Eduardo González
Eight Spanish airports appear on the list of the 200 best aerodromes in the world, prepared by AirHelp, the world’s most important organization for the defense of air passenger rights. Bilbao airport occupies the twenty-first position in the world ranking and is the first of all European airports. They are followed, among the Spanish, by Madrid-Barajas Adolfo Suárez (48th place) and Valencia (84th).
The organization presented this week its annual AirHelp Score 2023 ranking, which qualifies the best global airports. The study has been prepared since 2015 and is the most complete and precise, based on data from airlines and airports around the world. For the classification, Airhelp values the excellence of its services, punctuality, claims processing and quality of its restaurant spaces and stores.
The first Spanish airport that appears in the Airhelp ranking is Bilbao. It occupies the twenty-first position in the world ranking and is also the first of all European airports. It obtains an overall score of 8.04 points; with 8.11 in punctuality, 8.14 in customer ratings and 7.74 in leisure spaces such as shops and restaurants. Bilbao international airport improves by three places in the classification compared to the last report prepared in 2022.
The second national airport that appears in the classification is Madrid-Barajas Adolfo Suárez, ranked 48th. The Madrid airport, which last year was positioned as the best European airport, falls more than 30 positions in the ranking. In 2023, it receives a score of 7.84 – compared to 8.25 last year -, the result of an average of 7.8 for punctuality; 7.9 from user opinion; and eight in services.
The third Spanish airport on the list is Valencia airport, in 84th place, with an average score of 7.58; a 7.4 in punctuality, a 7.7 in customer ratings and an 8.1 in retail and restaurant spaces. The Manises airport has experienced a great improvement in the evaluation received for its services, probably due to the new openings of hospitality offerings this year.
Barcelona airport appears in 88th place, with an average score of 7.54. Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat has lost positions and rating compared to last year, when he obtained an average of 7.68 points. The Balearic airport of Ibiza is the fifth Spanish airport that we find on the list. Although it maintains its position in 94th place in the world ranking, the airport improves its average rating, exceeding 7.5. Alicante airport is also present among the best, in position 101, with a rating of 7.47, losing 0.1 points compared to 2022.
In seventh place is the Palma de Mallorca airport (127). The third aerodrome with the most air traffic in Spain reaches a rating of 7.32 – compared to the 7.13 obtained last year. Eighth on the list is the Málaga-Costa del Sol airport (134), with an average of 7.27 – 7.1 for punctuality, 7.6 in customer opinion, and 7.6 for services.
The first airport in the world in the ranking prepared by Airhelp is Muscat International Airport, in Oman, followed by Recife airport, in Brazil, and Cape Town, in South Africa (the only airport in the top 10 that does not belong to Asia or South America). The countries with the most presence in the top airports are Brazil and Japan, with four and three airports, respectively.
