SKYTRAX Award Recognises Hong Kong as Best World Airport
The SKYTRAX World Airport Awards are the most prestigious and widely accepted accolades for recognising the top airports and airlines in the world. Launched in 1999, the SKYTRAX awards use satisfactions surveys from those who matter most, the passengers, to determine quality and global passenger satisfaction. The 2011 SKYTRAX award for best airport covered a massive 310 airports and was conducted independently from and airport control or influence. Below are the SKYTRAX guaranteed top three airports in the world according to the SKYTRAX World Airport Award.
Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong’s international airport scooped first place, partly because of the airports incredible logistical feat. Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) is located under five hours flying distance from over half of the world’s population. It is also the third busiest passenger airport in the world, having over 50.9 million passengers in transit over 2010. HKIA connects more than 160 destinations with its 900 daily flights serviced by around 95 airlines. Cargo traffic and storage solutions such as used pallet racking are not taken into account for determining traffic in the SKYTRAX World Airport Awards.
Singapore Changi Airport
Over one hundred different airlines use this airport to commute to two hundred cities in sixty different countries. Overall, the SKYTRAX Awards recognised that this airport handles around 5,400 arrtivals and departures every week which amounts to a massive 42 million passengers a year; seven times more than Singapore’s entire population. The airport also hosts 40,000 square meters of commercial space making it a popular shopping destination.
Incheon International Airport
South Korea’s international airport, a previous winner of the SKYTRAX World Airline Award, has also earned the SKYTRAX five star airport ranking every year since 2005, along with Hong Kong International and Singapore Changi. The architecture of the airport is truly stunning, making use of a half spoke and wheel design and mezzanine levels to assist the flow of outbound and inbound traffic. Besides the regular longspan shelving in customs and retail space, Incheon International also has a golf course, spa, private sleeping rooms, ice skating rink, casino and a Museum of Korean Culture.
The 2012 SKYTRAX Awards will take place in Vienna on the 19th April, where the world’s top airports will once again contend for this prominent and highly sought after award.
