Singapore Changi Airport has been named the World’s Best Airport 2026 – again – in the prestigious World Airport Awards, held last week in London. Notably, Vancouver was named the best airport in the world of its size (20-30 million passengers) and 10th overall (all sizes) in the Awards’ pre-eminent best-overall category, leading a trio Canadian airport rankings in the top 100.
Those included Montreal, ranked 46 (up from 51 in 2025), and Toronto Pearson at 55. More Canadian honours listed below…
For Changi, it is the 14th time in the history of the awards that the facility has received the top accolade. Not surprisingly, it scored some other wins: World’s Best Airport Dining, the World’s Best Airport in the 60-70 million passenger category, the World’s Best Airport Immigration Service and as the Best Airport in Asia.
Vancouver
Meanwhile, YVR stood out amongst the top airports globally, ranked 10th in the Skytrax’s list, a rise of three spots from 13th in 2025, and up seven places from 2024. At the same time, the Fairmont Vancouver Airport hotel was rated third best in the world.
YVR has earned the title Best Airport in North America 15 out of the last 17 years and is the only airport ever to receive the award 15 times.
As Canada’s second busiest airport, YVR served a record 26.9 million travellers and moved more than 365,000 tonnes of cargo in 2025. These are the highest volumes in the airport’s almost 95-year history.
Montreal ranked 7th, and Toronto Pearson 10th in North America.
The full World’s Top 20 Airports for 2026
- Singapore Changi Airport
- Incheon International Airport
- Tokyo International Airport (Haneda)
- Hong Kong International Airport
- Narita International Airport
- Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
- Rome Fiumicino Airport
- Istanbul Airport
- Munich Airport
- Vancouver International Airport
- Helsinki-Vantaa Airport
- Chubu Centrair International Airport
- Dubai International Airport
- Riyadh Airport
- Vienna International Airport
- London Heathrow Airport
- Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
- Fukuoka Airport
- Zurich Airport
- Bahrain Airport
Meanwhile, the highest ranked Airports by passenger numbers in 2026 are:
- 80+ million pax – Tokyo Int. Airport (Haneda)
- 70+ million pax – Seoul Incheon
- 60 to 70 million – Singapore Changi Airport
- 50 to 60 million – Rome Fiumicino Airport
- 40 to 50 million – Tokyo Narita
- 30 to 40 million – Riyadh Airport
- 20 to 30 million – Vancouver Airport
- 10 to 20 million – Helsinki-Vantaa Airport
- 5 to 10 million – Bahrain Int. Airport
- Less than 5 million – Goa Manohar Int. Airport
Canada
Canadian honours included:
- Vancouver: 1 globally (20-30 million pax); No. 3 Best Airport Staff North America; No. 4 Best Art (world)
- Montréal: 9 globally (20-30 million pax); No. 2 Best Airport Staff North America
- Toronto Pearson: No. 6 globally (40-50 million pax); No. 1 Best Airport Staff North America
- Ottawa: 7 globally (less than 5 million pax); No. 5 Regional Airport North America
- Billy Bishop Toronto City: No. 10 globally (less than 5 million pax); No. 10 Regional Airport North America
- Fairmont Vancouver Airport: 3 World’s Best Airport Hotel (and No. 2 North America)
The World Airport Awards
The World Airport Awards are prestigious accolades for the airport industry, voted by customers in the largest, annual global airport customer satisfaction survey. Operating since 1999, the Awards are independent and impartial and provide a customer satisfaction study that is global in scope and coverage. They are regarded as a quality benchmark for the world airport industry, assessing customer service and facilities across over 575 airports. The survey and awards process is provided to airports at no cost.
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