Suvarnabhumi International Airport's ranking has plunged in the past 10 years from 13th to 66th this year, according to the Skytrax 100 World's Best Airports 2021.
The passenger's choice awards have been held annually since 1999 by Skytrax, a United Kingdom-based consultancy that operates an airline and airport review and ranking site. The online survey was conducted over 12 months between August 2020 and July 2021. The result is regarded as a benchmark for the world's airport industry.
The world's best airport in 2021 is Hamad International Airport in Doha as it beat out Singapore's Changi International Airport which ranked third. The second-place spot went to Tokyo's Haneda International Airport.
The fourth is Incheon International Airport in South Korea, followed by Narita International Airport, Munich Airport, Zurich Airport, London Heathrow, Kansai International Airport and Hong Kong International Airport.
For Suvarnabhumi, the rank was 66th this year, down from 48 last year, 46 in 2019 and 36 in 2018. It ranked 13th in 2011.
Before the pandemic, the airport faced a problem of overcrowded terminals and air traffic congestion due to the slow expansion of its facilities. The airport, which was designed to handle 45 million passengers a year, had 47 million passengers in 2011 and 60 million in 2017.
During Covid-19, the airport completed a new passenger terminal known as Satellite 1 or SAT1. The four-storey building has a total space of 216,000m² and 28 bays including eight that can support the Airbus A380 jumbo aircraft. AoT expects the new terminal to enhance the airport's capacity to handle 60 million passengers per year (the new terminal has currently been turned into a field hospital for Covid-19 patients).
In addition to the world's best award, the Skytrax survey also announced Istanbul Airport as the World's Most Improved Airport, moving from 102 in 2020 to 17th in 2021.
Singapore's Changi Airport was voted to have the World's Best Airport Staff while Tokyo Haneda airport also won the World's Best Airport for Cleanliness and the Best Airport PRM (Persons with Reduced Mobility)/Accessible Facilities.
