According to the latest survey conducted by Airhelp, Hyderabad Airport, officially known as Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, has been declared as the eighth best airport in the world. It is the only international airport in the country to make it to the list.
Airhelp, an organization that specializes exclusively on the rights of air passengers, released their annual rating report for the year 2019, declaring the 10 best and worst airports in the world. Hamad International Airport (Qatar) tops the list of best airports while Tokyo International Airport (Japan) and Athens International Airport (Greece) are in the second and third positions. These three airports have been retaining their ranking for four consecutive years since Airhelp’s first survey in 2015. Surprisingly, no airports in the United States found a place on this list.
The airports were ranked based on three criteria, namely on-time performance, quality of service, and options for food and shopping. Of these, the first constitutes 60% of the score while the remaining two accounts for 20% each. Data for the survey was taken from multiple sources, including Airhelp’s own data base, commercial vendors and 40,000 passenger surveys conducted across 40 countries in 2018.
Based on these criteria, Hyderabad Airport scored 8.27 on a scale of 10. This is not the first time Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is gaining international recognition. It was also the first airport in the Asia Pacific region to achieve the carbon neutral status in 2017.
Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, which started its operations in 2008, is named after Rajiv Gandhi, India’s former Prime Minister. Owned and operated by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL), it is a hub for SpiceJet, Alliance Air, Indigo, Lufthansa Cargo, Bluedart Aviation, and other domestic and international airlines. The airport has two runways, one passenger terminal, 96 check-in desks, 46 immigration counters, 19 self-check-in kiosks, Wi-Fi, prayer rooms, ATMs, and other facilities.
Other notable features of the airport include public lounges, VIP lounges, an art gallery featuring the paintings of many international artists, and facilities for aviation training and MRO, a solar power plant, and a fuel farm. Besides these, there is a fine range of options for eating and shopping, including Barista, Café Espresso, Island Café and Bar, and national and international brands selling apparels, accessories, books and toys, and souvenirs, to mention a few.
