KLIA climbs world's top 100 airports list for 2021, Changi falls in ranking

The Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) has climbed up the global airport ranking amid the pandemic, coming in at 55th place on the annual Skytrax World’s Top 100 Airports list.

This is a significant improvement for the country's premiere gateway after falling to its lowest position at 63rd place last year.

The highest ranking KLIA achieved was in 2001, when it took the second spot on the list.It has since dropped out of the top 10 group on the list from 2013, when it fell to 14th place.

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The list, however, omitted the award for the World's Best Low-Cost Airline Terminal this year. KLIA2 managed to stay in the top 10 last year, coming in at number six.

"Due to Covid-19 having such a major impact on airline travel in 2020/2021 and many low-cost terminals being closed, the award for the World's Best Low-Cost Airline Terminal could not be equitably determined for this category. These awards will be reinstated for the 2022 World Airport awards," Skytrax said in a statement.

Meanwhile, for the the first time in nearly a decade, Singapore's Changi Airport has fallen from its perennial spot at the top of the list to land in third place.

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The iconic airport passed on the number one spot to Doha's Hamad International Airport, which has consistently climbed the ranks over the years.

Hamad International Airport chief operating officer Badr Mohammed Al-Meer said the achievement is an endorsement of the airport's preparedness in facing the global pandemic.

"To this day, Hamad International Airport’s crisis preparedness, business continuity strategy, and agile and effective response to the Covid-19 pandemic continue to be recognised by leading industry institutions.

"As we look towards the future, Hamad International Airport remains devoted to boosting our efforts in providing the best airport experience to all our passengers,” he said in a statement.

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Skytrax is an airline and airport consultancy based in Britain.Its annual World Airport Awards is often regarded as a quality benchmark for the world airport industry, assessing customer service and facilities.

The awards is voted for by customers in a global airport customer satisfaction survey.

The top 10 World's Best Airports:

1. Hamad International Airport

2. Tokyo Haneda Airport

3. Singapore Changi Airport

4. Incheon International Airport

5. Tokyo Narita Airport6. Munich Airport

7. Zurich Airport

8. London Heathrow Airport

9. Kansai International Airport

10. Hong Kong International Airport