South Korea's Incheon International Airport was named the best airport in the world for the eighth consecutive year, Yonhap news agency reported.

At this year's Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards of the Airports Council International (ACI) held in Istanbul, Turkey, Incheon International Airport, Seoul's main gateway, scored the highest among some 1,700 airports throughout the world.

The South Korean airport is the world's first ever to have ranked the highest for eight straight years.

Incheon International Airport also ranked first among all airports of the Asia-Pacific region and airports with over 40 million passengers per year, beating Singapore's Changi Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport.

In addition, Gimpo International Airport, also a major gateway to Seoul, ranked the highest among all medium-sized airports that have annual passenger traffic of more than 15 million but fewer than 25 million for three consecutive years.

At last year's ASQ Awards, Incheon had maintained its streak with a seventh consecutive win, taking the title of “Best Airport Worldwide” of 2012.

At this year's ASQ Awards, however, the ACI said it has decided not to award the title in consideration of other airports.

The ACI, a non-profit organization based in Montreal, Canada, represents airports' interests with governments and international organizations. With some 1,700 airport members in 181 countries, it formulates standards and recommended practices for airports across the world.

The ACI rankings are considered some of the most prestigious accolades in the industry, along with the World Airport Awards given by Skytrax, a United Kingdom-based consultancy.

Meanwhile, Incheon International Airport officially announced its bid to host the ACI's annual congress in 2014.

The 24th World General Assembly of the ACI will be held at COEX convention center in southern Seoul from May 26-28 next year, bringing together more than 600 officials from airports, airlines and international organizations.