An international survey has ranked Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport as the top airport in the Middle East.

The annual survey is carried out by Skytrax, a British airline and airport rating company.  The latest survey, which ranked 190 airports throughout the world, placed Ben Gurion ahead of airports in Bahrain and Doha.

Globes reports that 8.2 million passengers were interviewed for the survey, which addressed the quality and range of services, but not safety issues.

Construction of a new control tower at Ben Gurion was approved this week. Over 10.1 million passengers passed through the airport in 2007, on nearly 75,000 flights.

Other findings of the survey: Hong Kong International Airport was named the world's best airport for 2008 - the seventh time in ten years it has achieved this rating. Singapore's Changi Airport, Seoul Incheon Airport in South Korea, and Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia are next on the list. No European or American airports made it to the top ten.

In North America, the top three airports are San Francisco, Vancouver and Dallas/Fort Worth.

Three Stars for El Al

Skytrax also rates airlines, giving top five-star billing to Asiana Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Kingfisher Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Singapore Airlines.  El Al Israel Airlines received only a three-star rating.