Singapore’s Changi International Airport has pulled off a five-year winning streak, as it is named the world’s best airport for 2017, cementing its reputation as the gold-standard in airport experiences.
Travelers polled for the 2017 Skytrax World Airport Awards gave Changi Airport top marks. Unlike many airports which can be sterile and generic, Changi Airport features everything from a rooftop swimming pool, bamboo and butterfly gardens, to movie theaters, free foot massages, and free sight-seeing tours into the city for fliers with long airport layovers.
Specs for the newest addition to the hub, Jewel Changi Airport, call for a sprawling 10-level complex that will boast an indoor rainforest, walking trails and gardens, and a 40-meter-tall Rain Vortex which will become the world’s tallest indoor waterfall.
All will be enclosed in a glass, biodome complex.
Construction is scheduled to be completed at the end of 2018.
Meanwhile, like years past, the list of the top 10 airports is dominated by Asian and European hubs, with Tokyo International Airport and Incheon International Airport in Seoul rounding up the top three spots.
The highest-ranking North American airport is Vancouver International Airport, which took the 13th spot.
The Skytrax World Airport Awards are based on the results of 13.82 million survey questionnaires completed by travelers representing 105 different nationalities, between July 2016 and February 2017. The surveys were conducted at 550 airports worldwide and asked respondents to rate everything from check-in, arrivals, transfers, shopping, security and immigration, and departure.
Travelers may also be interested to know that Tokyo International Airport took the top spot as the world’s cleanest airport, while Hong Kong International Airport was named best for dining.
London’s Heathrow Airport topped the list for best airport shopping.
Here are the world’s top 10 airports for 2017:
1) Singapore Changi Airport
2) Tokyo International Airport (Haneda)
3) Incheon International Airport
4) Munich Airport
5) Hong Kong International Airport
6) Hamad International Airport
7) Chubu Centrair Nagoya
8) Zurich Airport
9) London Heathrow Airport
10) Frankfurt Airport
JB