The Malta International Airport has slipped down a European rating index, however, it remained among the top 10 airports preferred by Google users.

Holidu, a search engine for vacation rentals crowned Istanbul Airport, which received over 86,000 Google reviews as the best European airport in 2023. It currently has an average a 4.4 out of 5 rating.

The Istanbul airport was followed by Athens International Airport which has over 35,500 reviews, and Portugal's Francisco de Sá Carneiro Airport with 23,000 reviews.

MIA placed eighth with 12,500 reviews and an average 4.3 rating.

Last year, Malta's airport had a similar rating but placed fifth. 

Holidu described the MIA as a "quaint but well-maintained airport" with facilities matching those of the larger European airports. 

A little poem about MIA. Photo: Google reviews

Some found the waiting area crammed. Photo: Google reviews

Others think it is a great airport. Photo: Google reviews

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the list, France's Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport averaged 2.7 stars, with most complaints being about the place's small size and lack of seating for travellers.

Greece's Heraklion International Airport is just slightly better, with people complaining about how crowded and poorly equipped the airport is for its traffic volume.

Holidu says its ranking is based on the average Google Maps rating and number of reviews from the top 100 busiest airports in Europe. With this data from Google Maps, it then ranks each airport from highest to lowest, giving priority to those with more reviews.

Airports from Russia, Ukraine, and non-operational airports were removed from this ranking.