Seasonal holidays, a journey through 5 of the most beautiful airports in the world

For decades, airport hubs were considered mere infrastructures serving people, with their primary—or sole—purpose being to simplify travelers’ lives. Passengers cared little about the aesthetics of their arrival, transit, and departure points because efficiency was all that mattered.

In recent years, this mindset has shifted dramatically, introducing new parameters and concepts that have become central to construction: design, elegance, and architecture capable of inspiring dreams and evoking positive emotions from the first glance. Travel has become synonymous with world-class service, convenient connections, safety, and aesthetics.

Airports have the potential to revitalize surrounding areas by creating new commercial zones, boosting tourism, and improving local economies. They are temporary urban hubs, true socio-cultural and economic exchange points. For these reasons, airports are now ranked based on their excellence: the busiest, the largest, the oldest, the most comfortable, the most eco-friendly.

An airport’s ability to manage large traffic volumes efficiently and sustainably while offering high-quality services is a standard not to be underestimated, especially during the seasonal holidays when hundreds of thousands of people travel home to their families or enjoy well-deserved vacations. Here’s our selection of  5 of the most beautiful and efficient airports in the world.

Often recognized as the best in the world, this airport is a model of design that blends cutting-edge structures with lush greenery and cultural elements. According to the Changi Airport Group, Singapore’s hub handled 58.9 million passengers in 2023, with an average daily traffic of 161,000 people. In 2024, the figure is expected to rise, as over 55 million travelers were recorded between January and October alone. The airport goes beyond its functional purpose, featuring the “Jewel Changi Airport,” a nature-themed entertainment and shopping complex connecting Terminals 1, 2, and 3. It includes butterfly gardens, verdant spaces, and the renowned “Rain Vortex,” the world’s tallest indoor waterfall.

Inaugurated in 2014, the Doha airport serves as an ideal link between East and West, merging luxury with technology, art, and nature. Approximately 250,000 flights take off and land here annually, and nearly 46 million passengers passed through in 2023, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s global report. Notably, it features a minimum connection time of 40 minutes, allowing travelers to admire the vast gardens within the airport or enjoy a wide variety of dining options during their layovers.

Opened in 2009 and renamed in 2024 to honor Sheikh Zayed, founder of the UAE, this airport is an architectural marvel and a symbol of Abu Dhabi’s ambition and vision. Its terminal combines elements of Arabic architecture, inspired by deserts and oases, with ultra-modern, sustainability-oriented solutions. The airport utilizes solar energy and incorporates energy-saving systems. It offers 23 million annual passengers an unprecedented travel experience. The recently inaugurated Terminal A, one of the world’s largest, can accommodate up to 45 million travelers annually.

With 5.3 million passengers recorded in 2023, Perth International Airport ranks as Australia’s fourth busiest. The new terminal, inaugurated in late 2022 and built by Webuild with its local partner NRW, has won multiple awards for design excellence and sustainability. The terminal is integrated with the Perth Airport Central Station, part of the Airport Line metro built by Webuild, connecting the city to its suburbs. As a western gateway to Australia, the airport’s central atrium celebrates Aboriginal culture and traditions, while the underground rail link represents a groundbreaking achievement for the Australian continent.

Designed by the renowned Zaha Hadid Architects and the French ADP Group, Beijing’s airport opened in 2019 and quickly became a global symbol of architectural ingenuity. Located about 46 kilometers from Tiananmen Square, it features a starfish-shaped layout with six arms and a 700,000-square-meter surface area. This design reduces transfer distances, enhancing operational efficiency for staff and passengers. To minimize environmental impact, the airport employs energy-saving technologies such as solar panels for smart lighting and rainwater collection. It also features advanced cooling and ventilation systems, green spaces, and parks integrated into the hub for improved air quality. Artificial intelligence and biometric systems streamline security checks and handle millions of passengers with minimal delays. In 2023, the airport managed nearly 40 million passengers, with projections reaching 100 million travelers by 2040.

The beauty of an airport can be appreciated even before reaching the terminal. Much depends on the emotions the journey itself evokes. The city of Ushuaia, the capital of Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego province, is often referred to as “El fin del Mundo” (The End of the World) due to its location at the southernmost tip of the Americas, near the 55th parallel.

The view for those arriving, whether by air or land, is breathtaking. Built by Webuild in 1995, this extraordinary airport has supported the growth of tourism tied to unparalleled destinations such as Tierra del Fuego National Park, Cape Horn, and Antarctica. Located just 4 km from the city, the facility accommodates larger passenger and cargo aircraft (Boeing 747-400, MD-11, Airbus A310, etc.) without restrictions and under any weather conditions.

The Argentine government has designated Ushuaia’s airport as Malvinas Argentinas International Airport, asserting Argentina’s sovereignty over the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. In 2023, this small, elegant structure featuring a sloping modular wooden central pavilion handled 591,000 passengers.