It’s no secret that Singapore’s Changi Airport is phenomenal. Seriously, out of this world, incredible, awesome and the best there is.

With a giant slide, massive vertical garden, waterfalls at baggage claim, free cocktails, sleeping areas, free movie theatres, endless shopping, incredible lounges, a swimming pool, 3 hotels, a sunflower garden and even a butterfly garden (just to name a few!), the airport provides endless hours of bliss, enjoyment or productivity, whatever category you may need on your trip.

Each year, Skytrax hosts the World Airport Awards (they do the World Airline Awards as well), ranking and rating the world’s major ports.

This year, Changi Airport was crowned number 1, it’s 4th consecutive win.

The top 10 airports seem to rarely change, yet they simply shift in order each year. Seoul Incheon and Munich both stayed at 2nd and 3rd, the same as last year.

It’s interesting that Skytrax actually goes to the effort of ranking the top 100 airports, with some very notable appearances. Hanoi Noi Bai Airport pulled in at number 82, yet ranked 218 last year! The honorary rank 100 this year goes to Russia’s Kazan International Airport (an improvement from rank 103) 🙂

The Asian airport hubs are key points in the global system. Cities like Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Beijing, Seoul and Guangzhou are all major transit destinations for passengers travelling from the Oceanic region to the rest of Asia and beyond to Europe and Africa. As such, these ports must build themselves up and be the best of the best, as the market is highly competitive. Singapore has done this well, attracting enormous number to a city that would otherwise be overlooked. Such a small nation struggled in the past, as people were unwilling to travel solely to the country. Building up an incredible airport and airline made the city a massive transit destination, boosting the economy. Some of the other cities make less of an effort, purely due to the fact that their countries are larger, and have more attractions, meaning more people will travel there solely to travel to that country.

If you haven’t yet travelled to Changi Airport, it is a must! The current three terminals are incredible (with the best being T3), and 2 more are on the way. As well as super-terminal 5, (which will be larger than all the other terminals combined), Project Jewel will see a massive dome structure created centrally, featuring shopping malls and leisure activities for the public as well as passengers. This means going to the airport when not flying will be more of a common task!