Airports Down Under get the thumbs down in international survey.

April 4, 2011, Laura Anderson - Totaltravel

It is widely agreed that the worst aspect of modern travel is airports. The queues, the security, the ambiance (or lack of) are enough to make you want to pack the car and head on a road trip instead. Even so, when it comes to airports around the world, there is definitely the good, the bad and the ugly.

Airport Chaos

A report leaked from the Airports International Council, that call themselves ‘The Voice of the World’s Airports’ has shown Australia’s airports leave much to be desired compared to their international counterparts. Melbourne airport was by far the most embarrassing, coming in at number 104.

Of Australia’s airports, Sydney ranked the highest at number 67. This was followed by Townsville 71st place, Adelaide at 72, and the Gold Coast at 75. Australia was even topped by New Zealand’s Auckland Airport which came in at number 63.

European Airports didn’t fare much better though, with London Heathrow coming in at number 99, Amsterdam’s Schipol International at 93 and Paris’ Charles de Gaulle at 137. Iceland, Switzerland and Portugal took out the top 3 spots in Europe, and it comes as no surprise that Tel Aviv, Abu Dhabi and Dubai were the highest ranked in the Middle East.

Asian Airports took out the highest rankings overall, with South Korea’s Incheon International Airport taking out the number one spot for best airport worldwide, in Asia and by size. Singapore International came in at number 2, Hong Kong at 3 and Beijing at 4 and India’s Hyderabad placed 5th. It has not yet been released who placed at the bottom of the list

The survey is conducted each year by the Council, which is made up of airport operators around the world. They claim that despite this, the reports are unbiased and that rankings are derived from identical questionnaires given to passengers at each of the terminals.

The report ranks the world’s 216 major airports into the categories of Best Airports Worldwide, Best Airport by Region, Best Improved Award by Region and Best Airport by Size.