rediff.com
News APP

NewsApp (Free)

Read news as it happens
Download NewsApp

Available on  gplay

Rediff.com  » Business » World's 10 best airports!
This article was first published 12 years ago

World's 10 best airports!

Last updated on: August 4, 2011 11:47 IST

Image: Duty free shop at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand.
Photographs: Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
After a nine month customer survey with more than 11.38 million participants, 10 airports have been selected as world's best airports.

World Airport Awards Skytrax 2011 held in Copenhagen has honoured the airports based on participants' review.

Let us have a look at world's 10 best airports.

...

World's 10 best airports!

Image: Exterior view of Hong Kong International Airport.
1. Hong Kong International Airport

Hong Kong International Airport is the main airport in Hong Kong.

The airport opened for commercial operations in 1998, replacing Kai Tak, and is an important regional trans-shipment centre, passenger hub and gateway for destinations in Mainland China (with over 40 destinations) and the rest of Asia.

...

World's 10 best airports!

Image: Hong Kong International Airport, Arrival Hall 6.
Photographs: Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

Hong Kong International Airport has won eight Skytrax World Airport Awards for customer satisfaction in eleven years.

It ranked second and third in 2009 and 2010 respectively for the Skytrax World Airport Awards.

...

World's 10 best airports!

Image: Iconic control tower of Singapore Changi Airport.
Photographs: Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
2. Singapore Changi Airport

A major aviation hub in Southeast Asia, it is about 17.2 kilometres north-east from the commercial centre in Changi, on a 13 square kilometres site.

The airport, operated by the Changi Airport Group, is the home base of Singapore Airlines, Singapore Airlines Cargo, SilkAir, Tiger Airways, Jetstar Asia Airways, Valuair, and Jett8 Airlines Cargo.

...

World's 10 best airports!

Image: Baggage collection point at the Changi Airport.
Photographs: Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
Changi Airport serves more than 100 airlines flying off to some 200 cities in about 60 countries and territories worldwide.

An important contributor to the Economy of Singapore, more than 28,000 people are employed at the airport, which accounts for over S$4.5 billion in output.

...

World's 10 best airports!

Image: Incheon International Airport.
Photographs: Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
3. Incheon International Airport

Incheon International Airport is the largest airport in South Korea, the primary airport serving the Seoul national capital area, and one of the largest and busiest airports in the world.

From 2006 to 2008, it was rated the best airport in the world by the Airports Council International and received the full 5-star ranking by Skytrax, a recognition shared only by Hong Kong International Airport and Singapore Changi Airport.

...

World's 10 best airports!

Image: Incheon Airport - Traffic Centre.
Photographs: Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
The airport has a golf course, spa, private sleeping rooms, ice skating rink, a casino, indoor gardens and a Museum of Korean Culture.

...

World's 10 best airports!

Image: Munich Airport.
Photographs: Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

4. Munich Airport

Munich Airport is located 28.5 km northeast of Munich, Germany, and is a hub for Lufthansa and Star Alliance partner airlines.

It lies nearby the old city of Freising.

...

World's 10 best airports!

Image: Terminal 2, check-in area.
Photographs: Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
Munich Airport is the second busiest airport in Germany in terms of passenger traffic behind Frankfurt Airport, and the seventh busiest airport in Europe, handling 34,721,605 passengers in 2010.

It is the world's 13th busiest airport in terms of international passenger traffic.

...

World's 10 best airports!

Image: Beijing Capital International Airport at night.
5. Beijing Capital International Airport

Beijing Capital International Airport is the main international airport serving Beijing, China.

It is located 32 km northeast of Beijing's city centre in an enclave of Chaoyang District that is surrounded by rural Shunyi District.

The airport is owned and operated by the Beijing Capital International Airport Company Limited, a state-controlled company.

...

World's 10 best airports!

Image: Terminal 3 with Duty-Free shops.
Photographs: Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
Beijing Capital has rapidly ascended in rankings of the world's busiest airports in the past decade.

Beijing Capital International Airport is currently the second busiest airport in the world in terms of passenger throughput behind Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The airport registered 488,495 aircraft movements (take-offs and landings), which ranked 10th in the world, making Beijing Capital the only Asian airport in the Top 30.

...

World's 10 best airports!

Image: Entrance to Schiphol Airport's Rijksmuseum.
Photographs: Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
6. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is the Netherlands' main international airport, located 20 minutes southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer.

The airport's official English name, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, reflects the original Dutch word order (Luchthaven Schiphol.

The airport is the primary hub for KLM, Martinair, Transavia, Amsterdam Airlines and Arkefly.

...

World's 10 best airports!

Image: Shopping and Food at Schiphol Airport Amsterdam.
The airport also serves as a European hub for Delta Air Lines. It is considered to be an Airport City.

...

World's 10 best airports!

Image: Zurich Airport.
Photographs: Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
7. Zurich Airport

Zurich Airport, also called Kloten Airport, is located in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, and managed by Flughafen Zurich AG.

It is Switzerland's largest international flight gateway and hub to Swiss International Air Lines.

...

World's 10 best airports!

Image: The runways at Zurich Airport.
Photographs: Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
It is partially in Kloten, Rumlang, Oberglatt, Winkel and Opfikon. Skyguide is responsible for all Air Traffic Control for Zurich.

...

World's 10 best airports!

Image: Auckland International Airport.

8. Auckland Airport

Auckland Airport (formerly Auckland International Airport, also known locally as Mangere Airport) is the largest and busiest airport in New Zealand with over 13 million (estimated at seven million international and six million domestic) passengers a year, expected to more than double by 2025.

...

World's 10 best airports!

Image: International Terminal check-in hall.
Photographs: Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

The airport is in Mangere, a suburb of Auckland 21 km south of the city centre.

It is the central hub for Air New Zealand, and a secondary hub for Pacific Blue, the New Zealand subsidiary of parent Virgin Australia.

...

World's 10 best airports!

Image: Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

9. Kuala Lumpur International Airport

Kuala Lumpur International Airport serves the capital city of Malaysia], Kuala Lumpur, and is one of Southeast Asia's largest airports.

It is also Malaysia's main international airport. It is situated in the Sepang district, in the south of the state of Selangor, about 50 kilometres from Kuala Lumpur.

KLIA was built at a cost of about $3.5 billion.

World's 10 best airports!

Image: Check-in counters.
Photographs: Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

Kuala Lumpur International Airport is capable of handling 35 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo a year in its current phase.

It was ranked as the 13th busiest airport in the world by international passenger traffic, and is the seventh busiest international airport in Asia.

The complex handled 34,087,636 passengers in 2010.

World's 10 best airports!

Image: Terminal 2 behind The Four Winds sculpture by Henrik Starcke (1964).
Photographs: Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

10. Copenhagen Airport

Copenhagen Airport is the main international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark and the Oresund Region.

It is located on the island of Amager, eight kilometres south of Copenhagen city centre, and 24 kilometres west of Malmo city centre on the other side of the Oresund Bridge.

It is the largest airport in the Nordic countries, and one of the oldest international airports in Europe.

...

World's 10 best airports!

Image: The terminals and runways - view from the air.
Photographs: Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons
Copenhagen Airport handles 60 scheduled airlines and serves nearly 60,000 passengers per day; 21.5 million passengers passed through the facility in 2010, making it the busiest airport in the Nordic countries, with a maximum capacity of 83 loadings/hour and with room for 108 airplanes.