After a thorough assessment and analysis of customer voting and actual passenger volumes travelling through the top nominated airports, Hamad International Airport (HIA) has been ranked on the flagship award for the World’s Best Airport 2021 as the top international airport in the world, up from the third position in 2020.
This was recently revealed by the International airline consultancy group, Skytrax publishing its 2021 World Airport Awards, listing and ranking the top international airports in the world based on traveller experiences.
The awards are based on an international survey of travellers which was conducted between August 2020 and July 2021, according to Skytrax.
The survey evaluates traveller experiences across different airport service and product key performance indicators from check-in, arrivals, transfers, shopping, security and immigration through to departure at the gate.
The Chief Operating Officer at Hamad International Airport, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer, expressed his happiness indicating that the airport will remain committed to continue working tirelessly to ensure that best standards, customer satisfaction and amazing experience is mantained.
“It is with great pride that we announce that Qatar’s Hamad International Airport has been named the world`s best airport at the Skytrax 2021 World Airport Awards.
“This is not only a truly remarkable achievement for HIA and the State of Qatar, but an endorsement from our travellers for our commitment to service excellence. As we look towards the future, HIA remains devoted to boosting our efforts in providing the best airport experience to all our passengers,” said Mohammed Al-Meer.
According to Skytrax, its annual survey was conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic which impacted international travel in most countries.
Skytrax highlighted that the past 18 months has been the most challenging and financially difficult period ever experienced by the world air transport industry, and despite dwindling customer numbers, airports invested considerable resources in creating the safest possible travel environment for customers during the global pandemic.
“The impact of COVID-19 on air travel has impacted some regions and airports more than others, with many areas having few, if any, international routes operating for more than 1 year.
“The annual airport customer survey for the Passenger’s Choice Awards operated from August 2020 until July 2021, and many travellers voted for their favourite or best airport based on pre-pandemic travel experiences, whilst other customers have experienced the COVID-19 Airport Experience in the past 12 months,” Skytrax pointed out.
The CEO of Skytrax, Edward Plaisted explained and offered some insight into the challenges involved with keeping the aviation sector running during the challenging times posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said this provided a fascinating platform upon which to include the additional 2021 COVID-19 Airport Awards, which specifically recognise the efforts made by airports to improve health, hygiene and safety standards during COVID-19.
“With many airports around the world having seen a 70-80% drop in passenger numbers during our survey period, we considered that our 2021 awards should reflect these conditions, and whilst many customers voted for their favourite airport without visiting there in the last year, we had a very large survey response for airports where users have been travelling during COVID-19.
“Given the state of travel in 2020/21 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the latest survey also contained a specific Covid-19 section,” Plaisted said.
This, Skytrax added, led to the inclusion of a special Covid-19 excellence award in 2021, where 38 international airports were listed as having exceeded travellers’ expectations while travelling during the pandemic.
“Customers rated airport Covid-19 standards across key categories including Covid-19 information signage, face mask usage enforced, visibility and availability of hand sanitiser, social distancing markings/signage, enforcement of social distancing, seating / F&B social distancing, hygiene procedures at security, social distancing at security/immigration, terminal cleanliness and washroom cleanliness.”
In line with this, Skytrax applauded HIA for understanding the magnitude of the global health crisis, and accommodated changing traveller needs for increased sanitisation measures and contactless services by implementing advanced technological solutions.
“The airport retrofitted its existing services with touchless capabilities at key passenger touchpoints such as self-check-in, self-bag-drop and terminal elevators. It implemented its home-grown automated facial detection system to ensure the wearing of masks for all its staff.
“HIA uses its Smart Screening Helmets for contactless temperature measurement and autonomous disinfectant robots that emitting concentrated UV light in high passenger flow areas to protect the airport environment,” Skytrax said.
Qatar’s airport was also the first airport in the Middle East and Asia to achieve a 5-Star COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating by Skytrax in 2020.
The audit assessed the effectiveness of HIA’s COVID-19 policies and measures in providing a safe environment for all and recognised the airport’s commitment to operational excellence and passenger well-being.
As Qatar is preparing to welcome thousands of visitors during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, HIA, the Official Airport Partner for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, is ready to create memorable experiences for football fans across the globe.
The airport will host extraordinary fan activations across its terminal and ensure seamless connectivity through the airport.
“HIA’s expansion, with its first phase aiming to boost its capacity to accommodate 58 million passengers annually by the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. The second phase will commence post-FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and will serve 60 million passengers annually,” Skytrax highlighted.
Meanwhile, Tokyo’s Haneda International retained its second-place spot, while Singapore’s Changi International airport dropped from first position last year to third in 2021.
Three South African airports made the top 100 rankings in 2021, with two others features in the regional rankings.
Cape Town International Airport was the top-rated South African airport in the 2021 ranking, placing 33rd overall. This is down from 23rd position in 2020. It was ranked the best airport in Africa and also scored the award for having the best airport staff on the continent.
Durban’s King Shaka International Airport also featured in the top 100, ranking 52nd overall, down from 32nd in 2020. King Shaka was voted the best regional airport in Africa.
Joburg’s OR Tambo International airport ranked 54th, down from 36th last year.
Other South African airports only feature on the regional list, with Gqeberha’s Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport (formerly Port Elizabeth International Airport) and Bloemfontein’s Bram Fischer International Airport ranking as the 9th and 10th best airports in Africa, respectively.
The World Airport Awards began in 1999, and are regarded as a quality benchmark for the world airport industry, assessing customer service and facilities across over 550 airports.
