AirHelp: 2019 Global International Airport and Airlines Rankings

The 2019 ranking of the world's international airports and airlines has just been released. This list was announced by AirHelp, an aviation passenger rights service platform. AirHelp is a company that specializes in helping passengers make aviation claims and has published global airline and airport survey reports since 2015.

The overall ranking is based on three factors: flight punctuality, service quality (public reviews from multiple reliable websites) and claim handling scores (reflecting how airlines handle customer complaints). The first one accounts for 60% of the score, and the other criteria each account for 20%. AirHelp's data comes from multiple commercial suppliers and its own database. The list is based on 40,000 reviews, ranking 72 airlines and 132 airports around the world in terms of flight punctuality, service quality, catering options, and the ease of refund claims.

The title of the world's best airport was retained by Doha/Hamad International Airport, and Tokyo Haneda International Airport ranked second. They have occupied the top spot since the rating began in 2015. In addition, Athens Airport ranked third, and the AirHelp team was also confused. AirHelp CEO Henrik Zillmer said that it might be because of the mostly sunny weather in Athens, which led to fewer delays, or it might be that vacationers were generally in a good mood and left positive reviews. Lisbon Portela Airport was rated as the worst airport in the world.

Congestion is still the biggest problem facing airports: the aviation industry is experiencing rapid growth in global tourism. The World Tourism Organization estimates that by 2018, the number of international tourists worldwide increased by 6% to 1.4 billion.

The world's top ten airports in 2019

1. Doha/Hamad International Airport (DOH), Qatar

2. Tokyo/Tokyo Haneda International Airport (HND), Japan

3. Athens/Athens International Airport (ATH), Greece

4. Afonso Pena Airport (CWB), Brazil

5. Gdansk Airport (GDN), Poland

6. Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO), Russia

7. Singapore/Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), Singapore

8. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (HYD), India

9. Tenerife Island Airport (TFN), Spain

10. Campinas/Viracopos International Airport (VCP), Brazil

The world's top 10 worst airports in 2019

123. Gatwick Airport, United Kingdom (LGW)

124. Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, Canada (YTZ)

125. Porto Airport, Portugal (OPO)

126. Orly Airport, Paris (ORY)

127. Manchester Airport, United Kingdom (MAN)

128. Malta International Airport (MLA)

129. Otopeni International Airport, Romania (OTP)

130. Eindhoven Airport, Netherlands (EIN)

131. Farwaniyah, Kuwait / Kuwait International Airport (KWI)

132. Lisbon Portela Airport, Portugal (LIS)

AirHelp ranked 72 airlines based on on-time performance, service quality and claims handling, with each category balanced. Qatar Airways was named the world's best airline for the second year in a row, followed by American Airlines, while Thomas Cook Airlines ranked last.

United Airlines and Delta Air Lines also ranked significantly higher in 2018 than in 2017, ranking 16th and 17th respectively, compared to 37th and 47th in 2017. Notably, Aeromexico rose from 26th to 3rd, Scandinavian Airlines jumped from 36th to 4th, and Air France rose 15 places to 34th.

The world's top ten airlines in 2019

1. Qatar Airways (84% on-time performance)

2. American Airlines (75%)

3. Aeromexico (78%)

4. Scandinavian Airlines (73%)

5. Qantas (79%)

6. LATAM Airlines (77%)

7. WestJet Airlines (74%)

8. Luxair (78%)

9. Austrian Airlines (71%)

10. Emirates Airlines (75%)

The world's top 10 worst airlines in 2019

63. Adria Airways (67%)

64. Aerolineas Argentinas (80%)

65. Transavia (62%)

66. Laudamotion (51%)

67. Norwegian Air Shuttle (70%)

68. Ryanair (65%)

69. Korean Air (69%)

70. Kuwait Airways (42%)

71. EasyJet (67%)

72. Thomas Cook Airlines (57%)