Which airports have the happiest passengers?

A great air travel experience doesn’t just begin at take-off.

The industry is increasingly realizing it needs to keep passengers happy on the ground as well as in the air.

The Airport Service Quality Awards, whose 2015 winners have just been revealed, measure which airports are doing the best job of putting a smile on travelers’ faces.

Incheon Airport, South Korea, and Singapore Changi Airport tied in first place in Best Airports by Size: Over 40 Million Passengers per Year.

Crowd-pleasing innovations

It’s yet another award these two can add to the shelf, having secured first and second place in travel website Sleeping in Airports’ survey of the world’s best airports last October.

It’s the fifth year in a row that Changi has topped the ASQ Awards, thanks to crowd-pleasing innovations such as two 24-hour movie theaters screening the latest blockbusters free of charge.

The ASQ awards, organized by the Montreal-based Airports Council International, are the result of more than 550,000 in-depth passenger satisfactions surveys carried out last year at more than 300 airports across 80 countries worldwide.

Passengers are asked for their views on 34 key service indicators, including airport access, check-in, security, airport facilities, food and beverage and retail.

Stellar passenger experience

“Airports’ increasing concentration on ensuring a stellar passenger experience is part of a larger trend,” says Angela Gittens, ACI World’s director general.

“Airports have evolved into complex, customer-focused businesses that in many cases are in competition with each other for passenger traffic.

“From duty-free and restaurants to ambience, cleanliness, courtesy of staff, amenities, efficiency and more, air travelers are expecting big things from the airports through which they travel.”

London Heathrow triumphed in Best Airports by Size and Region: Europe – a new category for 2015.

That’s despite not scratching the top 10 in travel analysts OAG’s list of the world’s most punctual airports – something OAG’s senior analyst John Grant blames on capacity strains.

Indianapolis Airport was the top airport in North America, followed by Grand Rapids.

The following five airports were singled out as showing the most improvement: Nairobi; Denpasar, Indonesia; Istanbul; Kingston, Jamaica; Damman, Saudi Arabia; Saskatoon, Canada.

Best Airport by Region (over 2 million passengers per year)

Africa

First place: Mauritius

Second place (tie): Cape Town (South Africa); Durban (South Africa)

Third place: Johannesburg

Asia-Pacific

First place (tie): Seoul Incheon; Singapore Changi

Second place (tie): Beijing; Mumbai; New Delhi; Sanya Phoenix (China); Shanghai Pudong

Third place (tie): Guangzhou Baiyun (China); Taiwan Taoyuan; Tianjin Binhai (China)

Europe

First place (tie): Moscow Sheremetyevo; Pulkovo St. Petersburg (Russia); Sochi (Russia)

Second place (tie): Dublin; Malta; Prague; Zurich

Third place (tie): Copenhagen; Keflavik (Iceland); London Heathrow; Porto (Portugal); Vienna

Middle East

First place: Amman

Second place (tie): Abu Dhabi; Doha

Third place (tie): Dammam (Saudi Arabia); Dubai; Tel Aviv

North America

First place: Indianapolis

Second place (tie): Dallas Love Field; Grand Rapids (Michigan); Jacksonville (Florida); Ottawa; Tampa (Florida)

Third place (tie): Austin; Detroit; Sacramento; San Antonio (Texas); Toronto Billy Bishop

Latin America-Caribbean

First place: Guayaquil (Ecuador)

Second place: Quito

Third place: Punta Cana (Dominican Republic)

Best Airport by Size

2–5 million passengers per year

First place: Jaipur (India)

Second place: Lucknow (India)

Third place: Guayaquil (Ecuador)

5–15 million passengers per year

First place: Sanya Phoenix (China)

Second place: Tianjin Binhai (China)

Third place: Hyderabad (India)

15–25 million passengers per year

First place: Seoul Gimpo

Second place: Wuhan (China)

Third place: Denpasar

25–40 million passengers per year

First place (tie): Mumbai; New Delhi

Second place: Taiwan Taoyuan

Third place: Shanghai Hongqiao

Over 40 million passengers per year

First place (tie): Seoul Incheon; Singapore

Second place (tie): Beijing; Shanghai Pudong

Third place: Guangzhou Baiyun (China)

Best Airport by Region (under 2 million passengers per year)

Africa: Upington (South Africa)

Europe: Skopje (Macedonia)

North America: Portland

Latin America-Caribbean: Culiacan (Mexico)

Best Airport by Size and Region

Asia-Pacific

2–5 million passengers per year: Jaipur (India)

5–15 million passengers per year: Sanya Phoenix (China)

15–25 million passengers per year: Seoul Gimpo

25–40 million passengers per year: New Delhi

Over 40 million passengers per year: Seoul Incheon

Europe

2–5 million passengers per year: Sochi (Russia)

5–15 million passengers per year: Pulkovo St Petersburg (Russia)

15–25 million passengers per year: Dublin

25–40 million passengers per year: Moscow Sheremetyevo

Over 40 million passengers per year: London Heathrow

North America

2–5 million passengers per year: Grand Rapids (Michigan)

5–15 million passengers per year: Indianapolis

Most Improved Airport

Africa: Nairobi

Asia-Pacific: Denpasar (Indonesia)

Europe: Istanbul

Latin America-Caribbean: Kingston

Middle East: Dammam (Saudi Arabia)

North America: Saskatoon (Canada)