This was published 1 year ago
World's best airports 2022 named: Doha's Hamad maintains top spot while Sydney Airport's ranking plummets
By Craig Platt
Qatar's Hamad International Airport in Doha has been named the world's best for the second year in a row.Credit: iStock
Qatar's Hamad International Airport has hung on the the title of "World's Best Airport" for the second year in a row, while Sydney Airport's ranking has plummeted.
Hamad International beat out Tokyo's Haneda and Singapore's Changi, which came second and third respectively.
Singapore's international hub lost the top spot in 2021, having previously been named the world's best airport for eight years in a row.
Tokyo's Narita and Seoul's Incheon airports rounded out the top five.
The Skytrax World Airport Awards were announced at the Passenger Terminal Expo in Paris overnight. The rankings are based on passenger satisfaction surveys that cover check-in, arrivals, transfers, shopping, security, immigration, and departure.
"Whilst airports worldwide continued to be impacted by the pandemic throughout 2021, Hamad International Airport served 17.1 million passengers in 2021 and continued with its expansion plans," said Edward Plaisted of Skytrax.
Hamad International Airport had 7.1 million passengers pass through in the first quarter of 2022, the airport reported. The airport plans to expand its capacity to 60 million passengers annually.
Qatar will host the FIFA World Cup in November and December, with more than 1.5 million visitors expected to visit during the soccer tournament.
Hamad is currently the seventh busiest international airport in the world, according to data from analysts OAG. London's Heathrow is number one, followed by Dubai International.
Despite Japan's borders being closed to most foreigners, Tokyo's Haneda still managed to be the world's eighth busiest based on OAG's figures, when combining domestic and international seats available.
Brisbane was the highest ranked Australian airport in the awards list, coming in at number 22 (up from 32 last year). Melbourne dropped four places from 22 to 26, while Sydney plummeted to 41st from 28th last year.
Brisbane won three regional awards for the Australia/Pacific: best airport, best airport staff and cleanest airport. Pullman Brisbane Airport won best airport hotel for Australia/Pacific, while Adelaide won the region's "best regional airport" award.
"The last few years have been tough for our people and for our industry, yet despite these challenges we are proceeding with some really exciting new leisure, retail and commercial projects on the airport precinct," said Gert-Jan de Graaff, Brisbane Airport's chief executive officer.
"More than $2.5 billion will be invested at the airport over the next 5 years, which will enhance our reputation as Australia's vibrant, 24/7 airport city. "
Australia's airports, particularly Sydney, have come under fire in recent months for long queues and understaffed terminals as travel bounced back after pandemic restrictions eased.
Sydney and Melbourne airports are holding job fairs in order to attract workers to help address their staff shortages. The airports have warned passengers to arrive three hours before flights and prepare for long queues at check-in and security during the busy July travel period.
World's best airports for 2022
- Doha Hamad (Qatar)
- Tokyo Haneda (Japan)
- Singapore Changi
- Tokyo Narita (Japan)
- Seoul Incheon (South Korea)
- Paris CDG (France)
- Munich (Germany)
- Istanbul (Turkey)
- Zurich (Switzerland)
- Kansai (Japan)
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