8 of the 10 worst airports in the world are in Europe see the list

AirHelp, a German claims management company that specializes in airline disruption claims, first published its ranking of the world's major airports in 2015 and continues to publish updated rankings annually.

Airports are scored on a 10-point scale based on three criteria. On-time performance measures how punctual flight departures and arrivals are and accounts for 60% of an airport's overall score.

Service quality contributes another 20% of the score. It is evaluated by the quality of customer service, how fast security wait times are, and how clean an airport is. Food and shops constitute the final 20% of the score; data is collected from passengers who rate food and shopping options on a scale of one to five.

AirHelp explained in its methodology brief that it excludes airports it is "unable to get data for," and that the ranking only includes the world's "best known and most used airports."

At the top of the list: Qatar's Hamad International Airport, which beat out 131 other airports for the top spot. It garnered an overall score of 8.39 out of a possible ten.

But while Qatar's airport shone brightly, several European airports landed at the bottom of the list. According to AirHelp's rankings, eight of the world's 10 lowest-ranked airports are located in Europe. The bottom ten also includes one Middle Eastern airport and one North American airport.

Take a look at the 10 airports that were ranked the worst in the world by AirHelp. Entrants are arranged in descending order according to their final scores.

Overall AirHelp score: 6.62

On-time performance: 5.7

Service quality: 8

Food and shops: 7.9

London Gatwick Airport is the second-busiest airport in the UK. In 2021, it served 6.2 million passengers.

With a 4/10 rating on Skytrax, a UK-based airline and airport customer review site, many passengers complained about how "busy and noisy" the airport was and that it had "terrible facilities" for children. The airport also appeared on Forbes' worst airports list in 2020.

Overall AirHelp score: 6.50

On-time performance: 5.8

Service quality: 8.1

Food and shops: 7

Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is Canada's ninth busiest airport. It served 282,000 passengers in 2021.

While the airport was ranked as one of the worst in the world by AirHelp, it has a 4-star regional rating on Skytrax. The airport also retains a 4.3 star rating out of over 1,000 Google reviews, with one user saying that she appreciated how "well-organized" it is.

Overall AirHelp score: 6.46

On-time performance: 5.6

Service quality: 7.9

Food and shops: 7.6

Porto Airport is the second-busiest airport in Portugal. It served more than 13 million passengers in 2019.

It has a 4-star regional rating on Skytrax, where passengers have rated the airport 6/10. It seems like public opinion is divided — while one passenger said the airport is "one of the best in Europe," another complained of poor quality food and extremely long queues.

Overall AirHelp score: 6.37

On-time performance: 5.4

Service quality: 7.9

Food and shops: 7.8

Paris Orly Airport was Paris' main airport before Charles de Gaulle opened in 1974. It is the second-busiest airport in France and served 15.7 million passengers in 2021.

The airport is rated 3/10 on Skytrax, with one user calling it the "worst airport ever," and complaining that duty-free shops closed at 8 a.m. Another said he experienced an "extremely slow and long" wait at immigration and missed his flight.

Overall AirHelp score: 6.26

On-time performance: 5.2

Service quality: 7.8

Food and shops: 8

Manchester Airport is the third-busiest airport in the UK. It served 6.7 million passengers in 2020.

The airport has a 2/10 rating on Skytrax, with one review saying the airport is "not fit for purpose" and a "rip-off" with expensive airport parking charges. Another reviewer said they waited over two hours to receive their luggage.

Overall AirHelp score: 6.05

On-time performance: 5

Service quality: 7.7

Food and shops: 7.5

Malta International Airport is the Maltese Islands' only airport. It served 1.7 million passengers in 2020.

The airport is rated 6/10 on Skytrax. An Italian traveler said the airport is "too small for the [number of] passengers it's serving" and that several people slept on the floor because of the lack of seats in the airport. Another traveler advised future travelers to be early at the airport as delays are common.

Overall AirHelp score: 6.03

On-time performance: 6

Service quality: 6.1

Food and shops: 6

Henri Coandă International Airport is Romania's busiest airport and served almost 7 million travelers in 2021.

The airport has a 4/10 rating on Skytrax, with one passenger complaining that staff "are a bit aggressive" and unwelcoming. One online user said the airport is "old and reminiscent of the 1960s."

Overall AirHelp score: 5.92

On-time performance: 4.9

Service quality: 7.8

Food and shops: 7.1

Eindhoven Airport is the second-largest airport in the Netherlands. It served 6.7 passengers in 2019.

The airport, which has a 4/10 rating on Skytrax, was said by travelers to be small and employs "very rude staff." Another user said the airport resembles a "cattle shed" as passengers are made to wait in an open-air area.

Overall AirHelp score: 5.78

On-time performance: 4.3

Service quality: 8

Food and shops: 8

Kuwait International Airport served over 15 million people in 2019. It also has a military airbase that is used by the Kuwait Air Force.

The airport has a 2/10 rating on Skytrax, with some passengers complaining about a horrible smell in the airport and "unprofessional and slow boarding."

Overall AirHelp score: 5.76

On-time performance: 4.7

Service quality: 7.3

Food and shops: 7.4

Lisbon Portela Airport served more than 31 million passengers in 2019, making it the 16th-busiest airport in Europe.

Passengers have often complained about the long lines at immigration, with some waiting for up to six hours to get through passport control. The airport has an average rating of 3/10 on Skytrax, with one user saying it is "the worst airport we have ever traveled from."