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SHANGHAI Pudong International Airport was rated one of the world's top airports by passengers last year, the Shanghai Airport Authority said last week.A customer satisfaction survey by the Airport Council International ranked Pudong fifth among 154 global airports, up from 19th in 2009. Beijing Capital International Airport was in fourth position. Shanghai airport officials said they were happy to see that their efforts had been recognized by passengers and promised that facilities were still being improved.
Pudong airport, the city's main gateway for international flights, ranked 63rd in 2007 when it joined the ACI.
The survey, the global airport customer service benchmark and the key performance indicator of airports' service, found customers were impressed by the waiting areas and toilet facilities at Pudong. Other areas, such as the traffic to downtown, are still viewed as lagging behind and in need of improvement.
Of 33 service-related categories that customers commented on, Pudong was ranked among the top 10 in 11 of them last year, airport officials said.
The airport will continue to improve other categories, including security checks and entry and exit handling speed, the officials said.
Pudong airport was already one of the busiest airports in the world, said Hu Zhihong, deputy general manager with Shanghai Airport Authority, and passenger turnover was growing. Pudong handled more than 40 million passengers last year, nearly 30 percent more than 2009, one of the fastest growing airports in the Aisan-Pacific region.
A third terminal may be built at Pudong airport to handle growing number of travelers. And a fourth runway is on the way and due to be completed by around 2013.
The city's other airport, Hongqiao International, failed to make the top 10 but airport officials said that in a survey last year, it had ranked 19th, after opening a second terminal and improving restaurants and lowering food prices. In 2009, the airport had failed to make the top 100.
