Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport has spent the past decade quietly reinventing itself. Once seen primarily as a regional gateway for southeastern France, it is now consistently ranked among the continent’s top performers for punctuality, passenger experience and sustainability. As new data and awards for 2025 roll in, Lyon’s position among the 50 best airports in Europe for 2026 looks increasingly secure, backed by strong operational results, ambitious decarbonisation milestones and a wave of passenger-focused innovation.
A Steady Climb in European and Global Rankings
Independent rankings over recent years help explain why Lyon-Saint Exupéry now belongs firmly in the conversation about Europe’s best airports. The AirHelp Score, one of the industry’s most closely watched global benchmarks, evaluates hundreds of airports worldwide on three pillars: on-time performance, customer opinion and the quality of food and shopping. After entering the top three French airports in 2024, Lyon climbed further in the 2025 edition, jumping around 40 places globally and consolidating its position among the top-performing hubs in France.
That upward trajectory is particularly striking given the competitive landscape. In 2024, Lyon ranked third among French airports in the AirHelp Score, with strong marks for punctuality, passenger satisfaction and commercial services. By 2025 it had moved into second place nationally and into the low 100s worldwide, out of more than 250 airports assessed. For a mid-sized hub competing with heavyweight European gateways, that kind of sustained improvement signals more than a temporary surge; it reflects a systematic push to enhance every stage of the journey.
These rankings matter for more than bragging rights. Airlines and route planners closely track them when deciding where to expand capacity or open new routes. Travelers, meanwhile, increasingly consult airport ratings when choosing connections or deciding between nearby hubs. Lyon’s consistent presence in the upper tiers of European performance tables helps explain why it is being identified as one of the 50 best airports in Europe going into 2026, not just on reputation but on hard data.
Customer Experience Recognised by Skytrax and ACI
Beyond broad-based rankings, Lyon-Saint Exupéry has also earned targeted recognition from some of the most influential names in airport evaluation. Skytrax, the international air transport rating organisation, has awarded the airport a coveted four-star classification. Only a relatively small group of European airports hold this rating, and in France the distinction is shared by just a handful of facilities. The Skytrax audit underscores not only the infrastructure quality at Lyon, but also the consistency of service delivery across terminals and touchpoints.
Key to that rating is the airport’s performance at security checkpoints, traditionally one of the biggest pain points for travelers. During the 2023 summer peak, Lyon managed to complete more than 95 percent of cabin baggage security checks in under 10 minutes and nearly all within 15 minutes. For passengers used to unpredictable queues at larger European hubs, that kind of reliability is a powerful differentiator. It signals that Lyon’s investment in technology and process design is paying off in everyday operations.
The investment in people is equally visible. At the European level, Airports Council International has highlighted Lyon’s human resources strategy, awarding the airport the HR Excellence Award in 2025. This recognition focuses on how airports manage, train and support their staff, with a particular emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion. For travelers, the outcome is tangible: better-trained teams who can handle disruption, assist passengers with complex needs and deliver a consistently courteous service under pressure.
An Innovation Hub for Smoother, Smarter Journeys
Lyon-Saint Exupéry has not limited itself to incremental upgrades; it has positioned itself as a laboratory for new ideas in airport operations. The airport serves as a centre of excellence for innovation and passenger experience within the wider network of its operator, VINCI Airports. That status has allowed Lyon to pilot tools and services that are only now starting to appear at many European competitors.
Among the most visible examples is the introduction of bookable time slots for security screening. Rolled out in 2024, this service allows passengers to reserve a specific window for passing through security, smoothing peak flows, shortening queues and giving travelers more control over their time at the airport. For business passengers on tight schedules, families traveling with children or anyone prone to pre-flight stress, the ability to plan around a guaranteed screening window transforms the experience from uncertain to predictable.
This type of digital innovation is layered on top of more classical improvements in terminal design, signage and wayfinding. Lyon has invested steadily in making connections between terminals, car parks, rail links and public transport more intuitive. Clear routing for transfer passengers, quick access to ground transportation and a growing ecosystem of digital information displays contribute to a feeling of efficiency and calm that is increasingly rare at Europe’s busiest hubs.
Europe’s Pioneering Net Zero Airport Over 10 Million Passengers
What truly sets Lyon-Saint Exupéry apart as an airport of the future is its environmental performance. In 2025 the airport announced that it had achieved net zero carbon emissions for its direct activities, becoming the first French airport handling more than 10 million passengers a year to reach that milestone. It has also secured the highest level of Airport Carbon Accreditation, ACA Level 5, placing it among a small group of the most advanced airports worldwide on decarbonisation.
This achievement is the result of a long-term strategy rather than a short-term offsetting effort. Between 2013 and 2024, the airport reduced its direct carbon emissions by more than 90 percent through a combination of energy efficiency, electrification of ground operations, renewable energy procurement and on-site generation. Any remaining emissions are addressed through rigorously certified offsetting, but the foundation of the net zero claim lies in absolute cuts in consumption and fossil fuel use on the ground.
Lyon is also looking beyond its own perimeter to influence the broader aviation ecosystem. Partnerships with energy developers are laying the groundwork for local production and supply of sustainable aviation fuels and green hydrogen-based solutions. While such fuels are still in their early stages of deployment, the presence of infrastructure and committed partners at the airport level is a crucial condition for airlines to scale up their use. For environmentally conscious travelers and corporate customers under pressure to reduce their Scope 3 emissions, flying through a hub that is actively enabling cleaner aviation is increasingly a meaningful consideration.
Seamless Multimodal Access in the Heart of Europe
Location is an advantage no amount of investment can create, and Lyon-Saint Exupéry makes the most of its position at the crossroads of major European corridors. Serving France’s second-largest metropolitan area and lying within easy reach of the Alps, the Rhône Valley and northern Italy, the airport functions as a natural hub for both leisure and business traffic. What elevates it into the ranks of Europe’s best is the sophistication of its multimodal connections.
The airport is integrated directly with regional and high-speed rail services, allowing travelers to arrive by train from central Lyon or other cities in southeastern France and connect seamlessly to flights. This rail-air interface reduces reliance on private cars, cuts road congestion and offers a reliable alternative during periods of heavy traffic or adverse weather. For passengers connecting between regional rail and European or long-haul flights, the ability to move quickly between platforms and terminals is a significant practical benefit.
Ground transport options extend beyond rail to include dedicated coach lines, local buses and well-structured road access for taxis and private vehicles. Combined with clear signage and improved real-time information inside terminals, these links help the airport function as a genuine mobility hub rather than a standalone facility. In a European context where connectivity and intermodality are key criteria in assessing airport quality, Lyon’s integrated approach is a major asset.
Commercial Offer, Comfort and a Sense of Place
Rankings such as the AirHelp Score place a notable weight on the quality of food, retail and other services, reflecting passenger expectations that airports should offer more than just gates and runways. Lyon-Saint Exupéry has responded by cultivating a commercial offering that balances international brands with local character. Dining options highlight regional gastronomy, echoing Lyon’s reputation as one of France’s culinary capitals, while retail areas have been reconfigured to improve circulation and sightlines.
These changes are not purely cosmetic. Independent ratings have noted strong scores for Lyon’s retail and dining spaces, with passengers giving the airport high marks for the variety and quality of its services. Comfortable seating areas, improved natural light and thoughtfully designed waiting zones contribute to a more relaxed atmosphere, particularly at peak times when other hubs can feel crowded and stressful. The result is an experience that feels closer to a modern civic space than a purely functional transit point.
For travelers with longer layovers or early arrivals, the airport has also put emphasis on amenities that support productivity and rest. Quiet zones, charging points, improved Wi-Fi and flexible workspaces respond to the changing habits of passengers, many of whom blend business and leisure while on the move. Combined with efficient security and boarding processes, these facilities help ensure that time spent at Lyon feels purposeful rather than wasted.
Operational Reliability in a Volatile Travel Landscape
The period since the pandemic has been marked by volatility in European aviation, from staffing shortages and capacity constraints to disruptive industrial actions. In this context, operational reliability has become as important to travelers as headline amenities. Recent performance data show that Lyon-Saint Exupéry has managed to deliver consistently strong on-time results even as traffic has recovered and new routes have opened.
Within the AirHelp framework, punctuality accounts for the largest share of an airport’s overall score. Lyon’s steady improvement in this category through 2024 and 2025 indicates that underlying processes, from turnaround management to air traffic coordination, are functioning effectively. Passengers experience this as fewer missed connections, shorter delays and more predictable arrival times, all of which are increasingly valuable given tight itineraries and complex travel chains.
Resilience is also tested when things go wrong, whether due to weather, technical issues or wider disruptions. Here, the combination of trained staff, clear passenger information and robust contingency planning makes a difference. Recognition of Lyon’s human resources policies and staff engagement by European industry bodies suggests that the airport is investing in the human side of resilience, which often determines how quickly operations recover and how passengers perceive disruption.
A Blueprint for the Next Generation of European Airports
As Europe looks ahead to 2026, the criteria for what constitutes a “best” airport are evolving. Environmental performance, staff wellbeing, digital innovation and multimodal connectivity now sit alongside traditional measures such as punctuality and capacity. Lyon-Saint Exupéry’s trajectory over the past decade positions it as a compelling blueprint for how mid-sized hubs can respond to these shifting expectations and still compete with much larger rivals.
By combining a four-star Skytrax rating and strong AirHelp performance with net zero emissions for its direct activities and recognition for excellence in human resources, Lyon offers a holistic model of airport excellence. It is not simply excelling in one area; rather, it is assembling a coherent package that spans the passenger journey from arrival at the station or parking area through security, shopping, boarding and eventual onward travel. This breadth of achievement underpins its inclusion among Europe’s 50 best airports for 2026.
For travelers, the impact is straightforward. Choosing Lyon-Saint Exupéry increasingly means shorter queues, more reliable departures, a richer sense of place and a smaller environmental footprint, all within a well-connected European hub. For the wider industry, the airport’s progress signals that ambitious climate goals, high service standards and strong operational performance can reinforce rather than undermine one another. As rankings and awards for 2026 take shape, Lyon looks set not only to retain its place among Europe’s leading airports, but also to help define what excellence will mean in the years ahead.