The results of a new Luxury Airport study have revealed which airports around the world offer the most luxurious experience for travelers.
The travel insurance experts at AllClear analysed nearly 2,000 airports across the globe. The goal was to reveal which ones offered the most high-end experience.
The study scored airports based on a range of factors showcasing the most luxurious amenities. This included the number of lounges, variety of designer shopping options, champagne and caviar availability, and nearby high-end airport hotels.
Airport Assessment
Going to the airport can be an exciting part of going on holiday. Once you’re through security it seems as though all time stops while you sample designer perfumes, have a breakfast mimosa and try on new sunglasses – until you must race to your gate!
However, some airports are clearly better than others when it comes to the level of comfort. With delays, and layovers that can feel like they go on forever, comfort is the top priority.
This is particularly so if you’re an over 70’s traveller and hoping to get to your destination feeling relaxed and ready to enjoy your holiday.
With all of this in mind, AllClear decided to investigate which of the world’s airports offer the most luxurious experience. They looked at those giving travellers the utmost comfort before they take to the skies.
AllClear analysed over 1,800 airports before whittling them down to a shortlist of 69. This was based on how many had a significant selection of passenger lounges available (minimum 10).
Airports were then scored on several factors, from how many designer shops it has, to how many 4- and 5-star hotels are located nearby.
Each airport was also given a score based on how many lounges are available to passengers, and whether you can find a high-end bar or caviar house to rest at while waiting to board.
Top 20 Most Luxurious – AllClear
The world’s most luxurious airport, according to the rankings, is in the United Arab Emirates. Dubai International Airport sees 90 million passengers transit through it per year.
It landed first place as the go-to airport for anyone seeking a luxurious start to their layover.
Following closely behind is the UK’s very own Heathrow Airport, located in London, while Doha International Airport in Qatar completes the top three.
The rest of the top 20 consists of a variety of other airports located all over the globe. This ranged from international hotspots for travellers like Paris and Germany, all the way to Thailand, the USA and Japan.
1. Dubai International Airport
Luxury score of 83/100
Dubai as a destination is well known across the world for luxury and wealth. As such, it’s not too surprising that the airport ranks as the most luxurious on the globe.
The UAE airport is the fastest-growing aviation hub in the world. It even boasts its own 5-star hotel located inside the airport itself.
With zen gardens, an outdoor swimming pool, a gym, cinemas and a bounty of restaurants – this is one airport that will certainly leave you feeling refreshed ahead of jumping on your flight.
The factor that clinched the win for Dubai Airport is the number of four- and five-star hotels within a three-mile radius of the airport, with over 70 luxury hotels for travellers to choose from.
2. London Heathrow Airport
Luxury score of 82/100
London has four different airports but Heathrow, which is often recognised as the busiest airport in Europe, just missed out on being crowned the world’s most luxurious by a mere one point.
With an impressive ‘luxury’ score of 82 out of 100, Heathrow scored a bounty of points for having both one of the largest numbers of lounges to choose from.
The London airport also boasted the majority of the world’s most luxury shopping brands available to passengers.
3. Doha International Airport
Luxury score of 73/100
Qatar airport is home to the world’s third most luxurious airport, and believe it or not, the airport alone is about a third of the size of Doha, the city it’s located in.
This beautiful airport has a roof shaped like a wave, while the interior is designed with an aquatic theme.
Water features run throughout, and all represent the gentle waves of the Arabian gulf. Doha’s airport also scored highly for the number of four- and five-star hotels within its vicinity.
It also offered many luxury brands like Hermès and Montblanc for shopping-hungry passengers.
4. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
Luxury score of 66/100
Handling 70 million passengers each year, Paris’ main airport is the second busiest in Europe, after Heathrow.
One of the most renowned airports worldwide, U2 even filmed their music video for “Beautiful Day” at this globally renowned airport.
The airport scored highly on the sheer number of luxury brands available for perusal, from Louis Vuitton to Yves Saint Laurent and Bvlgari, but also plays host to its own onsite hotel, and fantastic transport links into the European city of love.
5. Sydney International Airport
Luxury score of 61/100
From the land down under, Sydney is the first Oceanic airport in the rankings. Sydney’s international airport completes the top five most luxurious worldwide airports.
It hits top marks for luxury brands available across its terminals, the likes of which include Cartier, Rolex and Armani.
This luxury airport is the world’s oldest continually operating commercial international airport and impresses passengers with a runway that extends into Botany Bay.
The runway lights positioned out on the water making landings here incredibly picturesque.
Methodology
A list of every airport in the world was collated, before using Loungebuddy to find out how many lounges each airport has available to passengers.
The list was then streamlined to only include airports that offered at least 10 lounges. A variety of data points were subsequently collected for these airports.
Inconsistent information on airport websites regarding the complete list of shops necessitated the use of multiple methods to analyze the number of designer stores.
AllClear searched for hotels near the airport using Google’s Hotel Search and then filtered the results to only include 4 and 5-star hotels within a 3-mile radius.
Desk research, InMapz and each airport’s official website was used to discover whether the airport offered champagne bars or caviar houses.
All these data points were then given scores using a weighted formula, to provide an overall ‘luxury’ score out of 100.
All data correct as of February 2024.
