Zurich Airport has been named one of the 10 best in the world by the latest awards from research consultancy Skytrax. The largest airport in Switzerland was also given plaudits for being the cleanest airport in Europe, and having some of the continent’s best immigration and security services.
Every year since 1999, the World Airport Awards by Skytrax ranks which airports are the world’s best overall and in a number of categories. To determine which airport takes the top spot, the consultancy uses survey data from 550 airports around the world, provided by respondents from 100 different countries.
The airports were rated in over 40 different categories, ranging from ease of access by driving or public transport to the quality of internet services, security and baggage reclaim speed, hygiene and the range of shops, restaurants and amenities on offer. These aspects were then combined into a series of awards.
For 2025, Changi Airport in Singapore returned to the summit of the ranking, being named the world’s best airport for 2025. This is the 13th time the airport has won the award, with Skytrax singling out its dining experiences and unbeatable ratings from passengers as its primary strengths. It also won gongs for the world’s best airport dining and the best airport washrooms.
Last year’s winner, Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, took second place globally and was also given the award for the best airport shopping, while Tokyo Haneda Airport completed the podium.
This year, Zurich Airport was rated as the 10th-best airport in the world. In the overall ranking, the airport was given high praise for its hub status with SWISS, and its proximity to Zurich itself. The airport was also rated as the best of its size in the world and the fourth best in Europe, behind Paris Charles de Gaulle, Rome Fiumicino and Munich Airport in Germany.
Zurich was also given the award for the cleanest airport in Europe. Finally, Swiss police and customs officials were given plaudits by Skytrax, with the airport named as having the best immigration services in Europe (fifth globally) and the world’s eighth-best security screenings.
The high praise comes after what has been a difficult year for airlines and airports in Switzerland. Last summer, the alpine nation was beset with the worst flight delays in Europe. Between June 20 and September 4, 2024, of the 49.000 flights that landed in the country, 19.000 touched down with a delay of 15 minutes or more.
In December, flag carrier SWISS accused Zurich Airport and air traffic control of being responsible for the delays. The accusations are not without substance: Skyguide, the air traffic controller for all major airports in Switzerland, admitted back in June 2024 that bugs in their system were responsible for a third of flight delays. More recently, Skyguide confirmed that redesigns of Swiss airspace would likely lead to flight delays in Zurich between March 20 and April 17, 2025.
However, there are signs that punctuality is starting to improve. 65 percent of SWISS flights arrived within 15 minutes of their designated arrival time across 2024 as a whole, though it remains below the airline’s target of 70 percent.
In all, here are the 10 best airports in the world
For more information, and to see which other airports made the top 20, check out the Skytrax website.
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