Southampton Airport has been named as the top airport in Europe for having the most helpful and courteous staff. The award has been given by Airports Council International (ACI), following a survey of over 200,000 passengers worldwide.

The survey captures the passengers’ perception of the quality of more than 30 aspects of service that they have experienced at the airport from check-in through to the departure gate. 108 airports from around the world took part in the quarterly airport surveys.

In addition to being the award winner of the Airport People Award, Southampton Airport also came second place for the Best Airport in Europe Award, and fifth place worldwide for the Best Airport by Size Award (fewer than 5 million passengers a year).

Kevin Brown, Managing Director at Southampton Airport commented: "At Southampton Airport we place great emphasis on providing friendly service, and a quick and easy experience for passengers. We refer to this as "breeze through" and it is certainly really popular with passengers travelling throughout Europe. I am so proud of every one of the 1,200 people who work here, who have played their part in helping Southampton Airport to achieve this prestigious international award."

Eastleigh MP, Chris Huhne, added: “Southampton Airport is a great airport that puts passengers first because it treats them as people. This award just confirms what local people already know.”

Kathy Slack, Area Director for Hampshire & Isle of Wight at the South East of England Development Agency (SEEDA), commented: “Southampton airport is a key asset for the South Hampshire economy and I am delighted that they have won this award. Excellent customer service is not only vital to the continued success of the airport but also provides a fantastic welcome to business and visitors to South Hampshire."

Jimmy Chestnutt, Director General of the Southampton and Fareham Chamber of Commerce & Industry, said: "It comes as no surprise to the Chamber of Commerce that Southampton airport has won this accolade. They have worked very hard over the years to make the airport as customer friendly as possible. The new real time travel information system together with the airport's helpful staff means that the experience is easy to use, fast and friendly. A must for business people with limited time to spare. The airport has also been very conscious of the important role it plays in supporting the business community in the region and being proactive in helping business people to reach new important European destinations."

Sally Lynskey, Chief Executive of Business Southampton, said: "These achievements are outstanding. They are a great result for Southampton Airport and a great result for the City. This is great example of a City Champion excelling in business and the prestigious award will undoubtedly help with the promotion of the city region."

Angela Gittens, Director General of ACI commented: “As the industry benchmark of airport service quality, the ASQ Survey programme is enabling airports to understand and respond to the needs of their passengers.  Survey results show that overall passenger satisfaction continues to improve year-on-year. This reflects the importance airports are placing on customer satisfaction and the innovation in services that we are seeing worldwide. The programme continues to grow which demonstrates that airports care very much about their customers, no matter how tough the economic situation.”