Heathrow Airport worst airport in the world; Changi Airport in Singapore the best, says survey

Heathrow Airport in London has been voted the “worst airport in the world” for the second year in succession in a poll of 14,500 frequent-fliers.In the survey, Changi Airport in Singapore was again ranked as the “best airport,” followed by Chek Lap Kok Airport in Hong Kong.

This is the second year in a row that Changi Airport and Chek Lap Kok Airport have found a place in the top two slots.

The survey – conducted in September 2009 among 14,526 passengers from 160 countries – found that Europe’s favourite airport is Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

All the respondents to the survey were frequent travelers who have taken, on an average, 17 flights in the last 12 months.

The participants of the online survey, who are all members of the airport lounge program called Priority Pass, rated Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris as the “second worst” airport in the world. Los Angeles International Airport is the “third worst” despite the airport having undergone an overhaul recently at a cost of $1 billion.

(Priority Pass, the biggest independent airport lounge program in the world, gives its members access to over 600 airport VIP lounges in more than 300 cities across the globe.)

Miami International Airport and Frankfurt International Airport were among the bottom 5 in the survey.

Heathrow Airport, located in the London borough of Hillingdon, is one of the busiest airports in the world in terms of total passenger traffic as international passenger traffic. It is the primary hub of airlines such as British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and bmi.

Heathrow, also the biggest airport in the United Kingdom, is owned and operated by BAA Airports Limited. BAA, a consortium led by the Spain-based firm Grupo Ferrovial, operates 6 airports in Britain and many other airports worldwide.

According to a statement from Priority Pass, the result of the survey suggests that “one who wants a romantic break in Paris should avoid the Heathrow Airport-Charles de Gaulle International Airport route if one does not want to kill one’s mood.”

Jonathan French, chief of brand for Priority Pass, has to say this of the poll results, “Sadly, London’s Heathrow Airport remains firmly entrenched as the airport the world loves to hate.”

The passengers who participated in the survey conducted by Priority Pass, Jonathan French explains in the statement, took a total of nearly 250,000 flights over the last year – and that means “they know a thing or two about airports.”