SKYTRAX ANNOUNCES ‘BEST AIRPORTS’ WINNERS
(Posted 03rd April 2014)
While in global terms no African or Indian Ocean airport made it into the coveted top 10 position of the best international airports in the world, three South African airports were ranked in the top ten best domestic airports in the world, namely Durban in third place, Cape Town in sixth place and Johannesburg in tenth place.
This seems to be a clear indication of the need to make major investments in airport infrastructure in sub Saharan Africa, something South Africa did ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and which today pays off very handsomely.
In the African and Indian Ocean categories there was some serious competition over rankings though and it was Johannesburg which topped that list, followed by Cape Town, Durban and notably Mauritius in fourth position, the latter well deserved following the opening of a new terminal which is designed to handle even the giant Airbus A380 aircraft, now coming daily to the island courtesy of Emirates. In fact, six South African airports made it into the top ten, handing a challenge to the rest of the continent to shape up or be left behind when it comes to passenger ratings.
In the Indian Ocean category it was again Mauritius leading the pack, followed by the Maldives, then notably the international airport on the Seychelles’ main island of Mahe and Reunion’s Roland Garros coming in fourth.
Well done to the winners and a reminder to those which did not feature, or featured down the ranking ladder, to take a leaf from competing airports and improve services, as better airports normally lead to greater passenger numbers which benefit the tourism sectors of the respective countries.
