And the accolades for Vancouver Airport keep rolling in. Already designated the best airport in North America by travel survey firm Skytrax, the airport has now been deemed “best in the world” by CAPA Centre for Aviation. The association, the leading provider of independent aviation market intelligence, held its annual Aviation Awards for Excellence in Amsterdam earlier this week, where YVR earned the prestigious Airport of the Year Award in recognition for its position as a strategic leader and for its efforts to advance the progress of the aviation industry globally.

Read more: Vancouver Named North America’s Top Airport…Again

"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."

The shortlist of candidates for the Aviation Awards for Excellence are created by CAPA analysts and aviation partners, and then reviewed by an independent panel of judges.

"YVR being recognized as global airport of the year shows the strength of the Canadian airport system, which enables innovation and the pursuit of excellence in sustainability, governance and overall airport operations," said Mary Jordan, Chair of YVR's Board of Directors. "I'm so proud of the team that achieved this honour."   

Previous Airport of the Year winners have included Singapore Changi Airport, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Beijing Capital International Airport. YVR is the first airport in North America to receive this prestigious award.  

In part, YVR was recognized for its innovative initiatives in business strategies, sustainability and marketing. In addition to rolling out significant terminal improvements that have reduced the airport’s gas emissions, YVR has actively worked to open new markets and create a competitive new rates and charges program. Additionally, YVR has rolled out a number of programs designed to increase non-aeronautical revenue and it has also served as an incubator for successful new businesses that have gone on to become global leaders, including Vantage Airport Group (currently transforming LaGuardia Airport in New York) and InterVISTAS, a global consulting company.

The airport is also experiencing a significant growth spurt. Within the past 12 months, YVR has welcomed 18 new services connecting to 11 new destinations. Two new airlines, Xiamen Airlines and Beijing Capital Airlines, have started flying from YVR as Air Canada continues to grow its Transpacific Hub at the airport. (The airline recently launched new service to Brisbane, Delhi, Osaka, San Jose and Chicago.)

The airport welcomed a record 20.3 million passengers in 2015 and expects to surpass 22 million by year-end.

Read more: Vancouver Airport Serves 20 million passengers

Throughout its growth and innovation, YVR has earned a whopping 91 per cent customer satisfaction rating for three years in a row.

For more information, visit www.yvr.ca. 

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