Incheon Airport Achieves World’s First Five Consecutive ACI Customer Experience Top Rankings and Quadruple Crown

Dominates "Best Airport" Awards at Istanbul Summit

World's Highest International Passenger Traffic in First Half

Accessible Mobility Facilities for All Highly Praised

Incheon International Airport Corporation, which ranked first in international passenger traffic in the first half of the year, has once again received the top grade in customer experience for 2026, becoming the world’s first airport to maintain the number one position for five consecutive years in this category.

Kim Beomho, Acting President of Incheon International Airport Corporation, received the highest level of Customer Experience Certification (Level 5) at the ACI-hosted 8th Global Customer Experience Summit awards ceremony held at the Ciragan Palace in Istanbul, Turkey, on the afternoon of the 2nd (local time). Istanbul, Turkey – Photo by Airport Photographers Group

The corporation announced on the 3rd that it has achieved a quadruple crown in airport service evaluations by securing the highest level in the Customer Experience Certification Program, administered by Airports Council International (ACI), for the fifth consecutive year. Incheon Airport is the only airport in the world to maintain Level 5 Customer Experience Certification each year for five years.

The awards ceremony was held on the afternoon of September 2 (local time) at Ciragan Palace in Istanbul, Turkey, during the "8th Global Customer Experience Summit" hosted by ACI. The event was attended by Beomho Kim, Acting President of Incheon International Airport Corporation, along with over 700 representatives from ACI and major airports.

At this ceremony, Incheon Airport was confirmed for re-certification at the highest level (Level 5) in Customer Experience Certification, marking its fifth consecutive re-accreditation. Since ACI launched the program in 2019, Incheon Airport is the first among 143 participating airports worldwide to achieve the highest grade for five consecutive years. The ACI Customer Experience Certification is based on a comprehensive review of eight evaluation categories, including document review and on-site verification, with the certification renewed annually.

Additionally, Incheon Airport received the "Best Airport Award" in the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) category for major Asia-Pacific airports serving over 40 million international passengers annually. Incheon Airport set a record by winning the Best Airport Award a total of 15 times out of 20 ASQ award ceremonies held between 2006 and 2025.

The corporation also newly obtained the highest (third) level in the "Accessibility for Everyone Accreditation" (AEA) program, and it was selected as the "Best Aviation Training Organization in Customer Experience." The proactive introduction of customized mobility support infrastructure—such as dedicated lounges, kiosks, autonomous transport vehicles (AM), and psychological relaxation rooms—was highly praised.

In the first half of 2026, Incheon Airport recorded 38.39 million international passengers, ranking first in the world for the first time since its opening, based on provisional ACI data. In July, the airport celebrated its 1 billionth cumulative passenger, reaching this milestone in 25 years and 3 months (9,232 days) since opening. Earlier, in November 2024, the airport completed its fourth-phase construction, securing infrastructure capable of handling 106 million passengers per year, making it the third largest in the world.

The corporation plans to progressively undertake a comprehensive improvement project for the aging Terminal 1 (with a total floor area of 506,000 square meters) by 2035. The project aims to significantly enhance facility safety and aviation security, drive artificial intelligence transformation (AX), and establish urban air mobility (UAM) infrastructure to strengthen future competitiveness.

Beomho Kim, Acting President of Incheon International Airport Corporation, stated, "The fact that Incheon Airport was able to achieve global number one in international passenger and service categories in such a short period was thanks to government support, the encouragement of the public, and the dedication of our staff. We will continue to accelerate service innovation through ongoing investment in facilities, realization of a smart airport, and strengthened regional connectivity, thereby providing safer and more convenient airport services to citizens."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.