Travelling through an airport can certainly be a pain, whether you’re arriving or departing, with long queues at security and border control.
But some airports are known to run just that bit more smoothly than others, with discovercars.com having recently conducted a study to discover which airports around the world offer the best experience, according to reviews left by travellers.
As part of this research, 3,500 travellers left feedback and ranked the airport they visited on a scale of one to ten and of the 19 that received 50 or more reviews, New Zealand’s Christchurch Airport came out on top.
Christchurch scored an impressive 9.21 out of ten for offering the best airport experience, and travellers reported having a pleasant overall experience, including excellent customer service and the airport’s easy navigation.
One holidaymaker commented on their “smooth and easy experience” at Christchurch Airport, with another saying that it was “easy to locate places.”
New Zealand took both first and second place on the rankings, with second place going to Queenstown Airport, which scored 9.18 out of ten. Those who flew in and out of Queenstown reported having pleasant experiences overall.
Similar to Christchurch Airport, one traveller who landed in Queenstown said that this airport was “great, easy to get around and no hold ups.”
Queenstown was closely followed by Madeira Airport in Portuga, with a score of 9.07. After travelling from Madeira, one commenter wrote: “The airport has all the amenities we need and is a comfortable place to wait for a flight.”
However, on the other end of the spectrum, Marrakech Airport came in last place, although still with a relatively okay score of 7.58. It was preceded by Bergamo and Rome Fiumicino, with 8.10 and 8.24, respectively.
Commenting on the findings, Aleksandrs Buraks, head of growth at discovercars.com, said: “We were interested to see which airports around the world offer the best experience for travellers.
“Flying can be a stressful experience for many people, so having trouble in the airport once you land is the last way you want to start your trip.
“From our research, we found that travellers valued a smooth and easy experience when getting through the airport, which is something that both the New Zealand airports in our top five offered.
“Having no issues, and an overall speedy experience seemed to be what travellers wanted the most from their airport experience.
“Which makes sense, as when landing or departing from an airport, you want to start your holiday or get home as quickly as possible.”
Full airport rankings
- Christchurch, New Zealand (9.21)
- Queenstown, New Zealand (9.18)
- Madiera, Portugal (9.07)
- Lanzarote, Spain (8.91)
- Fuerteventura, Spain (8.89)
- Athens, Greece (8.88)
- Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, Spain (8.69)
- Malaga, Spain (8.61)
- Milan Malpensa, Italy (8.54)
- Auckland, New Zealand (8.49)
- Bari, Italy (8.48)
- Porto, Portugal (8.47)
- Mauritius (8.33)
- Lisbon, Portugal (8.32)
- Tenerife South, Tenerife, Spain, and Catania–Fontanarossa, Italy (8.28)
- Rome Fiumicino, Italy (8.24)
- Bergamo, Italy (8.10)
- Marrakech, Morroco (7.58)