Air transport research firm, Skytrax, has revealed the winners of its World Airport Awards, revealing the top international and domestic airports across the globe.
Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport has pushed past Cape Town International Airport to become South Africa’s, and Africa’s, best airport.
OR Tambo international airport was listed as the best airport in Africa ranking 26th, globally, climbing two places from its 2013 spot of 28th.
Cape Town International dropped to 30th, globally, from 22nd in 2013, while Durban’s King Shaka International airport fell from 26th to 32nd in the 2014 list.
Singapore’s Changi Airport retained the top spot as best airport in the world, followed by South Korea’s Incheon International, which remains in second spot.
Running in its 25th year, The 2014 awards are based on 12.85 million survey questionnaires completed by 110 different nationalities of airline customers during the survey period in 2013 and 2014.
The survey covered 410 airports, worldwide.
“Changi Airport Singapore is showing itself to be much more than an airport,” said Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax. “Changi Airport offers a travel experience in itself and continues to develop its quality standards to be named the world’s favourite airport again.”
Top 10 airports in the world
| # | Airport | Country |
| 1 | Singapore Changi Airport | Singapore |
| 2 | Incheon International Airport | South Korea |
| 3 | Munich Airport | Germany |
| 4 | Hong Kong International Airport | China |
| 5 | Amsterdam Schiphol Airport | Netherlands |
| 6 | Tokyo International Airport Haneda | Japan |
| 7 | Beijing Capital International Airport | China |
| 8 | Zurich Airport | Switzerland |
| 9 | Vancouver International Airport | Canada |
| 10 | London Heathrow Airport | England |
South African Airports dominated the regional list for Africa, with 6 local airports making the top 10, led by OR Tambo, which topped the list.
Top 10 airports in Africa
| # | Airport | Country |
| 1 | Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport | South Africa |
| 2 | Cape Town International Airport | South Africa |
| 3 | Durban King Shaka International Airport | South Africa |
| 4 | Mauritius International Airport | Mauritius |
| 5 | Cairo International Airport | Egypt |
| 6 | East London Airport | South Africa |
| 7 | Port Elizabeth Airport | South Africa |
| 8 | Bloemfontein Airport | South Africa |
| 9 | Addis Ababa Bole International Airport | Ethiopia |
| 10 | Marrakech Menara International Airport | Morocco |
OR Tambo was also listed as the biggest airport in Africa, ranked 7th, globally, in the category of airports handling 10-20 million passengers.
Looking at domestic airports, South African airports featured prominently, with King Shaka voted the third best domestic airport in the world, followed by Cape Town International (6th) and OR Tambo (10th).
Top 10 domestic airports
| # | Airport | Country |
| 1 | Tokyo International Airport Haneda | Japan |
| 2 | Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport | China |
| 3 | Durban King Shaka International Airport | South Africa |
| 4 | Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport | USA |
| 5 | Denver International Airport | USA |
| 6 | Cape Town International Airport | South Africa |
| 7 | Haikou Meilan International Airport | China |
| 8 | San Francisco International Airport | USA |
| 9 | Sydney Airport | Australia |
| 10 | Johannesburg OR Tambo International Airport | South Africa |
Regional airports in Africa – airports primarily serving domestic or shorter international routes that are under 6 hours in duration – were again dominated by local airports.
King Shaka once again topped the list, with East London Airport ranked second, followed by PE (3rd) and Bloemfontein (4th).
Top 5 regional airports in Africa
| # | Airport | Country |
| 1 | Durban King Shaka International Airport | South Africa |
| 2 | East London Airport | South Africa |
| 3 | Port Elizabeth Airport | South Africa |
| 4 | Bloemfontein Airport | South Africa |
| 5 | Tunis-Carthage International Airport | Tunisia |
The full list of winners can be found on Skytrax’s World Airport Awards website.
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