As with 2019, East Asia dominated this year's World Airport Awards, with seven of the top 10 airports for 2020 based in the region -- including four in Japan. While we continue to dream of when we can actually fly in and out of them again, the world's top aviation hubs for 2020 have been revealed at the annual Skytrax World Airport Awards recently.
The awards, voted for by customers in a global airport customer satisfaction survey, were originally scheduled to take place on April 1 at the Passenger Terminal Expo in Paris, which was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, the 2020 award announcements were made on May 10 through a virtual ceremony that took place live on YouTube.
And in what will come as a surprise to virtually no one, Singapore Changi Airport has for the eighth year in a row been crowned the "World's Best Airport." Tokyo Haneda Airport earned second place and Doha's Hamad International Airport rose to the number three spot.
"Having deferred the award announcements for nearly six weeks, we felt it was now right to try and bring some cheer into the airport industry in these difficult times," said Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax, in a statement.
The World's Top 10 Airports of 2020
1. Singapore Changi Airport
2. Tokyo Haneda Airport
3. Hamad International Airport (Doha, Qatar)
4. Incheon International Airport (South Korea)
5. Munich Airport (Germany)
6. Hong Kong International Airport
7. Narita International Airport (Tokyo)
8. Chūbu Centrair International Airport (Nagoya, Japan)
9. Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
10. Kansai International Airport (Osaka, Japan)
According to Skytrax, customers from more than 100 different countries participated in the survey, which was conducted from September 2019 to February 2020 and covers 550 airports. Singapore's win was practically guaranteed. The April 2019 opening of the Jewel Changi Airport, a multi-use complex designed to connect three of Changi Airport's four terminals, bolstered the hub's already impressive array of offerings. Jewel's star attraction is the 40-meter-tall (around 130 feet) HSBC Rain Vortex, which cascades through a huge oculus in the middle and is billed as the world's tallest indoor waterfall.
Though Tokyo Haneda might have been bested by Singapore's Changi in the main "World's Best Airport" category, it did snag the "World's Best Domestic Airport" and "World's Cleanest Airport" prizes. Also in Japan, Osaka's Kansai International Airport was awarded "World's Best Airport Staff Service," Chūbu Centrair International Airport in Nagoya got the "World's Best Regional Airport" prize and Tokyo's Narita International Airport was awarded "World's Best Airport Dining."
Moving to South Korea, Incheon International Airport's T2 won the "World's Best Airport Terminal" award. Singapore's Crown Plaza Changi Airport once again was awarded "World's Best Airport Hotel" and Hong Kong International Airport won the "World's Best Airport Immigration" prize. Outside of Asia, the award for "World's Most Improved Airport" went to Paris Orly Airport, while London Heathrow Airport was awarded "World's Best Airport Shopping" and Houston Airports won the "Best Airport Website & Digital Services" award.
For the full list of winners, visit the Skytrax World Airport Awards website. Or you can watch the ceremony here:
Source: Skytrax, CNN