The increasing time spent at airports worldwide by travellers means that these international hubs are no longer an unfortunate necessity of business air travel.
Competition to provide the best leisure offering has gathered pace in the past ten tears, with airports aiming to provide the best overall customer experience while maximising how much money visitors spend in the terminals.
Here, we take a closer look at the top 3 airports worldwide in Skytrax’s 2019 ranking:
For the seventh consecutive year, Singapore’s Changi Airport has taken first place.
Changi Airport is world-famous for its stunning architecture, luxurious facilities, plentiful range of dining options, extensive shopping opportunities and smooth operations.
The airport’s most recent, and by far its most dazzling attraction, is its ‘Jewel’. The ‘Jewel’ is a toroidal glass and steel structure that houses a lush four-storey tiered garden, more than 280 retail and dining outlets, a short stay hotel and a multi-screen IMAX theatre. But most impressively of all perhaps is its 140-foot tall rain vortex, now the world’s tallest indoor waterfall. This is all located close to Terminal 1 before you’ve even set foot in the airport!
Once inside the terminals, travellers praise Changi Airport for its lack of queue’s, seamless operations and the ease in which passengers can move through the airport something that is so often lacking in the majority of airports.
Tokyo Haneda Airport comes in second on Skytrax’s ranking. Haneda Airport may lack the elaborate amenities of Singapore’s Changi Airport, however, it is highly regarded for its stylish appearance, efficient systems and incredible food offering.
You may want to get to the airport a few hours earlier just to eat your way around the various impressive outlets. You will find multiple restaurants that have city centre counterparts in which you would usually queue for hours, including two of the best-known ramen bars in Tokyo, Setagaya and Rokurinsha.
Haneda Airport also offers a faux traditional street market, where you can feast on a variety of Japanese delicacies including sushi, ramen, pork cutlets and ‘fried things on sticks’!
Aside from the food, the airport boasts a wide range of shops, an arcade parlour and a huge open-air observation deck where you can watch the planes and get some fresh air.
Incheon International Airport – South Korea
Third on our list, and notably another Asian airport, is South Korea’s Incheon International Airport. Incheon could be the most efficient airport on the list, with airport authorities claiming that average departure time takes 19 minutes, compared with a worldwide average of 60 minutes.
There is plenty to enjoy pre-flight at Incheon Airport, with its own golf course, spa, private sleeping rooms, indoor ice skating rink, casino, indoor gardens and Museum of Korean Culture.
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