Cape Town International Airport (Getty Images)
- Cape Town International Airport is still ranked as the best in Africa, according to the latest Skytrax World Airport Awards.
- But its position globally has slipped from 33 in 2021 to 49 in 2022.
- That slide isn’t as bad as Johannesburg’s OR Tambo, which has dropped 17 places in the world rankings.
- Durban’s King Shaka International Airport, the second-best in Africa, has also dropped in the global standings, although its slide is much more muted.
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Cape Town International Airport has been voted as the best in Africa for the seventh consecutive year, but its global positioning has slipped in the 2022 Skytrax World Airport Awards.
Cape Town has the best airport in Africa, according to the Skytrax World Airport Awards, which conducts customer satisfaction surveys among travellers. This survey evaluates traveller experiences across different airport services, including check-in, arrivals, transfers, shopping, security and immigration through to departure at the gate.
The results of the latest survey, conducted between September 2021 and May 2022, were announced on Thursday. Doha’s Hamad International Airport is still ranked as the best airport in the world, followed by Tokyo and Singapore, with little change among the top five.
Elsewhere in the global rankings, there have been massive changes. Although Cape Town is still the best in Africa, its position in the international context has dropped from 33 in 2021 to 49 in 2022. Australia’s Brisbane Airport, which in 2021 was ranked just one spot ahead of Cape Town, has improved its position to 22.
Airports in Barcelona, Rome, Seattle, Riyadh, Bahrain, and Bogota are just a few that have overtaken Cape Town in the global standings. Saudi Arabia’s Dammam Airport has climbed from 87 in 2021 to 50 in 2022, only one spot behind Cape Town.
Despite losing ground to its global counterparts, Cape Town International airport is still regarded as being the cleanest and having the best staff in Africa.
“This award is what brings global attention and gives airlines confidence in flying to the Mother City,” said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, James Vos, in reaction to the latest rankings.
“It is also a show of economic readiness as a city, because connecting Cape Town to more cities and countries means that we can welcome more visitors and create more jobs through tourism and provide trade opportunities to increase export of proudly Cape products to the rest of the world.”
See also | Cape Town airport is doing better than OR Tambo – but still a lot quieter than pre-Covid
Durban’s King Shaka International Airport remains the second-best in Africa, but it, too, has dropped in the global standings, from 52 in 2021 to 59 in 2022, representing a more muted decline compared to Cape Town. Durban also holds Skytrax’s title of best regional airport in Africa.
Of South Africa’s three major airports, Johannesburg’s drop in the global standings has been the worst. Although it’s maintained its position as the third-best airport in Africa, globally, it’s gone from 54 in 2021 to 71 in 2022.
Bloemfontein’s Bram Fischer Airport maintained its tenth spot among Africa’s top-10 airports but couldn’t crack the worldwide top 100.
Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport in Gqeberha, previously Port Elizabeth, was previously ranked as the ninth-best airport in Africa. It’s nowhere to be found in the continental or global rankings in the 2022 Skytrax World Airport Awards.