Skytrax has lost even more credibility in my book by awarding world’s best terminal to none other than London Heathrow’s Terminal 5. Was this supposed to be a joke?
Skytrax is out with its 2019 airport ratings and I’m just laughing at the twilight zone that company seems to reside in. London Heathrow is the eighth best airport in the world? Heathrow T5 is the best terminal in the world? On what planet?
I’ve had the joy of flying through beautiful airports in Singapore, Hong Kong, Doha, and Incheon. And beautiful smaller Scandinavian airports like Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Oslo. Heck, I think the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX is now one of the best in the world. But it didn’t even make the list…
Instead, we have Heathrow Terminal 5 as the world’s best terminal and Heathrow Terminal 2 at as world’s fourth-best terminal. I simply cannot stop shaking my head. Heathrow T5 is a nightmare. Annoying security lines, constant overcrowding, a lack of power ports, and wi-fi that is not all that fast. I find it to be one of the worst “major” terminals in the world. And LHR T2 is not much better. A “seamless” Star Alliance connection through T2 requires a marathon-level hike. Gates are spread out and the lack of power ports is a stain.
So I’m just scratching my head.
Here’s the “top-10” airport list:
- Singapore Changi Airport
- Tokyo International Airport (Haneda)
- Incheon International Airport
- Hamad International Airport (Doha)
- Hong Kong International Airport
- Central Japan International Airport
- Munich Airport
- London Heathrow Airport
- Narita International Airport
- Zurich Airport
And the world’s top-10 terminal list:
- London Heathrow – T5
- Singapore Changi – T3
- Munich – T2
- London Heathrow – T2
- Dubai – T3
- Singapore Changi – T4
- Tokyo Haneda – International Terminal
- Guangzhou Baiyun – T2
- Madrid Barajas – T4
- 1Baku – T1
CONCLUSION
Will anyone defend this or does it simply render Skytrax even less credible than before?
Agree this is BS. LHR is best to be avoided.
I love LHR and T5 but even I can agree neither come close to being the best airport (or terminal) or even in the top 10 for that matter.
By this token, Dulles should get an award for having the most seamless international arrivals experience.
Today is April Fools’.
By this measure, JFK T4 should get the award for “shortest airport security lines” with second place going to EWR and third place going to LGA. But really, I thought this was an April fools joke until I found out that it actually was legitimate.
I forgot it was April 1st. Sadly, this is not April Fool’s Day joke…
In the universe of Oneworld Emeralds.
Security lines? Nonexisting in the First wing.
Crowds? Nonexisting in the First wing.
Slow Wifi? Nonexisting in the First wing.
I don’t even know how the regular terminal looks like. Even when connecting I’m using eGates to get into the UK and clear security at the First wing.
It’s above and beyond everything I’ve experienced – except Lufthansa FCT.
Usual nonsense from skycraps – T5 is not even the best terminal in LHR, T2 is better
Detroit isnt listed for its incredibly simple layout either.
I was living in London when Heathrow T5 opened and traveled quite a bit for work at the time. I hated T5 so much that I pretty much stopped flying BA entirely.
LHR is my home airport and it is no where near the top of any list. T5 for somewhere relatively new is an awful experience and given that it is the home of British Airways you would think they would have some control over it but they constantly deny all responsibility.
T3 is like it has been for many years, out of date, over crowded and a poor experience.
T4 has improved under the stewardship of Skyteam compared to when it was a BA hub, it’s not great but in relative (LHR) terms a painless experience.
T2 is IMO the best of the bunch but I never use it to transfer but for O&D it works far better than any other terminal. There is a long walk to the B gates but I always make a point of walking it before or after a flight simply because the exercise is good for me. It seems as though the *A carriers have their act together on consistency there and so you know what to expect. For me it works.
Heathrow T5 is the world’s best terminal over Singapore Changi T3? And LHR T2 over Dubai and Singapore? How much did Heathrow Airports pay Skytrax for this? I’ve only been through T2 once and yes, the hike thru the underground catacombs to the nether regions of my gate was enough to stop me from flying Star Alliance from London ever again. T5 is a nightmare.. enough said.
Nostalgia I guess, T5 works for me. HK #2. Narita only because I love exploring the little town of Narita. The others are “sterile” I suppose.
@Phil –
Totally agree. While I’m not a Skyteam flyer (usually), I’m a Detroit native and I’m regularly flummoxed by those who claim that JFK, DCA, DEN, or even ORD are better airports than DTW. I’m guessing they haven’t flown through since before construction of the McNamara Terminal or the North Terminal. Sure, the Delta Skyclubs aren’t the most up to date, but when you consider everything else in the airport, DTW is probably the single best airport in North America.
I hate, hate, HATE Terminal 5. To me it’s one of the most stressful terminals to navigate in all of Europe. Most frustrating of all is being booked on one of the first departures in the morning – and security isn’t open yet. When you finally do get through security it’s a mad dash to the gate, through an endless shopping mall. Ridiculous.
Skytrax is a joke, by the way.
I guess it’s telling that Madrid T4 is up there as well. Complete nightmare for regular pax. But those who transit there once a year find it stunning. Maybe it’s the high ceilings…?
Any airport that requires those incredibly frustrating bus transfers doesn’t deserve to make the list… it’s embarrassing.
The same company that gave Garuda Indonesia 5 star status. Ludicrous.
Don’t forget Lufthansa 😉
Personally i’d rank Incheon down a couple of spots (certainly below Hong Kong) given it’s a really long way into the city and the lounge offering is woeful!
SkyTrax is nonsense. Given T2 was built from scratch, its massive problems are emblematic of everything wrong with a BAA airport. The walks they mandated to the B gates are cynical and insulting. Of course ST showed itself to be a fraud when it made Garuda a 5* carrier.
Skytrax is corrupt nonsense but I have to say I don’t mind T5. Since it’s my home airport I am usually arriving or departing, and generally get through fairly quickly. I have also connected through a few times on business trips and the connections are pretty seamless. Certainly a hell of a lot better than at Schipol, for example, where you have to hike literally kilometres around the ridiculous wings of that mega-terminal.
I’d say it’s one of the better “major” European terminals and I would take it any day over nearly any major US airport terminal, but it is nowhere near the world’s best!
BAA must be paying the same special “fees” to Skytrax that Lufthansa did last year…
Heathrow t5 as the top? Geez. Amateur hour there. How did Hongkong airport terminal 1 not even get ranked in the top 10 when the gate areas are very spacious and plenty of seats to stretch out. Incheon is a joke too.
i actually really like LHR T5 i think it is a top terminal IMO. I am always happy to fly in and out of it. How Dubai T3 managed to get on the list is what i wanna know DXB is a mess.
Apparently the WiFi has been upgraded at Heathrow recently…
https://www.headforpoints.com/2019/04/05/heathrow-airport-wi-fi/
No one ever mentions CTS. New Chitose has perhaps the best food offerings of any airport in the world (Ramen Dojo and an enormous Hokkaido food hall) as well as an onsen in the terminal.