Changi Airport in Singapore is the best airport in Asia. Thailand's international airport, Suvarnabhumi Airport, only ranks 5th. This is according to a survey by hotel site Agoda.com among 11.000 international travelers.
Travelers experience Singapore's airport as hyper-efficient and contemporary. Waiting is less boring thanks to the high level of amenities, including a four-story slide that travelers can use for free after spending USD 10 in duty-free shops.
Second place goes to Hong Kong International Airport, a high-tech airport on an artificial island in the South China Sea. With 65.000 employees alone, this airport is a city in itself.
Incheon International Airport occupies third place in this ranking. While waiting for their flight at Seoul airport, passengers can kill some time with a game of golf on a real golf course or a round of ice skating on the indoor ice rink.
Airports are fascinating places, often as large and complex as a small city. Whether travelers experience an airport as pleasant therefore depends on many different factors: the signage, food, facilities for the disabled, freedom of movement, seating comfort and even how many toilets there are. Every detail counts in an airport.
For this study, Agoda selected 15 major Asian capitals: Bangkok, Beijing, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, New Delhi, Phnom Penh, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo, Vientiane and Yangon. Travelers who visited one of these cities were asked to give a rating on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent). 11.000 customers participated in this survey.
Additional information
Not surprisingly, Singapore's Changi Airport tops this list with an average score of 4,37. The airport is known for being hyper-efficient, continuously investing in improvements and finishing high in all surveys and rankings. In 2012, this airport handled 51 million passengers. Remarkable: For every 10 USD you spend, you can use the four-story high slide at the airport once. Your plane will not leave earlier, but waiting is much less boring.
The second place with a score of 4,13 goes to Hong Kong International Airport, which, like Changi, usually ends up high in lists thanks to the good public transport and the high-tech design of the terminals, located on a raised sand plain in the middle of the South Chinese Ocean. In 2012, this airport handled 56 million passengers. Remarkable: More than 65.000 people work at this airport
Incheon International Airport ranks third with a score of 4,01. Seoul airport handled no less than 2012 million travelers in 39 and holds a record that many an airport is jealous of: the airport was voted Best Airport in the World by the Airports Council International for 7 years in a row (2005-2011). A record that cannot be broken: the prize was last awarded in 2011. Remarkable: Long wait? No problem! Incheon has its own golf course and even an indoor ice rink.
Seoul Airport is closely followed by Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, with a score of 4,00. In a country with a population of 1,2 billion, 34 million passengers used this airport in 2012. Indira Gandhi Airport has won several awards in recent years for all the improvements that have been made.
The airport has not yet grown; it has the ambition to handle 2030 million passengers per year by 100. Remarkable: Exhausted? Report to the 'Nap & Massage' Lounge. It has 14 mini-rooms, each with a shower.
Suvarnabhumi Airport
The fifth place in this ranking is for Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport. This airport opened in September 2006 (although plans had been in place since the 2012s) and handled 48 million passengers in XNUMX. Thanks to its central location in Asia, the airport is an important hub for both cargo and passengers. The control tower is the largest of its kind in the world. Note: The airport's name (pronounced soo-wanna-poom) means Golden Land, but the site was once known as Cobra Swamp.
Tokyo's Narita International Airport occupies sixth place in this list. This main international airport of the Japanese city of millions attracted more than 2012 million passengers in 33 and is known for its efficient design and management. Remarkable: The construction of Narita was not without controversy. Until the XNUMXs, the site of the airport was a residential area and the residents resisted the demolition of their houses tooth and nail.
At seventh is Kuala Lumpur International Airport, which saw 2012 million travelers come and go in 40. The airport is no less than 60 kilometers from the city and is one of the largest airports in the world measured by surface area. Notable: This is the first airport in the region to be certified by EarthCheck, a global environmental organization that recognizes companies and agencies for sustainable operations.
In eighth place we find Beijing Capital Airport, which processed no fewer than 2012 million passengers in 82, only surpassing Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2004, the airport began construction of Gargantuan Terminal 3 in preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games. Remarkable: Terminal 3 is the fifth largest building in the world, measured by floor space: 1,3 million square meters!
Taipei's Taoyuan International Airport ranked ninth. In 2012, the airport saw about 28 million people pass through the detection gates. The airport opened in 1979 with one terminal, expanded in 2000 with a second terminal and a third is planned for 2018. Remarkable: In 2012, this airport processed more than 1,5 million tons of cargo.
Coming up last in this ranking is Phnom Penh International Airport in Cambodia, by far the smallest airport on this list with only 2 million passengers in 2012. Despite its small scale – or perhaps because of it – Agoda.com customers consider it one of the nicest airports in Asia. Remarkable: The airport is located 160 kilometers from the ocean, yet is only 12 meters above sea level.
Top 10 Asian Airports
- Changi International Airport – score 4,37
- Hong Kong International Airport – rated 4,13
- Seoul Incheon International Airport – score 4,01
- Indira Gandhi International Airport – score 4,00
- Suvarnabhumi International Airport rating 3,79
- Narita International Airport rating – 3,69
- Kuala Lumpur International Airport – score 3,56
- Beijing Capital International Airport – score 3,48
- Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport – score 3,38
- Phnom Penh International Airport – rating 3,14
Correction, I think it was not in Sept 2009 the opening of Suvarnambhumi instead. 2001?
@Joe Suvarnabhumi came into operation in September 2006. I have changed the year in the text.
Too bad they never ask me. Singapore may be efficient, but it is and remains an old case. Really dated and for me would fall off because of this.