Heathrow clinches ACI EUROPE Best Airport 2015 Award

 
Above: Heathrow's CEO John Holland-Kaye (left) receives the award for Best Airport from Matej Zakonjsek.

The event attracted more than 350 industry representatives, including CEOs from major airports, airlines, air traffic management, national governments and the EU institutions. The theme of this year’s event is Airports and the Future of Tourism.

Above: Winners with the presenters.
 
This years’ judging panel for the ACI EUROPE Best Airport Awards was drawn from a well-respected group of independent experts including EUROCONTROL, European Commission, European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC), European Travel Commission (ETC) and Air Transport World. ACI EUROPE counts over 450 airports in 45 European countries among its membership and this year’s competition saw a high level of entries in the competition in each category.
 
The Awards cover four categories of airport and aims to recognise achievement in core activities such as customer service, facilities, retail, security, community relations and environmental awareness and operations. There is a separate award devoted specifically to airports’ environmental efforts.
 
The awards were presented to the winning airports by Olivier Jankovec, Director General ACI EUROPE, Philippe Merlo, Director ATM EUROCONTROL, Matej Zakonjšek, Head of EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc’s cabinet, Victoria Moores, European Editor Air Transport World , and Eduardo Santander, Executive Director of the European Travel Commission.
 
The first award, recognising airports in the ‘under five million passenger’ category, went to London City Airport.

Above: Matthew Hall (right), Chief Commercial Officer, London City Ariport, receives the ‘under five million passenger’ category award from Philippe Merlo.

The judges awarded the prize to the airport for its investments in key areas to reduce passenger-waiting time in the airport, its ability to develop long-term strategic relationships with airline partners and its commitment to environmental awareness.
 
Cork Airport and Tallinn International Airport were highly commended in the ‘under five million passenger’ category.
 
The winner of the ‘five to 10 million passenger’ category was Cologne-Bonn Airport. The judges were particularly impressed by the airport’s innovation in customer experience, high degree of environmental action as well as its strong relationship with the local community.
 
The highly commended airports in the ‘five to 10 million passenger’ category were Budapest Airport and Glasgow Airport.
 
This year’s award in the ‘10-25 million passenger’ category went to Milan-Malpensa Airport. The airport won praise from the judges for its new infrastructure and enhanced services to boost passenger experience. The airport was also noted for its dedicated initiatives to welcome international customers (e.g. Chinese travelers) and integration of art exhibitions promoting Italian and international culture.
 
The highly commended airports in the ’10-25 million passenger’ category were Hamburg Airport and Brussels Airport Company.
 
Also in the category for airports with ‘over 25 million passengers’, this year’s ACI EUROPE Best Airport Award went to London Heathrow Airport. The judges singled it out for its success in opening the Queen’s Terminal last year, its integration of facilitation operations of passengers with reduced mobility and the advanced features it has supported in air traffic management, enhancing the airport’s performance.
 
The highly commended airports in the ‘over 25 million passenger’ category were Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport.
 
This year’s Eco-Innovation Award, which is awarded by the independent Advisory Board of the carbon management programme, Airport Carbon Accreditation, went to London Heathrow Airport for the extensive efforts it has made in energy efficiency, its groundbreaking research on aviation noise and its forward planning on environmental issues.
 
Finally, the WBP Recognition Award went to Torsten Hentschel, Managing Director of TH Airport Consulting, in recognition of his active participation and invaluable contributions to the ACI EUROPE Facilitation and Customer Services Committee as well as the Taskforce on the Passenger Experience.
 
The 26th ACI EUROPE General Assembly, Congress & Exhibition will be hosted by Athens International Airport and will take place in Athens on 20-22 June 2016.