Performing Arts

Africa’s Top Airports and Plush Hotels

air

The Incheon International Airport. PHOTO | COURTESY

Which African airport delivered the most memorable experience? Well, many air travellers prefer Cape Town and Johannesburg which were ranked among the top 100 best world airports by Skytrax, a consumer website.

‘‘I loved Johannesburg airport because of its cheap wine sold in the duty-free shops. They are way cheaper than other airports,’’ says Lillian Akinyi, a frequent flyer to different countries globally.

‘‘Cape Town and Johannesburg are bigger and more modern. But JKIA {Jomo Kenyatta International Airport} is also a world-class airport. One of the best in the region and in Africa,’’ says George Mwaniki, who has flown to South Africa for business and leisure trips.

For hotels, the Crowne Plaza Changi Airport has been named as the world’s best airport hotel in 2018. This is the fourth consecutive year this hotel has been named the best by travellers.

In Africa, where hotels such as Four Points, Lazizi Premiere have recently opened at the airports, two located in Cairo made it to the list and one from Addis Ababa.

Other hotels in the list include Hilton Munich Airport, Fairmont Vancouver Airport and Sofitel London Heathrow.

The awards are based on guest surveys which assessed hotel standards to include passengers’ experience, access to airports, friendliness of hotel staff. From the survey, it shows that most frequent flyers prefer hotels with fitness and spa facilities.

For airports, Singapore’s Changi airport which ranked top received praise from flyers for its luxurious amenities, many dining and shopping options and beautiful architecture. The airport receives 55.4 million passengers yearly compared to JKIA which handles an average of 6.5 million travellers.

Flyers passing through are treated to movie theatres, a multimedia entertainment deck, spas, and a wild corkscrew slide. Over 500 airports were covered in the survey.

World’s Best Airport for Shopping
1 London Heathrow

2 Singapore Changi

3 Hong Kong

4 Doha Hamad

5 Amsterdam

6 Incheon

7 Dubai

8 Rome Fiumicino

9 Paris CDG

10 Frankfurt

Best Airport Hotels in Africa

1 InterContinental OR Tambo

2 Le Méridien Cairo Airport

3 Novotel Cairo Airport

4 Radisson Blu Addis Ababa

5 Hotel Verde Cape Town