Robertson Justice, Duncan McRae, John Gregson and the incomparable Joan Greenwood. Of her amazing and very distinctive husky voice, her son recalls it as like "the sound of someone gargling with champagne" and Variety magazine as "one of the wonders of the modern world"!

[unicorn]

1 hour ago, PeterRS said:

I have loathed Heathrow for years and always preferred to take Qatar through Doha to get to my UK destination. Last month, though, I had to take Cathay Pacific through Heathrow. I transferred in the opposite direction, from Terminals 3 to 5 and was not looking forward to it. Although quite a few flights had arrived around that time, surprisingly there were buses waiting and queueing was maximum of 1 minute. The bus trip was no more than 5 minutes, immigration was a breeze with the new facial recognition and security very fast. But I deplaned at 06:35 in the morning. I wonder when @unicorn arrived? I can't imagine how long that would all have taken had it been around midday.

It was late morning, around 11 AM. There were several km of travel, including two tunnels, and multiple crossings in which the bus had to wait for aircraft or other vehicles. I'd be surprised the trip could be done within 5 minutes even under the best circumstances. The buses were scheduled 10 minutes apart, so a one-minute wait would have been a very luckily short wait. 

[PeterRS]

45 minutes ago, unicorn said:

It was late morning, around 11 AM. There were several km of travel, including two tunnels, and multiple crossings in which the bus had to wait for aircraft or other vehicles. I'd be surprised the trip could be done within 5 minutes even under the best circumstances. The buses were scheduled 10 minutes apart, so a one-minute wait would have been a very luckily short wait. 

I guess I was lucky for it was so early in the morning and the buses were actually queuing up to take passengers to terminal 5. I waited no more than 30 seconds from one bus departing to getting on to the next. It took little more than 30 more seconds to fill. I recall just one pause along the route. The tunnels did not present any problem. Even I was surprised it was so short! By 11:00, though, the planes would have been arriving thick and fast with vastly more interline traffic and so I am much less surprised that the journey took a great deal longer.