This Airport Was Named 2025's 'Best In The World' By SkyTrax

Airports can be very stressful places to be. If you've had to arrive at one very early in the morning, found that your suitcase is a little over the weight limit, or forgotten something at a TSA checkpoint (or all of these things simultaneously), you'll know that all too well. At the same time, though, airports can also be glamorous gateways to exotic destinations. When you're not hurrying through them, afraid of missing your flight, you can stop and consider just how luxurious some of the available amenities can be. To highlight this, SkyTrax's World Airport Awards 2025 has broken down the virtues of airports everywhere to determine which is the very best on the planet. In first place is none other than the luxurious Singapore Changi Airport.

With so many airports in the world (there are approximately 16,116 in the United States alone), you can expect that Singapore's Changi offers something truly special to be worthy of this honor. A glance at the airport's official website will begin to make this clear, detailing extraordinary experiences such as the Arrival Garden, Butterfly Garden, and Bamboo Grove, the latter two of which were world firsts for airports. It boasts entertainment venues and unique experiences for everyone in the family (including the Jurassic Bark Dog Run and Butterfly Trail for pets), and that's just the beginning of the Changi difference. Let's take a closer look at just why this airport is so internationally renowned, from dining to shopping opportunities and customer service.

Changi Airport became functional in 1981. Since then, it has grown to a vast complex, with a new terminal being added every decade. The airport now spans approximately 4.6 square miles, and its four terminals (a fifth is currently in the works as part of the ambitious Changi East project) can serve around 90 million passengers annually. Being big and busy is to be expected of SkyTrax's Airport of the Year, but size alone isn't enough. In fact, Changi is far from the biggest airport. Guinness World Records notes that this honor goes to Saudi Arabia's King Fahd International Airport, which spans a massive 300 square miles in area. It's another of the most luxurious airports in the world. One huge factor in Changi's favor is the high quality of service it provides to the many travelers who pass through it.

In 2024, the Airport Service Quality Awards listed Changi as one of Asia-Pacific's Airports With The Most Dedicated Staff, Most Enjoyable Airports, and Cleanest Airports. The second of these accolades is particularly notable, defined by the awards as "the top 5% of airports by region from the Departures Main Program for their offerings (restaurants, shops, entertainment) and efforts to make the waiting time enjoyable and comfortable." There can be no better facility to show off all these things than the Jewel, a ten-storey, $1.25 billion dollar shopping center and entertainment complex connecting three of the airport's terminals that was completed in April 2019. It boasts 280 different stores and restaurants, a large movie theater, and a hotel, as well as the magnificent Shiseido Forest Valley and the most striking attraction of all: The biggest indoor waterfall in the world, the HSBC Rain Vortex.

An airport is a gateway to all manner of wonderful destinations, but Singapore's Changi is a wonderful destination in and of itself. The Jewel is also open to the general public, a stylish and popular shopping complex in its own right. Some of its star attractions aren't just for show, but also serve a practical purpose. Jayson Goh, the managing director for airport operations management at Changi Airport Group, explained to CNN Travel in April 2019 that "below the Vortex we have tanks to collect the rainwater so that we can recycle it. When there's an excess of rainwater, it can be used for irrigation of the plants in the Forest Valley." These many restaurants also surely contributed to SkyTrax awarding the airport the World's Best Airport Dining Experience 2025 accolade. Another victory also highlights its overall high standards — the World's Best Airport Washrooms 2025 award.

Despite all of this, Changi Airport's high standards are not uncontested. Doha's Hamad International Airport's lavish stores saw it awarded Best Airport Shopping 2025 by SkyTrax, and the Qatar capital's stunning airport, according to the outlet, "has been described as the most architecturally significant terminal complex in the world, as well as being the most luxurious." It also boasts one of the longest airport runways on the planet. Since 2000, these are two of only four facilities to claim the honor of Airport of the Year (Singapore Changi 13 times and Doha Hamad three times). The other two are Hong Kong International Airport (eight times) and Incheon International Airport in Seoul (twice). With the latter winning the World's Best Airport Staff 2025 and Hong Kong International claiming World's Best Airport Immigration 2025, SkyTrax clearly concludes that standards remain incredibly high at these facilities across the board.