The World’s 10 Best Airports

Airports. Can’t live with ’em, can’t live without ’em. But their tolerability quotients vary widely; some are more endurable, even congenial, than others.

Skytrax conducts an annual survey of millions of flyers to determine which airports do the best job of pleasing travelers, and which do the worst. For the fourth year in a row, the Skytrax 2016 World Airport Awards has dubbed Singapore Changi Airport the world’s best.

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Here are Skytrax’s top 10 for 2016:

1. Singapore Changi Airport
2. Incheon International Airport
3. Munich Airport
4. Tokyo International Airport (Haneda)
5. Hong Kong International Airport
6. Chubu Centrair Nagoya
7. Zurich Airport
8. London Heathrow Airport
9. Kansai International Airport
10. Hamad International Airport

With six of the top-rated airports, Asia was the regional winner, led by Japan with three of the world’s best airports.

Conspicuously, there were no U.S. airports among the top 10, or even the top 25. Denver was the highest-rated U.S. facility, coming in at number 28, trailed by Cincinnati/Kentucky and San Francisco, at 32nd and 37th.

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The 10 best U.S. airports:

• Denver (28 of 100)
• Cincinnati/Kentucky (32 of 100)
• San Francisco (37 of 100)
• Hartsfield-Jackson (43 of 100)
• Seattle-Tacoma (54 of 100)
• Dallas/Ft. Worth (58 of 100)
• New York JFK (59 of 100)
• Houston George Bush (71 of 100)
• Minneapolis-St. Paul (75 of 100)
• Detroit (89 of 100)

The Skytrax ratings are based on more than 13 million completed surveys, covering 550 airports. Among the airport features assessed: check-in, arrivals, transfers, shopping, security, immigration, and departures.

Reader Reality Check

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After 20 years working in the travel industry, and 15 years writing about it, Tim Winship knows a thing or two about travel. Follow him on Twitter @twinship.