Halifax Stanfield International Airport (HSIA) has been ranked the world’s best airport for overall passenger satisfaction in its class (under five million passengers) for the seventh straight year.

It is followed by Ottawa International Airport in second place in that class.

HSIA was also named by passengers as the second-best airport in North America, regardless of size, behind Austin, Texas.

By that measure, Ottawa International Airport came in third place.

The 2009 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) ratings, commissioned by Airports Council International (ACI), are based on passenger surveys.

“This remarkable achievement is a testament to the combined efforts of everyone here at Halifax Stanfield,” says Tom Ruth president and CEO, Halifax International Airport Authority (HIAA). “It’s amazing what can be accomplished when all of our many partners – airlines, retailers, and service providers – as well as our own HIAA employees and our wonderful volunteer hosts, dedicate themselves to providing the very best airport experience they can,” he says.

In its eight years of participating in this global airport ranking program, HSIA has earned a total of 25 awards – 16 first place, 7 second place and 2 third place.

“2009 was a tough year for airports worldwide,” said ACI director general Angela Gittens. “Traffic numbers fell while competition rose. For airports, it was a year of balancing tight budgets with high customer expectations for service excellence. The results of the year-long ASQ passenger survey help identify the leaders in meeting that challenge and demonstrate that airports have continued to invest and focus on customer service despite falling traffic numbers.”

Halifax’s overall scores have improved over the years from 3.61 out of a possible 5.00 in 2002 to 4.39 in 2009. The survey measures 34 separate elements of passenger airport experience and how well each element satisfies passenger expectations. Research firm DKMA of Geneva, Switzerland manages the survey for ACI.

In 2009, 140 global airports participated in the rigorous survey, including such world-renowned airports as Amsterdam Schiphol, Beijing, Dallas, Denver, Dubai, Hong Kong, London Heathrow, Seoul Incheon, Singapore and Sydney (Australia). Participating Canadian airports include Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto, Vancouver, and Winnipeg.

By region, top marks go to George, South Africa (Africa); Seoul Incheon, South Korea (Asia-Pacific); Keflavik, Iceland (Europe); Cancun, Mexico (Latin America-Caribbean); Tel Aviv, Israel (Middle East) and Austin, USA (North America).

By the traffic size categories, first place recognition was won by Halifax, Canada (under 5 million), Hyderabad, India (5-15 million), Baltimore/Washington, USA (15-25 million), Seoul Incheon, South Korea (25-40 million) and Hong Kong, China (over 40 million).