Incheon airport named world`s best for 7th straight year

Incheon International Airport, the main gateway to Seoul, has been named the world’s best airport for the seventh consecutive year in the annual survey of Airport Service Quality conducted by Airports Council International.

The council has around 1,700 member airports and the Incheon airport is the first to win the award for seven years in a row. Around 350,000 passengers were surveyed on 34 areas, including service and facility operation.

The Incheon airport was named the best airport worldwide, dubbed the Nobel Prize of the aviation industry, and also earned awards for Best Airport in Asia-Pacific and Best Airport with 25 million to 40 million passengers per year. Singapore`s Changi Airport ranked second while Beijing Capital International Airport ranked third.

The Incheon airport was also credited for raising passenger satisfaction by offering seamless connecting services. The departure process takes just 16 minutes and that for arrival 12 minutes, which are far faster than the global averages of 60 and 45 minutes, respectively.

The airport also began exporting its know-hows overseas in 2009, having provided consulting on airport operations to Iraq, Russia, the Philippines and Nepal. To seek more business partnerships, the Incheon airport acquired 10 percent of Khabarovsk Novy Airport in Russian Far East last year.

Gimpo International Airport, another gateway to Seoul, was cited for best service quality among airports with annual passenger traffic of 15 million to 25 million, an honor that it also won last year.

kchwang@donga.com