Zurich one of Europe's most popular airports, ranking reveals
By Jan de Boer
The latest European Airport Index from the holiday portal Holidu has revealed that Zurich Airport is one of the most beloved in Europe. While Zurich was praised for its facilities and stores, other airports in Switzerland struggled to impress passengers.
Which airports in Europe are the highest rated?
To create the study, Holidu ranked the 85 busiest airports in Europe by how highly rated they are by passengers. To do this, they used the average Google review score for each airport, favouring those with the highest ratings in 2024 so far.
In the event of a tie, the airport which garnered the most reviews was given the higher spot. The study was also supplemented by analysing the content of the reviews themselves for airports in the top 10, to see why passengers regard them so highly.
Istanbul Airport is Europe's most beloved for 2024
For the second year in a row, Istanbul Airport in Turkey took the top spot as the best airport in Europe with a score of 4,4 out of 5. Despite only opening to passengers in 2019, as a replacement for the city’s Atatürk Airport, IST has already garnered a positive reputation among travellers, with reviewers praising its efficiency and quality of services.
Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport in Portugal took second place, with Athens and Václav Havel Airport in Prague completing the top four.
Zurich the fifth most popular airport in Europe
Rounding out the top five was Zurich Airport, making it one of the most highly regarded in Europe. The largest airport in Switzerland was given a review score average of 4,3 out of 5, based on 26.317 reviews.
Specifically, the airport was given praise for its 250-metre-long observation terrace, the over 80 shops available (which are open on Sundays) and for offering the largest selection of Swiss chocolate of any airport in the world. With the airport sporting connections to Zurich and other Swiss cities every 10 minutes, alongside a vast bus, tram and rail station, its links to public transport were also sources of high praise.
The top five finish rounds out a series of accolades won by Zurich Airport in the last year. The airport won the title of best in Europe for the 20th time in a row at the World Travel Awards in October 2023, placed fifth in the world at the Readers' Choice Awards by Condé Nast (CN) Traveller, and was named one of Europe’s best in the ASQ Awards in March - they're going to need a bigger trophy cabinet, which if you're interested can be found next to the escalators down to the E-gates shuttle.
Basel and Geneva struggle to win over reviewers
It hasn’t been completely smooth sailing for Zurich Airport though. German passenger rights organisation Flightright found that Zurich saw the fourth highest rate of flight cancellations in Europe this summer, with 40 percent of flights landing late.
Holidu’s report also did not cover other Swiss airports in glory, with Geneva placing 41st and Basel taking 58th. While Geneva was generally highly rated for its efficiency and friendly staff, the more critical reviews cited a lack of cleanliness and fewer facilities. Basel for its part was criticised for long waiting times for passport and security checks but was generally favoured for factors like cleanliness and architecture.
All the way at the bottom of the ranking sat Heraklion Airport in Crete with an average score of 2,6. Reviewers generally disliked the lack of cleanliness at the airport, its age and its small size. Bordeaux and Manchester rounded out the bottom three in 84th and 83rd place, with the almost-brand-new, 7,3-billion-euro BER Airport in Berlin coming a surprise 82nd.
Most popular airports in Europe revealed
In all, here are the 10 most popular airports in Europe:
- Istanbul Airport, Turkey
- Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport, Porto, Portugal
- Athens International Airport, Greece
- Václav Havel Airport Prague, Czechia
- Zurich Airport, Switzerland
- Alicante International Airport, Spain
- Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, Norway
- Helsinki Airport, Finland
- Malta International Airport
- Airport Thessaloniki ‘Makedonia’, Greece
For more information, and to see how other airports compared, check out the official website.
Thumb image credit: Ko Aun Lee / Shutterstock.com
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Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016.
While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more