For the 19th time in a row, Zurich Airport has been crowned the best in Europe by the World Travel Awards. In a summer beset by flight cancellations and disruption, like those seen at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands, the airport in Zurich managed to emerge from the disruption relatively unscathed.

Zurich wins best airport in Europe for 19th year in a row

To determine who won the accolade, the World Travel Awards rated each airport in Europe for customer satisfaction, overall standards, and the number and quality of products and services available to passengers. In the latest ceremony in Majorca, Zurich Airport was given the title of “Europe’s Leading Airport” for 2022 - the last time any other airport won the accolade was Frankfurt Airport in 2003.

It follows a turbulent summer for airports around the world. As passenger numbers rose after the COVID pandemic, many airports suffered from a shortage of workers, which in turn led to long queues and delayed and cancelled flights. While Geneva and Zurich Airport were not at the epicentre of the problems, bags did start to pile up and more delays were seen at the height of the crisis.

Zurich Airport to keep expanding to maintain the title

In a statement, Stephan Widrig, CEO of Flughafen Zürich AG, noted that “we are emerging from the biggest crisis in the history of aviation." He said the award was won, "Primarily thanks to the great commitment of all employees and all airport partners here in Zurich.”

In order to ensure Zurich is able to hold on to the title in the future, the airport announced it would continue building and expanding services for passengers. Already, a new baggage storage facility is under construction - useful given the number of bags left at the airport last summer - public areas and shops are being upgraded and a new wooden terminal will be built to replace A gates within the next 10 years.