Out of 550 airports, Schiphol secures spot #15 in SkyTrax’s 2022 ranking of the world’s best airports. 🏆
Who would’ve thought that Schiphol airport, which has made one negative headline after another, would get any kind of positive recognition this year?
Our very own Amsterdam airport has always been popular among travellers, but this year’s ranking really took us by surprise.
A surprising win
Long lines, massive crowds, cancelled flights — it seems like a bad joke that Schiphol is labelled as anything but horrific these days.
READ MORE | Chaos at Schiphol: why the biggest Dutch airport is struggling so much
But alas, joining the likes of Singapore, Tokyo, Paris, and Copenhagen, the Dutch airport still clings to its status as a traveller’s top choice, according to Business Insider. 👑
The annual SkyTrax ranking lists the top 100 airports worldwide out of over 550 candidates. Europe and Asia generally dominate the list, although some Australian and U.S. airports also get a mention.
How is this even possible?
We could not believe our eyes — Schiphol?? At place #15?? So naturally, it’s important to investigate how this could possibly happen. 🔍
For one, Schiphol is usually ranked quite highly, so it’s not that strange to see it on the list. And as one of the largest and busiest airports in Europe (and the world!), they are usually well practised in creating a nice-ish travel experience.
The ranking was also based on satisfaction surveys from both 2021 and 2022. Aka, a big chunk of the assessment material is from before the mayhem of this year. (Now, this makes sense.)
READ MORE | Schiphol presents action plan to (hopefully) cope with overcrowding
Finally, what was assessed in the ranking was not necessarily ‘how much did you enjoy waiting in line’. Rather criteria like “terminal layout, comfort, seating, WiFi availability, restaurant options, (and) retail vendors” were considered important indicators of customer satisfaction.
Schiphol’s website and digital services also received an award — at least digitally, there were no long waiting lines in sight.
Three spots down
That being said, it’s clear that the Schiphol chaos this summer has not gone unnoticed, as the airport drops three spots from last year’s ranking.
That might be due to the section of the surveys assessing “level of staff service” — a bit of a touchy subject nowadays, with tons of Schiphol staff missing. 😅 Well, we can’t wait for what next year’s assessment will bring.
Do you think Schiphol lives up to its rank this year? No? Tell us in the comments below!
If you don’t like Schiphol use the airports in Eindhoven, Rotterdam or Groningen instead. Oh, wait. They aren’t perfect either. – Here’s a clue: No Airport Is Perfect. If you think you can do better, build your own airport.
Good…. Free water
Terrible…. Nowhere to charge a phone, either non-existent broken. With everyone having digital tickets nowadays, this is very poor ( my aircraft had also no charging possibility). Poor stuff indeed.