This Airport Was Just Named Number One in the World...Again

Not all airports are created equal.

While you may be hard-pressed to find a bottle of water and a bag of chips at some of our country’s regional airports, yoga studios, nap pods, movie theaters, shot bars, museums and even theme parks are but a few of the amenities on offer at the larger hubs. But even among the more glamorous airports, there is a clear standout.

For the 12th time, Singapore Changi Airport has been voted the top airport in the world by Skytrax (after getting beat out by Qatar’s Hamad International Airport the last two years running). As reported by Travel + Leisure, the Southeast Asian airport is famous for its “over-the-top activities” — butterfly garden and rock-climbing wall, chief among them — as well as its world-class food and beverage concepts (unsurprisingly, it also clinched the top spot for the world’s best airport dining, as well as the world’s best airport leisure amenities).

“This recognition is great encouragement to our airport community, who stood firmly together to battle the challenges of Covid-19 over the past two years,” Lee Seow Hiang, chief executive officer for the Changi Airport Group, said in a statement. “To our passengers…[y]our continued support encourages us to keep pursuing service excellence as we expand our offerings to redefine the Changi Experience. We look forward to welcoming everyone to Changi Airport as we rediscover the magic of travel again.”

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The full best airports of 2023 list, according to Skytrax, is as follows:

Singapore Changi Airport
Hamad International Airport
Tokyo International Airport (Haneda)
Incheon International Airport
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
Istanbul Airport
Munich Airport
Zurich Airport
Narita International Airport
Madrid-Barajas Airport

For its part, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport was declared the top airport in North America, while LaGuardia Airport’s Terminal B was voted the best new airport terminal in the world (it received a well-deserved, five-star airport terminal rating from Skytrax).

“Our goal at the Port Authority was to completely transform the customer experience at LaGuardia, from curb to gate, by building a brand-new, world-class airport,” Rick Cotton, the executive director of the Port Authority, said of the win. “Winning this prestigious award and becoming the first North American airport terminal to receive a 5-star rating from Skytrax proves that we have accomplished what many once said was impossible: elevate LaGuardia from worst to best.”

Well, best new terminal. Now let’s see if any American airport can crack the top 10 next year.