Port of Spain Piarco International Airport in Trinidad and Tobago has been recognized as the second best airport in the Caribbean and the fourth best airport in the larger region that includes Central America. Only Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados beat out Piarco among its island peers.
Central America’s two busiest locations — Panama City’s Tocumen International Airport and Juan Santamaría International Airport in the Costa Rican capital San José — finished in first and second place in the region, respectively.
The honor given to Piarco International, handed out by Skytrax, was part of this month’s World Airport Awards, which are based on passenger surveys that have been conducted each year since 1999. For this years’s global awards, nearly 14 million people participated.
“The focus is to deliver a customer survey and airport awards process that is independent, impartial, and global, and this ethos remains essential to all aspects in the present day,” said Skytrax in a statement. “The survey and awards process is funded by Skytrax and is not a profit-generating operation.”
Best Airports in Central America/Caribbean
1. Panama Tocumen
2. San Jose
3. Bridgetown
4. Port of Spain
5. El Salvador
6. Kingston
7. Bermuda
8. San Juan
9. Managua
10. Guatemala
Piarco International was also honored for having the best airport staff in the Caribbean and the second best in the larger region. The staff at Panama City’s Tocumen was the only honoree in the Caribbean/Central America area that beat out the staff that serves the passengers flying in and out of Port of Spain.
The staff award specifically applauds the quality of service, efficiency, attitude, and friendliness shown by customer-facing representatives throughout the nation’s largest airport. Among the staff members who share in making the location the best in the region are its customer service reps, information desk attendants, immigration personnel, security staff, and employees working in restaurants and stores throughout the airport.
Best Airports in Central America/Caribbean
1. Panama Tocumen
2. Port of Spain
3. Kingston
4. Bermuda
5. San Jose
6. El Salvador
7. Punta Cana
8. Havana
9. Montego Bay
10. Bridgetown
Photo credit: Chris Fitzpatrick
