Adelaide Airport Wins Two Skytrax Awards for Staff and Regional Service

Adelaide Airport (ADL) has taken two prizes at the Skytrax World Airport Awards announced in London: Best Airport Staff in Australia/Pacific, won for the first time, and Best Regional Airport in Australia/Pacific, won for the fourth time in five years. One award looks at people, the other at the whole operation — between them they cover the part of an airport that is hardest to measure and easiest for a traveller to feel.

For South Australia the result lands at a moment of expansion. In 2025 the airport handled more than nine million passengers for the first time, with international travel the main driver, up more than 20% over the year. New routes have been added, and a A$600 million expansion, Project Flight, has begun. The awards, the traffic and the building work are worth taking separately.

Two awards, two kinds of weight

Best Airport Staff is a first. The category recognises the people who work behind the scenes and shape what a journey feels like without appearing in the promotional photographs. Brenton Cox, the airport's general manager, said: "The Best Airport Staff award means a great deal to us. Our vision is to be an airport everyone loves — seamless and efficient — and every one of our people has contributed to that. Our teams have put a lot into the 'make a traveller's day better' programme, and that has translated into improvements passengers can feel."

Best Regional Airport is the fourth win in five years. That category assesses an airport as a whole, facilities and processes and service included, and four wins in five years points to a steady operation rather than one good year.

The result also puts Adelaide alongside the world's leading regional airports, in the company of Paris Orly, Cincinnati in the United States and Bangalore in India.

Who the staff award is for

According to the airport, the award honours the people who make a traveller's day better. The list is specific:

• Customer service teams
• Volunteer ambassadors
• Airline staff
• Cleaners
• Security staff
• Retail workers

What these roles share is time in front of passengers, and that is where the small things that decide a journey happen: whether someone answers a question, whether someone helps when a bag jams, whether anyone manages the security queue.

Cox says the teams put a great deal into the "make a traveller's day better" programme, which "has translated into improvements in the passenger experience". In other words, the staff award is not a one-off from a single judging round; it reads as the product of long training and of giving front-line staff room to act.

Nine million passengers and the new routes

In 2025 the airport passed nine million passengers for the first time. International travel was the main driver, growing more than 20% over the year.

The network has been expanding at the same time; the table lists the new and forthcoming routes:

The routes point in different directions. San Francisco covers business and family travel to the American west coast; Auckland and Christchurch pull South Australia closer to New Zealand's main cities; Bali is one of the most familiar holiday destinations for Australian travellers. The one to watch is Shanghai: China Eastern's coming service will strengthen the airport's international network further.

For travellers between China and Australia, that route turns a connection into a direct option. Until it starts, most journeys from China to Adelaide still involve one stop.

Project Flight and the A$600 million

A large infrastructure upgrade, costing A$600 million, has already begun behind the scenes. Called Project Flight, it will enlarge the boarding area, add gates and upgrade the security systems, with the aim of improving the passenger experience.

Those three items answer three familiar complaints: a crowded boarding area, too few gates, and a security queue. None of it will happen overnight, but the direction is clear — enlarge the tightest part of the process first. For travellers the test is equally simple: the next time you leave Adelaide at a peak hour, are there seats in the departure area, is there a gate for your flight, and is security quicker?

What it means for travellers

Skytrax assesses its awards on feedback from travellers in more than 100 countries, covering everything from check-in and security to shopping and boarding. A placing therefore reflects how passengers experienced the airport on real trips, not the impression of a judging panel.

If you are flying to Adelaide, the two awards are useful as a service signal: staff and the regional experience sit near the front of the field. They do not change schedules, fares or visa rules. Once the Shanghai route opens, travellers from China will have more choice; until then, leaving enough time for a connection is the more practical advice.

Related links

• On this site: Adelaide Airport (ADL), Australia (AU)
• Wikipedia: Adelaide Airport
• Baidu Baike: Adelaide Airport

Image source: AUFUN. Award names and criteria are as published by Skytrax; for flights, routes and construction progress, check the airlines' and the airport's own channels.