The 10 best airports in the world
Long queues at Suvarnabhumi Airport
Frequent travelers attention! These are the top 10 airports in the world. And hooray, Schiphol is number 6.
Another remarkable fact. No less than five of the best airports in the world are located in Asia. Unfortunately, we do not find Suvarnabhumi Airport in this top ten.
Every year, British consultancy Skytrax publishes a list of the world's best airports. Likewise this year. More than 11 million travelers from more than 240 countries participated in the survey. XNUMX airports have been assessed. Figures are given for:
- accessibility
- luggage handling
- passenger handling
- security
- food and drink
- facilities
- hygiene
- entertainment
1.Hong Kong Airport
Hong Kong International Airport is the third busiest airport in the world with 51 million passengers. Every day, the gateway processes about 900 flights by 95 different airlines.
2. Singapore Changi Airport
With no less than 40.000 square meters of shopping pleasure, Changi Airport is also the largest shopping center in Singapore. Good to know: the airport handles 42 million passengers annually, seven times the population of the city-state.
3. Incheon International Airport
Like those in Singapore and Hong Kong, it gets 5 stars from Skytrax. The airport has its own golf course, spa resort, casino, museum, hotels and even an indoor skating rink.
4. Munich Airport
Nearly 35 million people used the airport last year, making it seventh in Europe. Travelers particularly praise the business facilities that are amply available here. You can also go shopping there.
5.Beijing Capital International Airport
Terminal 3 is huge with an area of one square kilometer. It is one of the largest buildings ever built. The airport handled almost 74 million people last year, making it one of the busiest in the world. Yet travelers are helped very quickly here, the connections with the city are well organized and there is plenty to do at the airport itself.
6. Amsterdam Schiphol
According to the researchers, travelers praise our national airport for its good accessibility, clear signposting and the variety of shopping and leisure options. Schiphol processed 45 million visitors last year, making it the 15th largest airport in the world in terms of passenger volume.
7. Zurich Airport
Zurich Airport is located 12 km from the center of Zurich and is easily accessible. This airport also offers a variety of shops, restaurants and services. Baggage handling is done with Swiss precision. The chance of losing a suitcase here is very small.
8. Auckland International Airport
The airport handles around 13 million passengers annually, making it the most important connection between New Zealand and the rest of the world.
9. Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Travelers are particularly pleased with the rapid handling of passengers and luggage. Long queues usually shrink at breakneck speed. A special facility at Kuala Lumpur International Airport is the pet hotel, which is operated by the cargo division of Malaysia Airlines. When people go on vacation, they can temporarily store their pet here.
10. Copenhagen Airport
Copenhagen Airport is only 12 minutes from the city center and the distance between the train platforms and check-in counters is less than XNUMX metres. The terminal has about fifty shops, fifteen restaurants, a number of ready-to-wear facilities, a sauna and a hotel area.
Waiting Times Suvarnabhumi Airport
As mentioned, Suvarnabhumi Airport near Bangkok does not appear in the top lists. On the Skytrax website (www.airlinequality.com) airline passengers can leave a review. Anyone who reads the reviews quickly comes to the same conclusion: annoyance at the long queues. Almost everyone is disturbed by the enormous waiting times at immigration. A known problem at the international airport Thailand. Unfortunately, you have to conclude that the hospitality that Thailand is so famous for does not start at the airport. Making guests wait unnecessarily long is not nice.
Some quotes from travelers about Suvarnabhumi Airport:
D. Proctor (UK): “I arrived 2nd April to huge queues again (came out in July). It took me 90 minutes to get through immigration. I have traveled all over the world and I dread arriving here. My elderly parents want to come here and I have told them that with the heat and queues that they would faint. It's a horrible experience and I was alone, I bet it's worse for families. Stay away if possible.”
James Halley (Thailand): “Outbound immigration just doesn't get any better and there seems no will on the part of the Thai authorities to get a grip with the problem. I have tried morning noon and night and its still the same regardless of the time of day. Some airlines are sending out search parties to find their pax. Other airlines are advising their pax to turn up four hours before flight because of the long lines. If you are in another major city in Thailand make sure your carriers co-operate and clear outbound immigration before you get to Bangkok. Immigration in Chaing Mai means no lines, no waiting, and through in less than 2 minutes. And the departure lounge is less busy as it is apart from the domestic departure area.”
Suvarnabhumi Airport still has a long way to go before the airport can compete with the international top.
Yes, what should we do with it.
For the common traveler a rather nonsensical investigation.
Are there alternatives?
If there were two airports next to each other, you had a choice.
Nice for the airport management.
nothing noticed, I was in January last year, so high season,
luggage immediately, and less than 10 minutes at the pass control, that all went super fast, only waiting 5 minutes for the taxi, don't understand the criticism
unlike bangkok super fast handling, never experienced before, I had to wait 5 times longer in Schiphol.
I think it's all promotional crap
I have been traveling the world for years, but nowhere in the world have I encountered such rude and uninterested immigration officials. Moreover, I don't really understand Ludo Jansen's comment. Every year I pass through immigration at Suvarnabhumi about 10 to 12 times. In all those years, the waiting time has never been less than half an hour. Despite all promises from AOT to deploy more staff, there was no sign of a shorter waiting time on April 5.
It is best to arrive in BKK in the middle of the night, then you will be outside in no time. During the day it will take you more than 1 hour from the plane to the taxi place.
I don't understand what exactly has been investigated.
From this series I know the foreign airports Singapore Changi Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport, why Singapore ends up so high is a mystery to me.
Especially because of the high-pile carpet 🙂
I find the information signs worthless, especially if you have to go from terminal 2 to 3 or vice versa.
The first time I was there, it took me a long time to realize that I had to go to the other terminal.
Then a lot of time to figure out how to get there.
I'm going to Thailand for the first time next week.
I will let you know how the handling at Bangkok airport went.
I have quite a lot of experience with airports in West Africa and when I read how things are going at the airport in Bangkok there doesn't seem to be much difference with airports in West Africa.
Waiting for your luggage for an hour in an air-conditioned hall is normal. Even if there were only 30 travelers on the plane on an inter-African flight.
Substantively nothing to do with the research, but I miss the old airport of Bangkok terribly, I always had a kind of "homecoming feeling" there and I was already homesick for Thailand before departure, I don't like the new airport 3X, it has no atmosphere, very limited catering, it looks like a hospital hall or something like that, Don Muang was nice and messy, with hidden corners, absolutely wonderful, you are immediately in the atmosphere on arrival, and on departure it was really goodbye to Thailand
Just for completeness; the last time arrival was nov. 2009 and depart Feb. 2010, so maybe things have changed since then
I never understood anything about the allegedly long waiting times at immigration. XNUMX minutes…max. I completely agree with Lex. The architects and designers of Suvarnabumi - another name that sticks with the international traveler - have not understood it. Portal of Hell. Colorless, cold, atmospheric, the opposite of what awaits you outside the doors.