Singapore's Changi Airport has been named as the World's Best Airport by air travellers for the fifth consecutive year, at the 2017 Skytrax World Airport Awards at Passenger Terminal EXPO in Amsterdam on Tuesday.
The Singapore international airport acquired the top spot ahead of Tokyo's Haneda airport and South Korea's Incheon International Airport. Lee Seow Hiang, CEO of Changi Airport Group, received the award from Edward Plaisted, CEO of Skytrax, at the event in The Netherlands.
"Winning the Skytrax World's Best Airport Award for the fifth consecutive year is immense encouragement to our 50,000-strong airport community at Changi Airport, every one of whom is passionate about delivering the most memorable airport experience to our passengers." Lee Seow Hiang told CNBC.
"We share this honour with the Changi Airport community and the many government agencies whom we work closely with. Without their support, we could not have achieved this. Above all, to all of our passengers, thank you for your vote of confidence!" he added.
This year, Hong Kong airport was ranked in fifth position, falling behind Munich Airport in Germany, Incheon International Airport in South Korea and Tokyo International Airport in Japan. Athough, Hong Kong has been named "World's Best Airport" in the past, Skytrax CEO Edward Plaisted said Singapore was a clear leader.
"To be voted the world's Best Airport for the fifth consecutive year is a remarkable achievement for Changi Airport, and underlines the airport's popularity with international air travelers," Plaisted said in his statement.
He added: "Changi Airport continues to innovate product and service facilities for customers, and is making the travel experience at the airport enjoyable and relaxing. This award is very much a collective recognition for all staff at the airport who contribute to the success of Changi Airport operations."
Overall, this was the eighth time, when Changi Airport has picked up this top international title at the World Airport Awards since it was introduced in 2000. The airport was also voted for the Best Airport in Asia, and Best Airport for Leisure Amenities. The airport has retained the 'Best Airport for Leisure Amenities' title ever since the award category was introduced in 2009.
"While we expand our facilities to serve more passengers in the coming years, we will continue to work closely with all our airport partners to further enhance the Changi Experience," Lee Seow Hiang added.
The Skytrax World Airport Survey is widely regarded as the quality benchmark for the world airport industry, assessing customer service and facilities across 550 airports.
The 2017 World Airport Awards are based on 13.82 million customer nominations across 105 nationalities of air travellers. SkyTrax World Airport Survey evaluates customer satisfaction across various key performance indicators for airport service and product, including check-in, arrivals, transfers, shopping, security and immigration, through to departure at the gate.
The top 10 rankings for the World's Best Airport Award in 2017:
1 Changi Airport Singapore
2 Tokyo International Airport (Haneda)
3 Incheon International Airport
4 Munich Airport
5 Hong Kong International Airport
6 Hamad International Airport
7 Central Japan International Airport
8 Zurich Airport
9 London Heathrow Airport
10 Frankfurt Airport
