Schiphol falls from 15th to 29th in World’s Best Airport rankings
The staff shortages-related chaos at Schiphol Airport last year has clearly left a bad taste in passengers’ mouths. The Amsterdam Airport plummeted 14 spots on the World’s Top 100 Airports ranking, dropping from 15th in 2022 to 29th this year.
Schiphol won the Best Airport title in 1999 and finished in third place in 2004 and 2013. This year, Singapore Changi Airport won the award for the first time since 2020 and the 12th time since Skytrax began the ranking in 1999. Hamad International Airport in Qatar fell one spot to second place.
Charles de Gaulle Airport wound up in fifth place and was the highest-rated airport in Europe. The Paris airport was followed by Istanbul, Munich, Zurich, Tokyo Narita, and Madrid Barajas to round out the top ten.
The World Airport Rankings are based on customer votes in the largest annual global airport satisfaction survey. “They are regarded as a quality benchmark for the world airport industry, assessing customer service and facilities across over 550 airports,” Skyrax said.
Skyrax handed out the wards at an awards ceremony at the Passenger Terminal EXPO in Amsterdam, so Schiphol received customers’ vote of no confidence in its own hometown.
Last year was a difficult one for the Amsterdam Airport, starting with chaos caused by staff shortages in security and an unannounced strike by baggage handlers on the first weekend of the May holidays. The airport never really bounced back, with long lines and missed flights plaguing the summer holiday season.
Schiphol was forced to limit the number of departing passengers multiple times throughout the year so that there weren’t more travelers than the available security workers and baggage handlers could manage. The capacity problems resulted in a 77 million euros loss for the Amsterdam Airport last year.
In February, Schiphol confirmed plans to again force airlines to limit the total number of passengers during the April and May school vacation period. The reduction will mean approximately 5,000 fewer passengers will be allowed compared to a more ideal situation.