For the sixth time in a row, Zurich Airport in Switzerland has been named one of the best in Europe by the ASQ Awards from Airports Council International (ACI). The Swiss airport took the top accolade thanks to how highly it is rated by passengers.

ASQ Awards by Airport Council International

To create the awards, ACI - a global umbrella organisation that aims to standardise airport practices worldwide - used regular passenger surveys to assess the quality of airports around the world. With participation from over 400 different airports in 109 countries, the awards claim to be “the world’s leading airport passenger satisfaction programme.”

Passengers were asked to rate their experiences at security, departures, passport control, arrivals and baggage reclaim. The survey covered 34 different categories, ranging from infrastructure and catering to cleanliness and hygiene. The top-scoring airports were then divided by region and by how many passengers they cater to per year.

Zurich Airport rated best in Europe for the sixth time in a row

For 2024, Zurich was rated as one of the best airports in Europe, the sixth time in a row that the Flughafen has won the accolade. This completes what has been a great six months for Zurich, with the airport also winning the World Travel Award for best European airport, and placing fifth in the world at the latest Readers' Choice Awards by Condé Nast (CN) Traveller.

Zurich was joined by Palma de Mallorca, Milan Malpensa and Copenhagen in being named best in Europe for airports which cater to between 25 and 40 million passengers a year. In a statement, Zurich Airport CEO Lukas Brosi wrote that they were “very pleased” to win both the ASQ and World Travel Awards.

“Ensuring high quality for our passengers is of great importance to Zurich Airport and requires good cooperation between all partners. We would like to thank all the companies and employees at the airport who contribute to this every day,” he added.

ZRH Club a direct result of customer feedback

While the ACI did not reveal which factor pushed Zurich toward the top spot, the airport itself said that it has used the organisation's surveys to “continuously improve customer experience”. For instance, they explained that the new ZRH Club - which offers an exclusive lounge and priority security lane to any economy class passenger, for a fee - was a “direct result of customer surveys.”

2023 saw a return to form for Zurich Airport, with gross sales increasing by 21 percent compared to 2022 to 1,24 billion francs. The airport welcomed 28,9 million passengers last year, with authorities hoping to reach 95 percent of 2019 passenger levels (31,6 million) by the end of 2024.

To see which other airports were given awards, check out the official website.

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