Incheon Airport Retains ACI’s Highest Customer Experience Rating for Fifth Consecutive Year

Incheon International Airport, the world’s busiest airport for international passengers in the first half of 2026, has become the first airport globally to retain the highest level of customer experience accreditation for five consecutive years.

Incheon International Airport Corporation said on September 3 that the airport received four major service honors from Airports Council International (ACI), including the renewal of its Level 5 Airport Customer Experience Accreditation.

The awards were presented at the eighth ACI Customer Experience Global Summit, held on September 2 at Çırağan Palace in Istanbul, Türkiye. The event brought together approximately 700 representatives from ACI and leading airports worldwide, including Kim Bum ho, acting president and CEO of Incheon International Airport Corporation.

Incheon secured its fifth consecutive Level 5 accreditation, the highest rating under the ACI Airport Customer Experience Accreditation program. It is the first airport among the 143 participating airports worldwide to maintain the top level for five consecutive years since the program was introduced in 2019.

The accreditation evaluates how systematically an airport develops and operates a customer centered service framework. Renewal is determined annually through document reviews and on site assessments covering eight evaluation areas.

Incheon also received the Best Airport award in the ACI Airport Service Quality (ASQ) program for large airports in Asia Pacific handling more than 40 million international passengers annually.

The latest recognition marks Incheon’s 15th Best Airport title across the 20 ASQ award ceremonies held between 2006 and 2025.

The airport also achieved Level 3, the highest tier of the ACI Accessibility Enhancement Accreditation program, for the first time. It was also named the leading aviation training institution in the customer experience category.

ACI praised Incheon’s early introduction of customized mobility and assistance services for passengers with reduced mobility. These include dedicated lounges and kiosks, autonomous transport vehicles and rooms designed to provide psychological comfort.

The honors follow a series of operational milestones for the airport. Incheon handled 38.39 million international passengers during the first half of 2026, ranking first worldwide for the first time since its opening, according to preliminary ACI figures.

In July, the airport surpassed 1 billion cumulative passengers, 25 years and three months, or 9,232 days, after beginning operations.

Incheon completed its fourth phase expansion project in November 2024, increasing its annual passenger capacity to 106 million and securing the world’s third largest airport infrastructure by capacity.

Airports Council International represents the collective interests of the global airport community. As of January 2026, its 811 members operated more than 2,200 airports across more than 160 countries. The organization works with governments and international regulatory bodies on airport policy, operational standards, professional training, data collection and the development of a safe, efficient and sustainable global air transport system.