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(CNN) -- When it comes to the airport experience, terminals in Asia are a cut above the rest, according to a recent independent survey of air passengers.
Hong Kong International Airport was named the world's best, second favorite was Seoul's Incheon and Singapore's Changi airport was placed third.
Kuala Lumpur's international airports came in fourth, while the Middle East hub of Dubai was ranked fifth.
Airports Council International (ACI) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) jointly conducted the satisfaction survey. The research was conducted during 2004, covering 40 major global airports and 65,000 interviews.
In Europe, Copenhagen was voted the best airport, while in North America Halifax came in first. Cape Town came in second place, after Dubai, for the combined Africa and Middle East region.
"The fact is -- airports vie for passengers," says Robert Aaronson, of the ACI.
"They realize the importance of building customer loyalty in a competitive environment. This survey gives airports the essential benchmarking tool to measure and enhance their service quality."
The survey covered the entire airport experience of international and domestic travelers who rated airports on 31 service-related factors before boarding flights.
Passengers were asked to rate airport facilities, security and immigration, as well as services provided by airlines.
"Airports are important industry partners for airlines," says IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani.
"We must continue to evolve to a low-cost industry that provides high-quality, cost-efficient service across the board. This should be at the top of our common agenda."
The customer satisfaction survey has been dubbed AETRA from a Latin word meaning the upper air. ACI and IATA say that 55 airports have signed up to the survey, which looks at passenger satisfaction at airports and ways to improve it.
The study replaced the Global Airport Monitor survey that ran for 11 years.
