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German airline Lufthansa was named the best airline in Europe for the second consecutive year at the World Travel Awards 2025 – widely considered the “Oscars of tourism” – held in Sardinia, Italy last week.
It beat other popular European airlines such as KLM Royal Dutch and British Airways for the title of “Europe’s Leading Airline”. Lufthansa has won the title 13 times since the awards started back in 1993, with a continuous winning streak from 2011 to 2016.
This year, it also claimed awards for best economy class airline and best airline brand.
The German airline flies to more than 200 global destinations and is Europe’s second-largest in terms of passenger volume, with Ryanair being the first.
Another airline part of the wider Lufthansa Group, Swiss International Air Lines, also received awards for Europe’s Leading First Class and Europe’s Leading Business Class. The Lufthansa Group also includes a number of other carriers such as Brussels Airlines, Discover Airlines, Eurowings, Edelweiss Air, Air Dolomiti and Austrian Airlines.
The World Travel Awards recognise the best tour operators, hotels, destinations and cruise lines in the global travel and tourism industry, valuing features such as punctuality, consistency and quality of service.
The award winners are decided through a dual voting system involving votes from qualified travel consumers, executives and buyers, with travel professionals’ votes carrying more weight than those from members of the public.
British Airways and KLM Royal Dutch in close running
Apart from Lufthansa, other airlines nominated for Europe’s 10 best airlines this year included British Airways, KLM Royal Dutch, Air France, Icelandair, Iberia, Swiss International Air Lines, Turkish Airlines, TAP Air Portugal and SAS Scandinavian Airlines.
Zurich Airport bagged Europe’s Leading Airport 2025. THE LOFT by Brussels Airlines and Lexus was voted “Europe’s Leading Airport Lounge”, along with the UK’s Heathrow Terminal 2’s No. 1 Lounge.
Portugal was named the most popular destination in Europe, whereas Batumi, Georgia was named the best all-season European destination. Madeira also bagged the “Europe’s Leading Island Destination” award. Dublin’s Trinity College also emerged as Europe’s best academic tourist attraction.
“Our winners are stellar examples of tourism excellence, and I congratulate each and every one for helping to raise the collective benchmark across our industry,” Graham Cooke, founder of World Travel Awards, said in a press release.
