A fresh global ranking has named the world’s top airport, and this year’s winner is in Panama.
Flying may make it possible to travel across the globe in under 24 hours, but the experience is not always enjoyable.
That is why a well-run airport can have a huge impact, turning a stressful journey into something far more manageable.
The latest list was released by AirHelp, which assessed 279 airports around the world using three main criteria.
Those categories were punctuality, comfort and facilities, and the overall airport experience. Punctuality carried the most weight in the final score, making up 60 percent of the ranking.
AirHelp combined the three category scores to produce a final overall ranking for each airport, using flight data from May 1, 2025, to April 30, 2026, along with passenger surveys.
Topping the ranking as the best airport in the world was Panama City Tocumen Airport in Panama, with an AirHelp Score of 8.48 out of 10.
Tocumen’s strong punctuality score helped push it into first place overall, even though some other airports performed better in the experience or facilities categories.
Fortaleza Pinto Martins Airport in Brazil secured second place, while Cape Town Airport in South Africa placed third.
Brazil was the standout country in the latest ranking, with five airports in the top 10 and a total of nine airports in the top 20.
Other Brazilian airports in the top 10 included Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre Airport in fourth, Brasília–Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek Airport in fifth, Rio de Janeiro Santos Dumont Airport in sixth, and Belém Val-de-Cans Airport in eighth.
The only other countries with more than one airport in the top 10 were South Africa and Norway. South Africa was represented by Cape Town in third and Durban King Shaka Airport in seventh, while Norway had Bodø Airport in ninth.
Just one US airport made it into the top 20, with Portland Airport leading the American rankings, followed by Salt Lake City Airport and Las Vegas Harry Reid Airport as the country’s top three.
AirHelp also found that travelers gave the highest experience scores to Singapore Changi Airport, while Dubai Airport and Hyderabad Airport in India followed close behind.
When it came to facilities and comfort, Singapore Airport again came out on top, ahead of Dubai and Doha Airport.
