World's Best Airports

Airports trade organization releases list

The Airports International Council's list of the five best airports on the planet and also the five best in six regions is again enlightening. Every one of the world's top five is in Asia. Some would say that's because the demands of international air travel developed in Asia later than in Europe or North America. Some would say it's because Asian governments are more willing to make major investments in transportation infrastructure, perhaps to show how progressive they are -- or perhaps because they want to serve the traveling public.

For the fifth year in a row, Soeul's Incheon International Airport was named the world's best airport, followed by four others in Asia. The honor came 2009 Airport Service Quality survey, conducted by the Airports International Council's monthly surveys conducted at 118 airports in 45 countries. Four of the top five African airports are in South Africa and one way up in the north, in Egypt, two of Europe's top five are on islands (Malta and Iceland) and the Asia list echoes the world list. But Mexico City as the second-best in Latin America? The international end of the concourse is pretty spiffy (I was there less than a year ago), but the domestic area is pretty badly designed, ill signed and crowded. Below is the ACI's list.

BEST AIRPORTS WORLDWIDE

1. Incheon (ICN) (right)
2. Singapore (SIN)
3. Hong Kong (HKG)
4. Beijing (PEK)
5. Hyderabad (HYD)

BEST AIRPORT BY REGION

Africa

1. George (GRJ)
2. Johannesburg (JNB)
3. Cairo (CAI)
4 Port Elizabeth (PLZ)
5 Durban (DUR)

Asia-Pacific

1. Incheon (ICN)
2. Singapore (SIN)
3. Hong Kong (HKG)
4. Beijing (PEK)
5. Hyderabad (HYD)

Europe

1. Keflavik (KEF)
2. Zurich (ZRH)
3. Porto (OPO)
4. Malta (MLA)
5. Southampton (SOU)

Latin America & Caribbean

1. Cancun (CUN)
2. Guayaquil (GYE)
3. Barbados(BGI)
4. Mexico City (MEX)
5. Montego Bay (MBJ)

Middle East

1. Tel Aviv (TLV)
2. Dubai (DXB)
3. Abu Dhabi (AUH)
4. Doha (DOH)
5. Muscat (MCT)

North America

1. Austin (AUS)
2. Halifax (YHZ)
3. Ottawa (YOW)
4. Jacksonville (JAX)
5. Portland (PWM)

Thoughts, anyone?