AirHelp unveils Cape Town Airport as the best airport in the world

• 250 airports across 68 countries were evaluated to help passengers make smarter airport choices
• Cape Town was deemed the best airport globally
• South Africa is home to three airports ranked among the world’s top 20.

AirHelp, the leading travel tech company supporting passengers with flight disruptions, has today released the first half of the 2025 AirHelp Score.

Since 2015, the AirHelp Score has helped passengers make more informed decisions by ranking the performance of airlines and airports worldwide. Similarly to last year, and to better serve passengers ahead of the busy summer months, airport and airline rankings will be published separately, ensuring passengers have timely access to the latest airport performance data.

This year’s ranking includes 250 airports from across 68 countries – an increase of 11 airports compared to 2024. Each airport was assessed in three key categories of Punctuality, Customer Opinions, and Food & Shops. The data shows how three South African airports scored places in the top 20 global ranking.

Cape Town Airport comes out on top

The global ranking for 2025 names Cape Town Airport as the world’s leading airport, with an impressive overall score of 8.57. It stood out in customer opinion, receiving 8.7, and also earned a strong on-time performance score of 8.6. After coming second in 2024, the airport rose to the top this year, thanks to improvements in passenger satisfaction.

Durban’s King Shaka International Airport ranked as South Africa’s second-best, taking 7th place globally with a score of 8.40. It excelled particularly in on-time performance, earning a notable 8.9. Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport followed as the third highest-ranked in the country, placing 20th worldwide.

The top 5 airports globally

Cape Town overtook Doha Hamad Airport in Qatar, last year’s number one, which now holds second place with a strong score of 8.52 points. Riyadh King Khaled Airport has risen through the ranks from 33rd place in 2024, to third place this year with 8.47 points. 

Brasília–Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek Airport in Brazil takes fourth place, having moved up one position from last year. It achieved an overall score of 8.47, bolstered by an impressive 8.6 for punctuality. Finally, Muscat Airport makes the top five global airports, scoring 8.47 points overall.

Tomasz Pawliszyn, CEO of AirHelp commented: “At AirHelp, we believe passengers should be able to make decisions about air travel based on more than just the price of a flight. Our goal is to equip them with an insight into flight performance using other factors that matter. Through the AirHelp Score, we can help passengers better predict what their experience will look like at different airports and inform them regarding what they can do if their flight gets delayed, cancelled or overbooked.”

Find out more about AirHelp’s Best Airport Rankings Worldwide here. 

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