Xi'an Xianyang's Terminal 5 Named Second-Best New Airport Terminal in the World

Terminal 5 at Xi'an Xianyang International Airport (XIY) has been ranked second in the World's Best New Airport Terminal category at the 2025 Skytrax World Airport Awards. In the same round of results, the airport placed fifth in Skytrax's Best Regional Airports in China ranking. The airport gave the results to local media, which reported them on 20 March 2026.

The two placings measure different things. The terminal award judges a single new building: whether the space works, whether the passenger routes are efficient, whether the facilities survive a traveller's scorecard. The regional airport award judges the airport as a whole, service and operations included. For a traveller, the first means you are likely to depart from or arrive in a terminal that is new, with new systems; the second means those processes sit near the front of the field for airports of this size. What follows separates the two results, the way Skytrax reaches them and where Terminal 5 fits in the airport's expansion.

Two results, two different races

The World's Best New Airport Terminal category covers terminals that have opened recently, and the judging is done by passengers: whether the space works, whether the routes are short, whether the facilities are there. The 2025 results table published with the announcement lists the top five:

So on the new-terminal track, Terminal 5 finished second worldwide, behind Almaty Terminal 2 and ahead of Riyadh Terminal 1, Saint Maarten and Luanda.

The Best Regional Airports in China ranking scores an airport as a whole, covering service, operations and management across the country's regional airports. The same 2025 results table lists the top ten:

Xi'an placed fifth, behind Haikou Meilan, Sanya Phoenix, Changsha and Xiamen, and ahead of Hangzhou, Qingdao, Kunming, Wuhan and Tianjin Binhai. For a western hub of this size, that puts it in the upper group of comparable airports.

How Skytrax reaches its results

According to the airport, Skytrax is among the most authoritative rating bodies for airline and airport service quality, and its results rest on surveys of real passenger satisfaction covering more than 500 airports in over 100 countries. Its annual rankings are widely treated in the industry as a credible benchmark.

That shapes the two kinds of award. A new-terminal award depends heavily on first impressions: whether the space is easy to use, whether the walk is tiring, whether signage is clear, whether there are enough seats and power sockets. A regional airport award depends on long-run performance: queue lengths at peak, whether bags arrive reliably, how staff handle a problem. The first can be won soon after opening; the second takes years. Winning both suggests no obvious gap between new hardware and day-to-day operations.

Terminal 5 as the core of the expansion

Terminal 5 is the centrepiece of the airport's hub-expansion programme and has drawn attention since it opened. The airport says the building made the list on the strength of its forward-looking space planning, efficient passenger routes and human-centred facilities, and describes it as a new aerial calling card for Xi'an.

Behind that phrase is a simple relationship between a terminal and an airport. Capacity bottlenecks often sit not on the runway but in check-in, security, baggage handling and boarding: when everyone arrives in the same building at the same time, counters, lanes and carousels become the constraint. A new terminal brings not only more floor area but a chance to rearrange the process, laying out check-in islands, security lanes, baggage systems and gates around a new traffic model instead of fitting them into an old building.

What it means for travellers

If you are flying out of Xi'an soon, the terminal is the practical change. Terminal 5 is new, so the facilities and the flow through check-in, security and the departure lounge are new as well. The airport still runs several terminals at once, so confirm the terminal against your flight information before you leave: turning up at the wrong building is the most common mistake at a multi-terminal airport.

The second point is about expectations. Fifth place among regional airports in China will not make a ticket cheaper or a security queue shorter, but it is a signal worth reading: passenger ratings of the service process here are strong for an airport of this size. What actually decides a trip is still the schedule, your documents and how early you reach the airport. Leaving enough margin does more for a journey than any trophy.

The airport says it will keep investing in service innovation and in bringing local culture into the building. For travellers, the test is simple: the next time you leave from Terminal 5, how smooth are check-in, security and the walk to the gate.

Related links

• On this site: China (CN)
• Wikipedia: Xi'an Xianyang International Airport
• Baidu Baike: Xi'an Xianyang International Airport

Image source: Shaanxi Communication Society and Xi'an Daily. Award names, placings and criteria are as published by Skytrax and the airport; for flights, terminals and opening hours, check the airline's and the airport's own channels.