Changi Airport loses title of world's best airport after 8 consecutive years

After nearly a decade at the top, Singapore's beloved Changi Airport is no longer the best airport in the world. 

At Skytrax's 2021 World Aiport Awards last Thursday (Aug 5), Hamad International Airport clinched the Best Airport award, followed by Tokyo Haneda Airport and Changi Airport in second and third place.

A third-place finish is by no means a failure and Changi Airport maintained its extremely high standards, as seen in its wins in other categories.

These accolades include World's Best Airport Staff and Best Airport Staff in Asia.

On top of that, Changi Airport was named Best Airport in the 10 to 15 million passengers category and also made it onto the list of airports under the newly introduced 2021 Covid-19 Airport Excellence Awards.

For the Covid-19 Airport Excellence Awards, customers rated airport Covid-19 standards across key categories which includes Covid-19 information signage, face mask usage enforced, social distancing markings, terminal cleanliness and washroom cleanliness. 

Skytrax noted that the awards this year wanted to "recognise the efforts of global airports in adapting and meeting the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic".

It continued: "The past 18 months have been the most challenging and financially difficult period ever experienced by the world air transport industry, and airports have invested to provide the safest possible environment for their customers and staff during the global pandemic."

Skytrax also awarded five-star Covid-19 safety ratings to Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Scoot, the two passenger airlines within the SIA group. 

Scoot is the first low-cost carrier in the world to get this rating from Skytrax.

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amierul@asiaone.com