FRANKFURT, Germany, March 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Passengers voting in the Skytrax World Airports Awards have selected Xi'an Xianyang International Airport, located in the Chinese megacity of Xi'an, as the "Best Regional Airport in China 2016". China West Airport Group holds a 51 percent stake, Fraport Asia and CNAC holding a 24.5 percent stake each in the joint-venture Xi'an Xianyang International Airport Co., Ltd., which is responsible for operational optimization of the airport's infra-structure, eg. the passenger terminals, and the commercial development. One of the top aviation gateways in China, Xi'an Airport (XIY) exceeded the 30 million passenger mark for the first time in 2015 when it served some 33 million passengers and ranked eighth in China. This represented a 13 per-cent increase, up from 29.2 million passengers in 2014. With almost 5.7 million passengers in the first two months of 2016, XIY achieved double-digit growth of 16.1 percent.
Zhang Wenge, chief executive officer and member of the board of Xi'an Xianyang International Airport Co., Ltd., commented the honor which was presented at the Skytrax world airports awards ceremony held in Cologne, Germany: "Xi'an Airport is very proud to receive the Skytrax award for Best Regional Airport in China. This honor confirms the work and commitment contributed by all of the airport and its partners, including our operational and service staff, our shareholders, the local government, airlines and handling agents, retail and food and beverage tenants, as well as suppliers. We all are dedicated to making Xi'an Xianyang International Airport much more than just a transportation junction - but an efficient aviation gateway focused on the customer experience."
Strong passenger growth and customer acceptance at XIY have been accom-panied by important milestones in the past few years. With the opening of Terminal 3 in 2012, Xi'an Xianyang International Airport became the first airport in China to offer passengers a central commercial area in the terminals - also featuring a distinctive 'sense of place'. Last year, XIY opened the Regal Airport Hotel Xi'an - China's first five star hotel with direct access to the terminals. Also in 2015, XIY inaugurated a new international terminal pier that boasts China's first walk-through duty free shop (600 square meters). The airport received its first Skytrax 4-star rating in 2014, which was recon-firmed for 2015 at the Skytrax ceremony.
Centuries ago, Xi'an was China's ancient royal capital and gateway to the Silk Road. Xi'an has become one of China's major international tourist desti-nations - renowned for historic treasures such as the Terracotta Army. A city of some eight million people (region of almost 15 million), Xi'an is considered the space and aviation capital of China, as well as a leading technology and educational hub. Visit XIY on the Internet at www.xxia.com .
Fraport AG
Robert Payne Telephone: +49-69-690-78547
Group Press Spokesman E-mail: r.payne@fraport.de
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