Skytrax has again issued an annual review of the world’s airports, naming its top 100 (although only the Top Ten really get much attention) and this year it’s a surprise at #1, which went to Qatar’s Doha Hamad airport, ending an eight-year reign for Singapore’s Changi, which slipped to #3.
The ratings summarize a public vote that stretched from August 2020 to July 2021, and Skytrax admits the results might be different from a normal year, since they believe that while some people voted based on their this-year experiences, many others may have made mental adjustments for previous use.
Second place went to Tokyo Haneda, the closer-in and preferred-by-many alternative to Narita. Until a few short years ago, the Japanese government was actively pushing airlines to move from Haneda. The other two in the top five, Seoul and Narita, are also in Asia. Three European airports, Munich, Zurich and Heathrow took sixth through eighth places, trailed by Kansai, in Japan and Hong Kong.
The highest ranked U.S. Airport was Houston Bush at 25; Los Angeles and JFK scored 75 and 86, with Chicago and Atlanta nowhere on the list. A few other U.S. airports were scattered in the lower half. A possibly ironic award went to Istanbul’s new airport; it was rated most improved, not surprising since it only fully opened halfway through the previous voting cycle.
