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| A laser show lit up the stunning Emirates Palace |
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| The awards were presented during a spectacular gala evening |
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Triumph for the Seoul Incheon delegation |
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“This was a real team effort,” said Halifax International Airport President and CEO Eleanor Humphries (left) with Customer Relations Manager Kelly Martin – and three AETRA awards Photos by Martin Moodie |
INTERNATIONAL. Seoul Incheon Airport was the big winner at last night’s annual AETRA awards in Abu Dhabi, organised by Airports Council International (ACI). The event was a triumph for Asian airports – and a hitherto unheralded Canadian one, Halifax International.
The awards, made at a gala evening at Abu Dhabi’s amazing nine-star Emirates Palace hotel, coincided with ACI’s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) conference. In future the AETRA awards (previously run in tandem with IATA – ACI will go it alone next year) will be renamed ASQ.
The awards are based on an impressively extensive global airport customer satisfaction benchmarking survey and programme.
This rates 31 service items, including retail and food & beverage, by customer satisfaction and loyalty. Some 73 airports worldwide participated in the scheme.
ACI Director General Bob Aaronson told guests last night: “The tremendous response to ASQ from ACI members makes me confident ACI will grow the programme to more than 100 airports.”
So to the results. These are segmented by region and by size of airport (based on passenger traffic).
Here are the full results:
Best Airport 2005 Worldwide
1. Seoul Incheon
2. Hong Kong International and Singapore Changi
3. Kuala Lumpur International
Best Airport Middle East & Africa
1. Dubai International Airport
2. Cape Town International Airport
3. Durban International Airport
Best Airport Asia Pacific
1. Seoul Incheon Airport
2. Hong Kong International and Singapore Changi
3. Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Best Airport Europe
1. Brussels International and Copenhagen
2. Zurich Airport
3. Helsinki International
Best Airport Americas
1. Halifax International
2. Ottawa International
3. Denver International
Best Improved Airport
1. Seoul Incheon
2. Vancouver International
3. Singapore Changi
Best Airport – Under 5 Million Passengers a Year
1. Halifax International
2. Ottawa International
3. Malta International
Best Airport – 5-15 Million Passengers a Year
1. Nagoya International
2. Christchurch International
3. Helsinki International
Best Airport – 15-25 Million Passengers a Year
1. Kuala Lumpur International
2. Dubai International
3. Copenhagen and Brussels International
Best Airport – Over 25 Million Passengers a Year
1. Seoul Incheon
2. Singapore Changi and Hong Kong International
3. Denver International
Best Domestic Airport
1. Halifax International
2. Ottawa International
3. Athens International
The results represent a triumph for the South Korean gateway, Seoul Incheon, which sent a large contingent to the awards.
There was special delight too for the team from Halifax International Airport in Nova Scotia, Canada, which won three awards. “It’s fantastic. This was a real team effort,” a delighted President and CEO Eleanor Humphries told The Moodie Report.
Look out for a pictorial update later today.
