Hong Kong International Airport is named World's Best Airport by airline passengers in the 2005 World Airport Awards

Singapore's Changi Airport takes the Silver Award as runner-up, in what proved to be an exciting and close finish to the Survey. These two airports achieved more than 130,000 votes each, with the final margin between 1st and 2nd position being less than 500 votes.

Dr David J Pang, Chief Executive Officer of the Airport Authority Hong Kong, said "We are indeed proud to receive this accolade. To be named among the many excellent airports in the world is an honour in itself. As customer service standards improve continually in the airport industry, the recognition and appreciation of travellers inspires us to continue to raise our standards and to strengthen our culture of service excellence."

The 2005 World Airport Awards are based on the annual Airport Survey conducted by Skytrax - between June 2004 and March 2005. The survey measures over 30 aspects of passenger satisfaction for airport product and service standards, evaluating the 'typical' airport experience. This independent survey is regarded as the primary benchmarking tool for Passenger Satisfaction levels at airports throughout the world.

Peter Miller, Director Marketing at Skytrax commented "it is important to note we do not charge airport operators to be included in the survey, nor are the results based on a finite number of 40-50 airport choices - the passenger interviews covering over 150 airports. This level of true independence is a key reason for this survey being regarded as the primary benchmarking tool for Passenger Satisfaction levels at airports throughout the world."

Worldwide survey interviews totalled a massive 5,584,365 respondents - a 15 per cent increase on the 2004 result. Over 90 different passenger nationalities participated, the highest contingent from Europe and North America, with Asian countries of Korea, China/Hong Kong and Taiwan also very well represented.

The World's Top 10 Airports - 2005

1. Hong Kong International Airport
2. Singapore Changi Airpor
3. Seoul Incheon Airport
4. Munich Airport
5. Kansai International Airport
6. Dubai International Airport
7. KLIA Kuala Lumpur
8. Amsterdam Schiphol Airport
9. Copenhagen Airport
10. Sydney Airport

In a travel stress survey Skytrax conducted in 2004, 90 per cent of passengers stated that they find the air travel experience stressful - either all of the time (30%) or sometimes (60%). The departure airport was named by 66 per cent of respondents as the single, largest cause of stress in today's air travel - onboard the flight was cited by 15 per cent, and the arrival airport by 19 per cent.

The airport experience continues to grow in stature as part of the overall air travel experience today, with customers more discerning about their likes and dislikes, together their accumulation of greater knowledge (and higher expectations) as they experience different airports around the world".

"It no surprise to see many Asian airports dominating the top end of the World Airline Awards or on a less positive aspect, some US airports slipping in popularity. The ongoing impact of US airport security and immigration changes is still being felt. Whilst air travellers appreciate the need for enhanced security in post 9/11 times, we found the impact of this on the US airport rankings was quite considerable. Overly aggressive security checkpoint procedures and very varied US Immigration services resulted in the airport experience being downgraded by many customers. With the TSA stating that 'it is always seeking ways to refine processes that improve customer service at checkpoints' one hopes that such factors may be lessened in the future" added Miller.

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) named World's Best Airport was particularly praised for 'space, light, airy, clean, efficient, ground transportation' - key words that were repeated thousands of times for HKIA. Singapore's Changi Airport, second Best Airport in the world, was most frequently praised for the abundant range of facilities, and particularly favoured by customers in it's pivotal role as a transit airport.

At the end of the day, a customer will rate an airport experience upon a mixed bag of product and service features, dependent upon their travel purpose. A business traveller with only 60 minutes in the terminal may be more interested in the ability to keep in touch - internet access, wifi and other communications being an important factor, and they might have access to the comforts of an airline lounge. In contrast, a leisure traveller with several hours to while away in transit, may prefer to take in the dining options, have a shower, browse the shops - or in Singapore, enjoy the bonus of a swimming pool and free cinema!

One of Asia's newest airports, Seoul Incheon in South Korea was ranked third Best Airport in the world - well ranked for ease of navigation, terminal cleanliness and facilities. A drawback for Incheon appears to be the lack of express ground transportation. An airport becoming more popular with transit passengers, Incheon needs a high-speed rail connection into downtown Seoul to better satisfy passengers departing from, or arriving into Seoul itself.

In Japan, Osaka's Kansai International was named 5th Best airport in the world - being specifically praised for high standards of cleanliness, and quality of airport staff service across all front-line functions.

Munich Airport is ranked 4th Best Airport in the world, and Europe's best. With 33 per cent of the traffic at Munich Airport being in transit (2004), the airport recently celebrated a milestone by welcoming its 250 millionth passenger since the airport opened nearly 13 years ago.

Munich Airport CEO and President, Dr. Michael Kerkloh, welcomed the award, noting that "The survey results have confirmed that our ambition to develop Munich Airport into the most attractive and efficient hub in Europe is bearing fruit. Being named as the world's 4Top Airport and Europe's Number 1 provides a positive impulse for us to further improve our passenger-friendly service and hub quality - and to strive to move up in the charts in 2006!"

Amsterdam Schiphol ranks second in Europe (8th worldwide), with Copenhagen as Europe's 3rd Best airport, and ranked 9th worldwide. A comment echoed in many Copenhagen survey interviewees is that the airport has the feel of an IKEA showroom!

The major European airports of London Heathrow, Frankfurt Main and Paris Charles de Gaulle failed to make into the listing of Top 10 European airports.

Dubai International Airport maintains its position as Best Airport in the Middle East, ranking 6th overall worldwide - despite ongoing construction works that require excessive walking for arriving and departing passenger for Dubai.

Cape Town International Airport is Africa's Best Airport, with Johannesburg ranked 2nd and Addis Ababa 3rd place for the region.

Best Airport North America is Minneapolis-St Paul - ranked 20th on a global basis. Cincinnati is North America's 2nd Best Airport, with San Francisco 3rd in this category.

For those wanting an unusual airport experience, Barra in the western islands of Scotland is recommended - a beach airport washed by the tide twice a day, where a runway obstruction may possibly be a stranded dolphin or seal!