Source : The EurAsian Times
Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport and Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport have received the ‘Best Airport’ award in the ’40 million passengers annually’ category in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Airport Service Quality Awards, announced on March 6, recognize the best airports in the world for customer experience.
Based on passenger surveys gathered at the airport on the day of travel, the Airports Council International trade body and the travel technology company Amadeus chose award winners.
Besides the Mumbai and Delhi airports, China’s Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport, and Singapore Changi Airport have also received the same award in the Asia-Pacific region.
In the past, Delhi Airport received four consecutive awards for being the best airport in the Asia-Pacific region in the category of more than 40 MPPA in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021.
On September 6, 2023, the annual ASQ Forum and Customer Experience Global Conference, which features the ASQ Awards Ceremony, will occur in Incheon, Republic of Korea.
The Delhi airport has also been awarded the “Cleanest Airport” title in the Asia-Pacific region. Meanwhile, several airports in India received awards in various categories.
For instance, Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru won the prize for being one of the world’s best airports for arrivals. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad won the prize for being one of the best airports in the Asia-Pacific region for the 15 to 25 million passengers category.
The Tiruchirapalli International Airport won the Asia-Pacific region’s award for the best airport under 2 million passengers.
Rome’s Fiumicino airport, which handles more than 40 million people annually, is one of the most decorated mega-airports. In addition to receiving recognition for its excellence, it was also lauded for its cleanliness, pleasant atmosphere, and dedicated staff.
Changi Airport in Singapore also received an additional award for its dedicated staff and the simplicity with which visitors could find their way around the hub. In addition to winning accolades for overall quality, Istanbul’s airport also got an award for being enjoyable and clean.
How ACI Picks Winners Of The Airport Service Quality Awards?
The surveys consider 30 factors, including check-in, ease of navigation, and retail and dining facilities.
In a statement, Luis Felipe de Oliveira, director general of ACI World, said that the ASQ program not only measures and benchmarks but also offers airports of all sizes the chance to continuously learn and develop to attain new levels of customer experience excellence.
Out of the 69 airports ASQ recognized for overall quality, 24 are in Europe, 22 are in Asia-Pacific, 11 are in North America, five are in Latin America or the Caribbean, four are in Africa, and three are in the Middle East.
Awards were granted to the top 20% of airports in each size and region category; there is no clear victor in a particular region or airport size bracket.
Meanwhile, ACI added four categories this year: cleanest airport, most accessible airport journey, and airports with the most dedicated staff. Airports that received ratings in the top 5% for each region were given awards in the new categories.
The new “most enjoyable” category considers visitors’ opinions of the available dining and shopping options, the convenience of the gate areas, entertainment and leisure opportunities, and ambiance.
Among the more than 465,000 surveys that were gathered in 2022, 75 airports from all across the world have earned 144 awards.
Airports Council International (ACI) is a federated organization comprising the following divisions: ACI World, ACI Africa, ACI Asia-Pacific, ACI EUROPE, ACI Latin America-Caribbean, and ACI North America.
ACI significantly contributes to establishing a safe, secure, effective, and environmentally sustainable worldwide air transport system by advocating for airports’ best interests during critical policy development phases. As of January 2023, ACI has 712 members and manages 1925 airports across 171 nations.
In recent years, several AAI airports have been recognized as some of the best in the world thanks to AAI’s continuing focus on improving passenger convenience and infrastructural development. Compared to the global average of 4.32, the average ASQ rating for 13 AAI airports for 2022 is 4.76.
