Singapore’s Changi loses its ‘world’s best airport’ crown to Qatar’s Hamad International, with London Heathrow coming eighth in the 2021 ranking

Singapore Changi held the title of ‘world’s best airport’ for eight years in a row, but now it has lost its crown to Hamad International Airport in Doha.

The Qatari hub has been named the No.1 in the world in the 2021 Skytrax World Airport Awards, with Changi coming third behind second-place Tokyo Haneda Airport.

South Korea’s Incheon International Airport has been named the fourth best, with London Heathrow Airport coming a very respectable eighth, way ahead of rival hub Gatwick, which comes 69th.

Hamad International Airport in Doha (pictured) has been named the No.1 airport in the world in the 2021 Skytrax World Airport Awards

THE TOP 100 BEST AIRPORTS FOR 2021 

1 Doha Hamad

2 Tokyo Haneda

3 Singapore Changi

4 Seoul Incheon

5 Tokyo Narita

6 Munich

7 Zurich

8 London Heathrow

9 Kansai

10 Hong Kong

11 Centrair Nagoya

12 Amsterdam Schiphol

13 Helsinki-Vantaa

14 Guangzhou

15 Paris CDG

16 Frankfurt

17 Istanbul

18 Copenhagen

19 Dubai

20 Madrid Barajas

21 Shanghai Hongqiao

22 Melbourne

23 Vienna

24 Vancouver

25 Houston George Bush

26 Hamburg

27 Fukuoka

28 Sydney

29 Haikou Meilan

30 Dusseldorf

31 Xi’an

32 Brisbane

33 Cape Town

34 Jakarta

35 Auckland

36 Rome Fiumicino

37 Taiwan Taoyuan

38 Toronto Pearson

39 Barcelona

40 Quito

41 Cologne / Bonn

42 Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky

43 Bogota

44 Denver

45 Delhi

46 Atlanta

47 Athens

48 Shenzhen

49 Houston Hobby

50 Jeddah

 

51 Baku

52 Durban King Shaka

53 Seattle-Tacoma

54 Johannesburg

55 Kuala Lumpur

56 Muscat

57 Moscow Sheremetyevo

58 Riyadh

59 Seoul Gimpo

60 London City

61 San Francisco

62 Lima

63 Montréal

64 Hyderabad

65 Mumbai

66 Bangkok Suvarnabhumi

67 Perth

68 Medina

69 London Gatwick

70 Dallas/Fort Worth

71 Bangalore

72 Chengdu Shuangliu

73 Paris Orly

74 Adelaide

75 Los Angeles

76 Lisbon

77 Gold Coast

78 Milan Malpensa

79 Christchurch

80 Oslo

81 Changsha

82 Denpasar Bali

83 Sanya Phoenix

84 Abu Dhabi

85 Bahrain

86 New York JFK

87 Dammam

88 Rostov-on-Don

89 Kazan

90 Guayaquil

91 Stockholm Arlanda

92 Beijing Capital

93 Malta

94 Minneapolis St.Paul

81 Phoenix

83 Porto

97 Budapest

98 Detroit Metropolitan

99 Boston Logan

100 Yekaterinburg 

Source: Skytrax 

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The highest-place U.S airport is Houston George Bush, in 25th, with Melbourne flying the flag for Australia in 22nd.

Hamad International Airport rounds off its success at the 2021 World Airport Awards by winning the awards for the Best Airport in the Middle East, the World’s Best Airport in the 25 to 35million Passenger category, and for the Best Airport Staff in the Middle East.

Changi has been named the World’s Best Airport in the 10 to 15million Passenger category, and scoops the gongs for World’s Best Airport Staff and Best Airport Staff in Asia.

Tokyo Haneda Airport also wins the Best Airport in Asia, World’s Best Domestic Airport and World’s Best Airport Cleanliness awards. 

Tokyo Haneda Airport has been named the second-best airport in the world and comes top in the World’s Best Airport Cleanliness category

Changi has been named the World’s Best Airport in the 10 to 15million Passenger category – and is third overall

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport has been named the Best Airport in China, the World’s Best Airport in the 35 to 45million Passenger category and also takes the awards for the Best Airport Staff in China. The airport also achieved its highest global ranking at No.14, up from No.30 in the 2020 Awards.

Munich Airport, meanwhile, retains its stronghold at the awards, being named the Best Airport in Europe, whilst London’s Heathrow Airport is named World’s Best Airport in the 20 to 25million Passenger category, as well as the Best Airport in Western Europe.

Istanbul Airport is named the World’s Most Improved Airport in 2021, moving from No.102 in 2020 to No.17 in the 2021 results.

South Korea’s Incheon International Airport has been named the fourth best in the world

London’s Heathrow Airport is named World’s Best Airport in the 20 to 25million Passenger category, as well as the Best Airport in Western Europe. It comes eighth in the main ranking

The highest-place U.S airport in the 2021 Skytrax awards is Houston George Bush (pictured), in 25th

Edward Plaisted of Skytrax said: ‘We are delighted to announce that Hamad International Airport has been voted the World’s Best Airport 2021. Inaugurated in 2014, Hamad International Airport has rapidly become a customer favourite and moved from No.3 in the world in 2020 to be ranked World’s Best Airport this year.

‘Achieving this honour is very much a team effort, and our congratulations go to the management, staff and stakeholders at Hamad International Airport that help make this happen.

‘As travel hubs worldwide have been impacted by the pandemic, Hamad International Airport was undeterred by the global travel disruptions and continued with its expansion plans while introducing additional airport health and safety standards.

‘As the Official Airport Partner for the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 we wish Hamad International Airport every success in helping to host such a major event.’

Skytrax added: ‘The 2021 World Airport Awards recognise the efforts of global airports in adapting and meeting the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic.

‘The past 18 months has been the most challenging and financially difficult period ever experienced by the world air transport industry, and airports have invested to provide the safest possible environment for their customers and staff during the global pandemic. Covid-19 has impacted some regions and airports more than others, with many areas having few, if any, international routes operating for more than a year.’