Vancouver International Airport ranked best in North America, 10th in world

A departing Air Canada flight taxis to the runway at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Thursday, December 2, 2021. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

For the 15th time in 17 years, Vancouver International Airport has been ranked as the best airport in North America by an influential consumer survey.

Skytrax has been surveying airport users annually since 1999 and publishing rankings based on the results. This year, YVR ranked 10th in the world, up three spots from 2025.

The rest of the top 10 airports are located in Asia and Europe, with Singapore Changi taking the top spot overall.

After YVR, the next highest-ranked North American airport was Houston George Bush, at number 29.

Only two other Canadian airports made the top 100, with Montreal’s Trudeau International Airport placing 46th and Toronto’s Pearson International Airport placing 55th.

Skytrax says it surveyed travellers of more than 100 different nationalities between August 2025 and February 2026 to determine this year’s rankings.

The number of travellers surveyed is not specified in the company’s news release, but in a statement touting its achievement, YVR said more than 13 million passengers participated in the survey.

YVR was Canada’s second-busiest airport in 2025, serving a record 26.9 million travellers and moving more than 365,000 tonnes of “high-value or time-sensitive cargo,” according to the airport’s statement.

“For YVR to continue to be recognized as the best airport in North America while at the same time breaking records for passengers and cargo is something for our teams and our community to be proud of,” said Tamara Vrooman, YVR’s president and CEO, in the statement.

“This honour is a tribute to the tireless work of our dedicated employees, our airline and partner agency teams, and of course the support of our passengers, customers, and the community that we are here to serve.”

The full 2026 airport rankings can be found on Skytrax’s website.