Top 10 Airports
The ranking evaluates airports based on how deeply smart technologies like AI, biometrics, digital twins, automation, and predictive analytics are integrated into operations PR Newswire. The top 10 are:
- Dubai International (DXB) – Middle East
- Singapore Changi (SIN) – Asia-Pacific
- San Francisco International (SFO) – North America
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (ATL) – North America
- London Heathrow (LHR) – Europe
The remaining top 10 includes Vancouver, Istanbul, Toronto Pearson, Doha Hamad, and Seoul Incheon.
What Makes This Ranking Different
TTW emphasizes that smart airports now use digital twins as their central nervous system to optimize passenger flows, biometric processing with facial recognition, and AI for everything from baggage robotics to energy grids Travel And Tour World.
The ranking focused on mature, real-world deployments rather than pilot programs or future plans. The research drew from 15 million user experiences combined with expert editorial analysis PR Newswire.
Key Themes
The 2026 rankings recognize airports that have moved from experimentation to scaled execution where AI and automation function as mission-critical infrastructure PR Newswire. Sustainability is also integrated as a core outcome rather than a separate initiative.
Introduction: A Legend Reclaims Its Throne
In an era where airports are being redefined not by size alone but by the depth and sophistication of their technological infrastructure, Singapore Changi Airport stands as an undisputed global leader. Securing the number two position in Travel and Tour World’s 50 Best Airports in the World for 2026—surpassed only by Dubai International—Changi exemplifies what it means to be a truly intelligent aviation hub in the modern age.
But numbers and rankings tell only part of the story. Changi recaptured the Skytrax World’s Best Airport title for 2025, marking a record-breaking 13th time the airport has received this prestigious accolade. After yielding the crown to Qatar’s Hamad International Airport the previous year, Changi’s return to the top demonstrates an unwavering commitment to innovation, passenger experience, and operational excellence that few airports worldwide can match.
The airport reached an all-time high of 70 million passengers in 2025, eclipsing its previous record of 68.3 million set in 2019. This achievement becomes even more remarkable when considering that it positions Changi at a critical inflection point—elevating the airport into the next category of mega-hubs handling more than 70 million passengers annually.
The Technology That Sets Changi Apart
Biometric Integration: The FAST Revolution
Changi Airport pioneered what has become the gold standard for seamless passenger processing through its Fast and Seamless Travel (FAST) system. As part of FAST, all passengers above the age of six can enjoy automated gates at all four terminals once they’ve registered their biometrics during arrival immigration clearance.
What makes Changi’s approach revolutionary is the end-to-end integration. Terminal 4, which opened in 2017, became the airport’s first facility to offer complete automation from check-in through boarding. At all passenger touchpoints—from check-in and bag drop to immigration and boarding—self-service and biometric technology provide passengers with a seamless and intuitive experience.
The technology operates with remarkable sophistication. IDEMIA’s world-leading biometric algorithms support fast capture and accurate matching of passenger identity, with verification at automated boarding gates using facial biometrics already captured during immigration. The system was a world first—the first terminal-wide implementation of an automated boarding solution in production globally.
The passport-free clearance process has reduced airport processing time by 40 percent, transforming what was once a bottleneck into a swift, frictionless experience. The facial recognition technology is sophisticated enough to account for changes in appearance, measuring key facial features and structure rather than superficial details like haircuts or facial hair.
Robotics and Automation: The Invisible Workforce
Walk through Changi’s terminals and you’ll witness an airport that has fundamentally reimagined how operations are conducted. The airport’s staff roster includes cleaning robots that can navigate busy areas and interact with passengers, robots that return trolleys and pull heavy bins along pre-mapped routes, stopping for tenants to empty their rubbish.
But the most significant robotics deployment happens behind the scenes. For several years, Changi has been trialing driverless baggage tractors and autonomous baggage handling loaders on the airside, which can load and unload baggage containers autonomously. This technology is expected to play a crucial role in the turnaround of wide-body flights, achieving both efficiency savings and environmental gains while addressing the sector-wide labor shortage.
Looking ahead, Terminal 5 will push automation even further. Robotic arms capable of lifting and moving oversized baggage weighing up to 35 kilograms will reduce the back-breaking work done by workers in baggage-handling areas. These systems are being designed to operate even in poor weather conditions, ensuring operational continuity regardless of external factors.
Predictive Intelligence: Airport 360
Changi’s technological prowess extends beyond passenger-facing systems. Airport 360, which has studied three years of historical data, has helped improve the timeliness of ground activities and on-time performance of up to 200 flights. This AI-powered system uses video analytics and machine learning to track aircraft turnarounds and predict potential delays before they cascade through the system.
The Jewel Smart Operations Centre deploys the Mozart platform, coordinating and integrating data and AI from smart operations including over 5,000 IoT sensors, 700 CCTV cameras, and 500 mobile devices. This creates a digital nervous system that monitors everything from air quality to people movers, transforming the airport into what industry observers call a “mini smart city.”
The Living Lab: Innovation as a Continuous Process
In 2017, Changi Airport Group launched the Living Lab Programme with support from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, providing a platform for government agencies, ground handlers, concessionaires, and security providers to test and demonstrate new solutions. The lab focuses on automation and robotics, data analytics and IoT, security technology, and smart infrastructure management.
This commitment to continuous innovation ensures that Changi isn’t simply deploying today’s best technology—it’s actively shaping tomorrow’s airport experience.
Sustainability: Green by Design
While many airports treat sustainability as a parallel initiative, Changi has embedded environmental responsibility into its core operational strategy. The airport has installed Singapore’s largest single-site rooftop solar photovoltaic system with a combined generation capacity of 43 Mega-Watt peak, reducing carbon emissions by approximately 20,000 tonnes annually.
The scale of this deployment is staggering. The system generates enough clean energy to power over 10,000 four-room HDB flats annually, all while navigating unique airport requirements such as ensuring no interference with air traffic operations and complying with aviation safety and fire safety standards.
Changi Airport Group targets a 20 percent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 against a FY18/19 baseline, even as the business continues to grow. This commitment is backed by Airport Carbon Accreditation Level 3 certification and ISO 14001:2015 certification across energy and emissions, waste management, and water management.
The airport’s sustainability efforts extend to water management as well. At Changi, NEWater—a high-grade recycled water produced from treated used water—forms the majority of water consumption, demonstrating how circular economy principles can be applied even in high-demand environments.
Looking ahead, Terminal 5 will set new benchmarks. The terminal will be certified as a Green Mark Platinum Super Low Energy Building, Singapore’s highest green building rating, and will house the country’s largest rooftop solar power system. It will also feature a low-carbon, high-efficiency Distributed District Cooling System and infrastructure to support Sustainable Aviation Fuel and other alternative fuels.
The Passenger Experience: Beyond the Technology
Technology is merely the enabler—the true measure of Changi’s success lies in the experiences it creates.
Jewel Changi: An Architectural Marvel
Nine years of planning and five years of construction created a 1.46 million square foot entertainment and retail complex 10 stories tall, boasting 2,000 trees and 100,000 shrubs, a terraced rainforest, multiple gardens, 300 retail and dining facilities, and miles of walking trails.
The centerpiece is the Rain Vortex, the world’s tallest indoor waterfall at five stories tall. At night, the waterfall’s circular walls feature a light and sound show that has become one of the most photographed attractions in Singapore. The Changi Airport Skytrain passes near the waterfall, allowing passengers to view the spectacle while transiting between terminals.
Service Excellence Recognition
Changi received multiple awards including World’s Best Airport Dining and the inaugural World’s Best Airport Washrooms award, demonstrating that excellence extends to every aspect of the passenger journey. The diversity and expansive choice of dining outlets, combined with attention to details that many airports overlook, creates an environment where even washrooms become drivers of customer satisfaction.
Accessibility and Inclusivity
Autonomous wheelchairs undergoing small-scale trials can be summoned at the tap of a button on a mobile app, ferrying seniors or passengers with reduced mobility across Terminal 5 after they cross immigration. This represents a thoughtful application of technology to address real human needs, ensuring that the airport’s innovations benefit all travelers equally.
Global Connectivity and Market Performance
As of October 2025, Changi hosts around 100 international airlines operating approximately 7,000 scheduled flights weekly, linking Singapore to over 160 cities across 50 countries and territories. This expansive network reinforces Changi’s pivotal role in connecting Asia to the rest of the world.
China emerged as the airport’s largest passenger source, followed by Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, and India, with China and Vietnam recording the strongest year-on-year growth at 9.7 percent and 11.3 percent respectively. This surge underscores the robust recovery of intra-Asia travel and the expanding appetite for leisure and business tourism across Southeast Asia.
Terminal 5: Building the Future
The upcoming Terminal 5 represents Changi’s most ambitious expansion yet. Spanning a massive 1,080 hectares, the Changi East development will provide future capacity for Changi Airport and includes Changi Airport’s fifth terminal, Terminal 5.
The new terminal, scheduled to open in the mid-2030s, will raise Changi Airport’s annual passenger capacity by more than 55 percent, from the current 90 million to 140 million. But capacity is just one dimension—Terminal 5 will be a showcase for the next generation of airport technology.
Terminal 5’s design concept is characterized by a unique collection of overlapping curved roofs with varying heights, with ‘roof leaves’ breaking the mega terminal building into smaller spaces that are more human scale. Combined with natural light and landscaping at appropriate spaces, the terminal will maintain a cozy yet uplifting feel despite its massive size.
Terminal 5 will be connected to existing terminals via a new underground people-mover system, allowing passengers to travel between Terminal 5 and Terminal 2 in about four minutes. Two tunnels will carry the people mover, while a third tunnel will handle baggage, with 1.7 kilometers of the three underground tunnels already completed as of October 2024.
Terminal 5 will leverage technology to automate and digitalize airport operations, with the future expanded air cargo hub being smarter, more connected, and more efficient. Strategic infrastructure planning will ensure greater operational efficiency, with dedicated lanes for autonomous guided vehicles and direct access to freighter aircraft from cargo and express terminals to speed up cargo flows.
The T5 In the Making Exhibition: A Preview of Tomorrow
Jointly organized by the Ministry of Transport, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, and Changi Airport Group, the T5 In the Making exhibition runs from January 6 to March 2026 at the Terminal 3 Arrival Hall. Since public registration opened on December 15, around 15,000 visitors have already signed up for tickets.
The exhibition showcases Changi Airport’s bold journey and future vision through five zones: from the airport’s strategic shift from Paya Lebar to Changi, to an experiential look at T5’s design, scale, and innovations. Visitors witness the technologies being explored to address manpower, aging population, and climate change challenges, and conclude their visit by imagining the future with interactive artificial intelligence experiences and viewing detailed scale models of T5 and the larger Changi East development.
Why Changi Ranks Second in TTW’s 2026 List
Singapore Changi exemplifies intelligent airport design through AI-enabled passenger flow management, touchless biometrics, smart retail analytics, and predictive maintenance systems. Its technology ecosystem integrates passenger experience, operational resilience, and sustainability, supported by advanced data platforms and automation across terminals, baggage handling, and beyond.
What sets Changi apart in the TTW ranking is not any single technology but the comprehensiveness of its approach. Several leading airports, including Singapore Changi, Heathrow, and Atlanta, are deploying biometric boarding and facial recognition to streamline processing times while maintaining stringent security standards. But Changi’s implementation is distinguished by its maturity, scale, and seamless integration across all touchpoints.
The airport has moved decisively beyond experimentation into scaled, real-world execution. Where many airports deploy AI, biometrics, automation, and integrated data ecosystems as isolated initiatives, Changi has woven them into mission-critical infrastructure that defines the entire passenger and operational experience.
Conclusion: The Benchmark for the Industry
When airport leaders talk about smart airports, one name inevitably comes up: Singapore’s Changi Airport. With plans to invest over S$3 billion over the next six years through its SMART Airport Vision, Changi is positioned to maintain and extend its leadership.
The airport’s success lies in understanding a fundamental truth: technology should be invisible to passengers, working seamlessly in the background to create experiences that feel effortless and intuitive. From the moment travelers enter Changi to the moment they board their flights, every system, every process, and every interaction has been optimized not for the sake of technology itself, but for the humans it serves.
As global aviation continues its post-pandemic recovery and air travel demand is projected to double by 2050, airports like Changi demonstrate what’s possible when vision, investment, and execution align. It’s not simply about being smart—it’s about being wise enough to make technology serve humanity’s needs while safeguarding the planet for future generations.
In securing the second position in TTW’s 2026 ranking and its 13th Skytrax World’s Best Airport award, Changi hasn’t just earned recognition—it has set the standard against which all other airports will be measured for years to come.