Amid increased competition Halifax Robert L. Stanfield International Airport has once again taken top international awards for customer service. The awards were handed out last week at the Airport Council International’s Airport Business and Trinity Forum in Dubai.

This is the fourth consecutive year the airport has ranked first in overall passenger satisfaction for airports worldwide with under five million passengers. The airport welcomed a record 3,378,601 passengers in 2006.

The airport also took home the inaugural Airport People Awards for the Americas. This regional award recognizes airports that have cultivated a strong customer service culture among their staff and business partners and have been rated by passengers as having the most courteous and helpful airport, airline and security staff.

Ninety airports participated in the survey, up from 66 last year. They include such world-renowned airports as London Heathrow, Sydney (Australia), Amsterdam Schiphol, Beijing, Denver and Canadian airports including Vancouver, Edmonton, Ottawa and Toronto.

Halifax also took two second-place prizes, in the best domestic airport worldwide (Austin, Texas, was first) and for overall satisfaction in the Americas (Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, was first).