Bodo Airport in Norway has been named the best airport in Europe in passenger rights organization AirHelp's annual 2026 ranking, while some of the most sought-after summer destinations among Israelis, including Rhodes and Crete, appeared near the bottom of the continental table.
The ranking examined 279 airports in 76 countries, with each given a weighted score. The decisive factor, accounting for 60%, was punctuality, meaning the share of flights that landed within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time. The remaining 40% was split equally between passenger experience and facilities and comfort, based on some 14,300 passenger ratings from 76 countries. Passengers were asked to rate, among other things, staff, waiting times, accessibility, cleanliness, signage, and the range of restaurants and shops, with each component scored on a scale ranging from very poor to very good.
Top performers: Small airport beyond the Arctic Circle leads
At the top of the European table was Bodo Airport, north of the Arctic Circle, which ranked ninth worldwide. The airport recorded a punctuality score of 8.7, meaning that 87% of flights that landed there between May 2025 and April 2026 arrived on time, alongside a passenger experience score of 7.6 and a facilities and comfort score of 7.0.
Just behind it, also among the world's top 10, was Billund Airport in Denmark, with a punctuality score of 8.1, a particularly high passenger experience score of 8.7 and a facilities score of 7.7. The next European airport in the ranking, Bilbao Airport in Spain, placed 21st worldwide, with a punctuality score of 8.4, a passenger experience score of 8.0 and a facilities score of 7.0. It was followed by Bergen Airport in Norway in 23rd place, while Istanbul Airport rounded out Europe's top five in 29th place globally.
Worst performers: Israelis' summer destinations near the bottom
At the other end of the table, in a finding of direct relevance to Israelis, were several of the summer's most popular destinations. Lisbon's Humberto Delgado Airport ranked 274th worldwide, the lowest among European airports, with a low punctuality score of 6.3, alongside scores of 7.3 and 6.8 in the two other categories. Rhodes Airport ranked 271st, also because of weak punctuality, with a score of 6.5.
Manchester Airport in England ranked 269th, Heraklion Airport in Crete ranked 268th, and Nice Airport in southern France ranked 267th. Rhodes, Crete and Nice are among the most sought-after destinations for Israeli travelers during the summer months, making their low ranking especially relevant ahead of the coming season.
