Vancouver International Airport (YVR) has been named the best airport in the world.
The CAPA Centre for Aviation crowned YVR with the prestigious title at the Aviation Awards in Amsterdam on Thursday.
The award is given each year to the airport that has been the “biggest standout strategically, established itself as a leader and done the most to advance the progress of the aviation industry,” according CAPA.
This is the first time YVR has earned the ranking and is the first North American airport to do so. Previous winners are Singapore Changi Airport, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, and Beijing Capital International Airport.
CAPA said Vancouver was selected for its “innovative marketing strategy and approach for incentivising growth.”
The organization also cited Vancouver’s increase in number of routes, technological innovation, and 32 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per passenger over the last decade.
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“Vancouver Airport continues to be an industry leader on several fronts, enabling it to achieve impressive growth,” Peter Harbison, CAPA executive chairman, said.
“The airport also has a unique governance structure with a community-based, not-for-profit airport authority that reinvests all profits back into airport operations and development. Under this structure Vancouver Airport has been able to set and implement a highly successful strategy.”
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In May, YVR was again named Best Airport in North America for the seventh consecutive year by the Skytrax World Airport Awards.
“This is an incredible achievement and is a testament to YVR’s success and our growing influence on the world stage,” said Craig Richmond, YVR’s president and CEO.
“We have achieved this milestone thanks to our focus on safety, teamwork, accountability and innovation—and our community based, not-for-profit governance model, under which we constantly improve the airport for our passengers, our partners and our communities.”
Among award-winning art and architecture, a stunning west coast-themed international departure area, and almost unanimous customer satisfaction reports (91 per cent), YVR features the largest Northwest Coast Native art collection in the world and two satellite Vancouver Aquarium exhibits.
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YVR has grown from serving only 1,072 passengers in 1931 to an expected 22 million in 2016. It now serves over 35 airlines from around the world.
Other award-winners at the event included Qatar Airways for CAPA Airline of the Year, Eastern Europe’s Wizz Air was named Low Cost Airline of the Year, and Icelandair was named Regional Airline of the Year.
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