Europe's 'best airport' named as UK's Heathrow and Gatwick nowhere near the top 10

The top 10 airports in the world for passenger experience have been ranked, including a European travel hub - but none are in the UK. Airhelp, an online platform that helps holidaymakers seek compensation for cancelled flights, delays, or overbookings, has put together its latest ranking of the best airports based on "service, style, and getting you there on time".

Only one European airport made the cut, with Norway's Bergen Flesland Airport (BGO) ranking at number eight. Major UK airports like London Heathrow and London Gatwick were way off the top 10. Heathrow ranked 178th, with an AirHelp score of 7.31, 7.1/10 for on-time performance, 7.3 on customer opinion and 8 for its shops.

Meanwhile, Gatwick Airport ranked 235th with a 6.81 Airhelp score, 6.3 for on-time performance, 7.4 for customer opinion, with shops getting a score of 7.7.

Heathrow and Gatwick airports have been approached for comment via email.

The firm gave BGO an an-time performance score of 8.4/10, meaning that according to their analysis, 84% of flights departed on-time.

It also got an 8.5/10 passenger satisfaction score.

The Middle East saw the highest number of top-ranked airports, with four. These include Riyadh King Khaled International Airport (RUH) and Dammam King Fahd International Airport (DMM) (both in Saudi Arabia), as well as Hamad International Airport (DOH) and Muscat International Airport (MCT), in Qatar and Oman, respectively.

Airhelp ranked 250 airports across 68 countries combining its own "internal flight database with firsthand passenger feedback on airport facilities and experiences".

The flights analysed were between June 1, last year to May 31, 2025.

Factors that contributed to the ranking included analysis of their database of flight data, compiling "on-time flight departure and arrival statistics for every airport", with on-time performance contributing to 60% of the score.

The company says it also surveyed air travelers in over 58 countries, collecting 13,500 unique airport ratings.

Passengers were asked to rate the airports they had used most recently on factors including: airport staff, wait times, accessibility, and cleanliness with responses on a scale from "very good" to "very bad" for each.

Each rating was given a numeric value, and combined all the ratings together to produce a final score, with customer opinion contributing to 20% of the airport's score.

Fliers' experience of the flight hub's food and shop offering was also taken into account, with travelers asked "what they thought about the shops and restaurants at the airports they'd visited", also using a "very good" to "very bad" scale. This score then contributed to the final 20% of the overall score.

You can find the full rankings and more information about the methodology used here.

Cape Town International Airport (CPT) - South Africa

Hamad International Airport (DOH) - Qatar

Riyadh King Khaled International Airport (RUH) - Saudi Arabia

Brasília International Airport (BSB) - Brazil

Muscat International Airport (MCT) - Oman

Panama City Tocumen Airport (PTY) - Panama

Durban King Shaka International Airport (DUR) - South Africa

Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) - United States

Bergen Flesland Airport (BGO) - Norway

Dammam King Fahd International Airport (DMM) - Saudi Arabia