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Seoul's Incheon airport voted best

  • Story Highlights
  • Incheon boasts a golf course, spa, private sleeping rooms, casino, indoor gardens
  • Survey asks 8.6 million passengers at 190 airports to rate facilities
  • Incheon barely edges out Hong Kong's and Singapore's airports
  • Dubai voted tops for duty-free shops; Helsinki-Vantaa voted least likely to lose bags
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SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- South Korea's Incheon International Airport has been voted the best in the world, according to a 10-month survey of airline passengers.

Seoul's Incheon, pictured, edged out Hong Kong's International Airport and Singapore's Changi Airport.

Seoul's Incheon, pictured, edged out Hong Kong's International Airport and Singapore's Changi Airport.

Incheon, located about 70 km (43 miles) from Seoul, often ranks among the busiest airports in the world.

It boasts a golf course, spa, private sleeping rooms, a casino, and indoor gardens that, according to the airport's Web site, offer "travelers an oasis of calm and tranquility permeated with the refreshing scent of pine."

It is no surprise then that the annual survey conducted by the British-based consultancy group, Skytrax, ranked Incheon the No. 1 airport.

The survey asked 8.6 million passengers at 190 airports to rate the facilities based on their experiences at check-in, arrival, departures and transfers.

Incheon edged out Hong Kong's International Airport and Singapore's Changi Airport -- but barely.

"At one stage, it looked possible there might be a dead-heat result between these top three airports," Skytrax said in a statement.

The annual survey also judged airports on individual categories.

Dubai International Airport in the United Arab Emirates came out tops for having the best duty-free shops, Hong Kong serves the best food, Helsinki-Vantaa in Finland is least likely to lose passengers' bags and Japan's Kansai International has the cleanest restrooms.

The top 10 airports, according to the survey, are:

  1. Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea
  2. Hong Kong International Airport
  3. Singapore Changi Airport
  4. Zurich Airport in Switzerland
  5. Munich Airport in Germany
  6. Kansai International Airport in Japan
  7. Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia
  8. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in the Netherlands
  9. Central Japan International Airport Centrair
  10. Auckland Airport in New Zealand

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