Incheon International Airport was named again this year the “world’s best airport” by the Airports Council International ― for the eighth time in a row.

Since the non-profit association of some 1,700 global airport operators started announcing the top honor back in 1993, the Korean airport is the only one that has enjoyed such success.

Despite the growing presence of Asian rivals such as Singapore and China, Incheon outperformed them again in service quality, which is evaluated by users all through the year.

“Winning the top spot again is the result of hard work of all the employees to make the airport an Asian hub,” said CEO Jung Chang-soo.

Incheon Airport, established in 2001, has grown into one of the leading airports in the world. Connecting 172 cities globally, the airport now handles more than 44 million travelers and 4.5 million tons of cargo a year.

For about 35,000 people working at 920 permanent agencies, suppliers and commercial facilities there, the top priority is innovation through quality service under a set of goals making the airport the world’s safest, fastest and cleanest airport.

According to the airport, the process for departure takes only 19 minutes and for arrival just 12 minutes at Incheon, which is far above the global standards of 60 and 45 minutes, respectively.

What further differentiates the airport from others are cultural programs offered on a regular basis, including several museums and cultural centers and some 5,000 traditional art performances every year.

Korea’s advanced information technology is another boost for quality services. The Cyber Airport system, for instance, allows travelers to make online or mobile reservations for airplanes, hotels, rental cars and even currency exchanges.

With the aim to become an Asian hub airport by 2017, Incheon has also started this month a new phase of expansion work to build a second passenger terminal.

The five-story building, housing a new ground control tower, railway platforms and other commercial and lodging facilities, will be situated on a 650-square-meter site and its operation is planned to start in December 2017.

The 5 trillion won ($4.5 billion) project is expected to increase the annual number of travelers to 62 million and cargo volume to 5.8 million tons, airport officials said.

Together with the expansion work, another ongoing project is creating an “air city” in the neighborhood of the airport as it is located within a one-hour drive from the Seoul metropolitan area.

The airport says that the complex, equipped with luxurious hotels, casinos, shopping malls and convention centers, would become a new attraction both for tourists and business travelers as well as citizens here.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)