Good news for air travelers passing through Manila: the city’s international airport isn’t quite as bad as it used to be.
That’s the only slightly uplifting word from The Guide to Sleeping in Airports, a travel website that produces an annual survey to identify the world’s worst and best aviation terminals.
After being crowned worst three years in a row, Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport has this year lost its place at the bottom of the heap to Pakistan’s Islamabad Benazir Bhutto International.
It’s now climbed to the heady position of fourth worst.
Despite the website’s name, airports weren’t just rated according to how easy it is to catch some shuteye.
Readers were asked to judge facilities in four categories: comfort, conveniences, cleanliness and customer service.
Is Islamabad’s Benazir Bhutto International really so bad?
Airport officials didn’t reply to CNN’s requests for a comment, but survey respondents were less than complimentary.
“This airport is [like] a central prison,” said one who complained of touts and aggressive taxi drivers.
The survey ranked Saudi Arabia’s busiest airport, Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International as second worst, followed by Nepal’s Kathmandu Tribhuvan International.
Manila’s climb to fourth follows what many respondents said was a “slight improvement” created by the recent opening of its Terminal 3.
Three European airports frequented by low-cost carriers were next in line.
Paris Beauvais-Tille International Airport and “not-in-Frankfurt” Frankfurt Hahn International Airport tied for sixth. Bergamo Orio al Serio International Airport near Milan was listed as eighth worst.
New York City’s LaGuardia International Airport, ranked 10th, was the only U.S. entry to make top 10 list.
Airport with a spa
There were no surprises when it came to naming the best airport, with Singapore’s Changi International taking the title it’s held every year since the survey began 18 years ago.
It’s success is credited to the spa, pool, gym, four-story slide and movie theaters that make the airport a destination in itself.
Offering almost as many cool perks as its Singapore counterpart, South Korean’s Seoul Incheon International was named second best.
Amsterdam Schiphol and Hong Kong International Airport (last year’s third and fourth best airports) dropped out from the top five to ninth and seventh spots, respectively.
Helsinki International Airport, Munich International Airport and Vancouver International Airport wrapped up the top five.
Worst Airports of 2014
1. Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Islamabad, Pakistan
2. King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
3. Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, Nepal
4. Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Philippines
5. Tashkent International Airport, Uzbekistan
=6. Paris Beauvais-Tille Airport, France
=6. Frankfurt Hahn Airport, Germany
8. Bergamo Orio al Serio Airport, Italy
9. Tegel Airport, Berlin, Germany
10. LaGuardia Airport, New York City
Best Airports of 2014
1. Changi Airport, Singapore
2. Incheon International Airport, South Korea
3. Helsinki Airport, Finland
4. Munich Airport, Germany
5. Vancouver International Airport, Canada
6. Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia
7. Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong
8. Tokyo Haneda International Airport, Japan
9. Schiphol Amsterdam Airport, Netherlands
10. Zurich Airport, Switzerland
