It's no secret: Airline travel is no longer a fun or evenpleasant way to travel.

Airlines are trying to do more with fewer employees, pushingpassengers to use self-service for most travel needs includingreservations, check-in and baggage check. And we all know thatgoing through security can be a nightmare of its own.

To help passengers make informed choices about which airports touse and what to expect at a given airport, Skytraxbegan the World Airport Awards in 1999. Skytrax, established in1989 and based in London, provides specialized research for the airtransport industry. The awards, however, are independently fundedby Skytrax, not the airlines.

The 2016 awards are based on 13.02 million customer nominationsacross 112 nationalities of air travelers, and included 550airports worldwide. The survey evaluates customer satisfactionacross 39 key performance indicators for airport service andproduct from check-in, arrivals, transfers, shopping, security andimmigration, through to departure at the gate.

The topics relevant to security screenings that passengers areasked to vote on include:

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  • Waiting times at security screening.
  • Courtesy and attitude of security staff.
  • Perception of security and safety standards.

For business travelers and their employers there is greatcomfort in knowing that some airports are better than others atefficient and pleasant security screening.

Here are the 10 global airports that passengers voted as thebest for security screening:

(Photo: iStock)

10. Seoul Incheon Airport

The largest airport in South Korea, SeoulIncheon is the primary airport serving the Seoul NationalCapital Area, and one of the largest and busiest airports in theworld. Located 48 km (30 mi) west of Seoul, the capital and largestcity of South Korea, Incheon International Airport is the main hubfor Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air, and Polar Air Cargo.

The airport opened for business in early 2001, replacing theolder Gimpo International Airport, which now serves mostly domesticdestinations plus shuttle flights to alternate airports in China,Japan, and Taiwan.

(Photo: iStock)

9. Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport

Serving the capital city of Taipei and the northern parts of theisland, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is located about25 miles west of Taipei and is Taiwan's largest airport. It is oneof five Taiwanese airports with regular international flights, andis the busiest international one. Taiwan Taoyuan is the maininternational hub for China Airlines and EVA Air.

The airport opened for commercial operations in 1979 and is animportant regional trans-shipment center, passenger hub, andgateway for destinations in Asia.

(Photo: iStock)

8. Kansai International Airport

Kansai International Airport in Japan is locatedon an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay, 38 km (24 mi)southwest of Osaka Station. The airport is off the Honshu shore andwas designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano. Kansai serves as aninternational hub for All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, andNippon Cargo Airlines, and also serves as a hub for Peach, thefirst international low-cost carrier in Japan.

Kansai opened Sept. 4, 1994, to relieve overcrowding at OsakaInternational Airport, which is closer to the city of Osaka and nowhandles only domestic flights.

Related: 27 safety tips to reduce business travelrisks

(Photo: iStock)

7. Tokyo Narita International Airport

An international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area ofJapan, Tokyo Narita is located approximately 37 miles east ofcentral Tokyo.

Narita is the predominant international airport in Japan,handling around 50% of the country's international passengertraffic and 60% of its international air cargo traffic.

Narita serves as the main international hub of Japan Airlines,All Nippon Airways and Nippon Cargo Airlines, and as a hub forlow-cost carriers Jetstar Japan, Peach and Vanilla Air. It alsoserves as an Asian hub for Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.

(Photo: iStock)

6. Hong Kong International Airport

The Hong Kong International Airport describesitself as “located less than five flying hours from half of theworld's population” as well as “the world's busiest cargo gatewayand one of the world's busiest passenger airports.”

HKIA, which opened in July 1998, replacing an older facility, isconnected to more than 190 destinations, including 47 in MainlandChina, through around 1,100 daily flights by more than 100airlines.

Related: Leaving on a jet plane? Here are the top 20 safestairlines for 2016

(Photo: iStock)

5. Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup

CopenhagenAirport, Kastrup, currently Europe's 15th largest airport, isthe main international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark, theentire Zealand, the Oresund Region, and a large part of southernSweden. It is the largest airport in the Nordic countries with 26.6 million passengersin 2015 and one of the oldest international airports in Europe,opened in 1925. Furthermore, it is by far the busiest airport forinternational travel in Scandinavia.

The airport is located on the island of Amager,just 5 miles south of Copenhagen city center.

The airport is the main hub out of three used by ScandinavianAirlines and is also an operating base for Thomas Cook AirlinesScandinavia and Norwegian Air Shuttle. Unlike other Scandinavianairports, a considerable number of the airport's passengers areinternational. In 2015, 6.1% of passengers travelled to and fromother Danish airports, 83.5% to/from other European airports, and10.4% were intercontinental passengers.

Sunflower garden at Changi Airport. (Photo: iStock)

4. Changi Airport Singapore

Singapore's Changi Airport was opened in 1981 andoperated by the country's Civil Aviation Authority until 2009. Inresponse, Changi Airport Group was formed in 2009 to runthe airport .

Changi is the primary civilian airport for Singapore, and one ofthe largest transportation hubs in Southeast Asia. Located inChangi, at the eastern end of Singapore, the airport isapproximately 10.7 miles northeast of downtown Singapore. It is thehome base of Singapore Airlines, Singapore Airlines Cargo, SilkAir,Scoot, Tigerair, Jetstar Asia Airways, Valuair and BOC Aviation, aswell as a focus city of AirAsia.

(Photo: iStock)

3. Chubu Centrair International Airport

Chubu Centrair International Airport is an airport on anartificial island in Ise Bay, 22 miles south of Nagoya in centralJapan.

Centrair is classified as a first class airport and is the maininternational gateway for the central region of Japan. It's thesecond airport built in Japan on a manmade island, after KansaiInternational Airport.

Chubu Centrair serves the third largest metropolitan area inJapan, centered around the city of Nagoya. The region is a majormanufacturing center, with the headquarters and productionfacilities of Toyota Motor Corp. and production facilities forMitsubishi Motors and Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp.

(Photo: iStock)

2. Tokyo Haneda

Haneda Airport is one of the two primary airports that serve theGreater Tokyo Area, and is the primary base of Japan's two majordomestic airlines, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways. It islocated in Ota, Tokyo, 8.7 miles south of Tokyo Station.

Haneda was the primary international airport serving Tokyo until1978; from 1978 to 2010, Haneda handled almost all domestic flightsto and from Tokyo as well as “scheduled charter” flights to a smallnumber of major cities in East Asia, while Narita InternationalAirport (see No. 7) handled the vast majority of internationalflights.

In 2010, a dedicated international terminal was opened at Hanedain conjunction with the completion of a fourth runway, allowinglong-haul flights during night-time hours. Haneda opened up tolong-haul service during the daytime in March 2014, with carriersoffering nonstop service to 25 cities in 17 countries. The Japanesegovernment is currently encouraging the use of Haneda for premiumbusiness routes and the use of Narita for leisure routes and bylow-cost carriers.

(Photo: iStock)

1. Zurich Airport

ZurichAirport, also known as Kloten Airport, is the largestinternational airport of Switzerland and the principal hub of SwissInternational Air Lines. It serves Zurich, Switzerland's largestcity, and, with its surface transport links, much of the rest ofthe country. The airport is located 13 km (8 miles) north ofcentral Zurich.

Since 2000, Flughafen Zurich AG has operated Zurich Airport as aprivatized listed company on behalf of the Swiss Confederation.

Editor's Note: To see information about a specific airport,visit the airport review area of Skytrax's website and click on the name of theairport.

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