The World’s Best Airports of 2021 to be announced

Skytrax will announce the 2021 World Airport Awards on Thursday 5th August 2021.

The past 18 months has been the most challenging and financially difficult period ever experienced by the world air transport industry, and despite dwindling customer numbers, airports invested considerable resources in creating the safest possible travel environment for customers during the global pandemic. The impact of COVID-19 on air travel has impacted some regions and airports more than others, with many areas having few, if any, international routes operating for more than 1 year.

The annual airport customer survey for the Passenger’s Choice Awards operated from August 2020 until July 2021, and many travellers voted for their favourite / best airport based on pre-pandemic travel experiences, whilst other customers have experienced the COVID-19 Airport Experience in the past 12 months. This provided a fascinating platform upon which to include the additional 2021 COVID-19 Airport Awards, which specifically recognise the efforts made by airports to improve health, hygiene and safety standards during COVID-19.

The flagship award for The World’s Best Airport 2021 is determined by careful analysis of customer voting and actual passenger numbers travelling through the top nominated airports.

Edward Plaisted of Skytrax said: “With many airports around the world having seen a 70-80% drop in passenger numbers during our survey period, we considered that our 2021 awards should reflect these conditions, and whilst many customers voted for their favourite airport without visiting there in the last year, we had a very large survey response for airports where users have been travelling during COVID-19.”

The airport experience during COVID-19

The World Airport Awards

The World Airport Awards began in 1999, and are regarded as a quality benchmark for the world airport industry, assessing customer service and facilities across over 550 airports.