Australia snubbed as the top 20 best airports in the world revealed

Sydney may have Australia’s busiest airport, but a new survey proves that two other Aussie cities have better options on a global scale.

The top 100 airports from around the world has been released, and Australia’s biggest airport in Sydney has received a brutal snub.

Aviation rating firm SkyTrax has announced its annual World Airports Awards for 2022, with certain parts of the globe clearly dominating over others.

According to the survey, which uses global customer satisfaction surveys from the past two years to crown the winners, 550 airports were given the opportunity to receive a vote.

The criteria to receive votes include areas like terminal layout, comfort within the airport, seating, Wi-Fi availability, restaurant options, retail vendors and level of staff service.

For a second year in a row, this airport has been crowned the best in the world. Picture: Stringer/AFP

Taking the top gong for the year was Qatar’s Hamad International Airport, which also received the accolade in 2021 after pipping Singapore Changi Airport at the post.

The airport was praised for the number of amenities and vendors, as well as a convenient passenger train that takes passengers through the terminals. In the first quarter of 2022, the winning airport had 7.1 million passengers pass through the terminal. With Qatar set to host the World Cup later this year, and more than 1.2 million set to visit, there’s no doubt the terminal will see a lot more people before year’s end.

Coming in second spot was Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, which got the silver medal for its cleanliness, accessible facilities and also being the best airport in Asia. In third position was 2020 favourite – Singapore’s Changi Airport – which boasts several amazing amenities including a swimming pool, movie theatre and incredible indoor water feature plunging from the terminal ceiling.

Sydney Airport was smashed in the global survey. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Gaye Gerard

But Australia’s international airports failed to crack the top 20, with Sydney International Airport copping a big fall in the ratings.

Indeed, the highest ranked hub Down Under went to Brisbane Airport in spot 22, which also took out three awards for the Australia/Pacific region – best airport, best airport staff and cleanest airport.

Melbourne was Australia’s next best airport on the global scale, coming in at 26 (four spots down from 2021). But it was Sydney which fared the worst, dropping a staggering 13 places to 41st position on a global scale.

It’s no surprise Sydney copped a beating in the survey, given the recent queue debacle at both check in and security gates at the terminal.

World’s best airports for 2022

1. Doha Hamad (Qatar)

2. Tokyo Haneda (Japan)

3. Singapore Changi

4. Tokyo Narita (Japan)

5. Seoul Incheon (South Korea)

6. Paris CDG (France)

7. Munich (Germany)

8. Istanbul (Turkey)

9. Zurich (Switzerland)

10. Kansai (Japan)