AirHelp, a passenger rights organization, examined 194 airports worldwide as part of the AirHelp Score - 104 of them in Europe. Only ten European airports make it into the top 50 of the overall ranking. Bilbao Airport can secure first place at least among European airports this year. Compared to last year, German airports have improved by 0,32 points.

Airports around the world were evaluated for the AirHelp Score in the categories of on-time performance, customer reviews, and food and shops. This year's winner of the AirHelp Score 2023 in Europe is the Spanish Bilbao Airport with 8,04 out of ten possible points. In a global comparison, it comes in 21st place. Many airports in Finland and Poland can also shine with their rating in 2023. Helsinki Vantaa Airport ranks 8,01th with 26 points, making it the second best airport in Europe. Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport in neighboring Poland follows closely behind in third place - in a global comparison it ranks 28th.

These are Europe's most punctual airports

When it comes to airport punctuality, Bodo Airport in Norway is ahead with a score of 8,2 points. Four other airports take second place among the most punctual European airports. These include Trondheim Airport and Bergen Flesland Airport, both of which are located in Norway. The first-placed Bilbao Airport and Stuttgart Airport also take second place with 8,1 points. In addition to Helsinki Vantaa Airport and the airport in Gdansk, the German airports Düsseldorf and Dortmund also score points with their punctuality, coming third in the category with a score of eight points.

Malta international airport performs worst in the world

The airport in Malta achieves the lowest score not only in Europe, but also in the world. On average, only 6,39 points were awarded in the three categories. In the overall comparison, it is in 193rd place. In second place in the negative ranking is London Gatwick Airport with 6,43 points - 192nd place in the overall comparison. The airport is also the least punctual airport in Europe with 5,5 points. Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport does only slightly better in the overall rating: here the score is 6,48 points, 191st place in the global ranking.

Airports in Germany are catching up in the AirHelp Score

A total of ten German airports were evaluated this year, improving on average by 2022 points compared to 0,32. Germany is represented three times in the list of the ten best European airports. Dortmund in particular is putting in a brilliant performance this year: the airport secured 7,89st place with a score of 41 points. This puts it in fifth place in a European comparison. The airports in Stuttgart (44th place) and Düsseldorf (46th place) follow with a score of 7,88 and 7,85, respectively. They are the sixth and seventh best airports in Europe.

The situation is different in Frankfurt am Main, Berlin and Hanover: the airport in the Main metropolis only has 6,86 points. Last year it was 7,07 points. This makes it the 20th worst airport in the world. The BER (7,36 points) and the airport in Hanover (7,38 points) come in 45th and 43rd place in a European comparison and are therefore slightly above the European average of 7,32 points.

The airport in Zurich impresses with the best range of restaurants

In the restaurants and shops category, Zurich Airport led the study: it was awarded 8,5 out of ten possible points. Passengers are also more than satisfied with the food options at London City Airport and Kastrup Airport in Copenhagen (8,3 points). Istanbul Havalimani Airport, Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, London Gatwick Airport and Hamburg Airport follow in third place with 8,2 points.

“We at AirHelp want to inform passengers about their rights and support them in enforcing them in the event of flight problems. The flight experience depends on many factors - be it punctuality, airline service or even the food on offer. Our goal is for passengers to be able to start their journey with a good feeling. Through our precise and extensive collections of flight data worldwide, we primarily want to inform passengers and show companies in which areas there is still room for improvement,” comments Tomasz Pawliszyn, CEO of AirHelp.