(MENAFN - Arab News) Abu Dhabi International Airport has been named the Best Airport for the Middle East region category of Airports Council International (ACI) ASQ Survey results. The ASQ (Airport Service Quality) Survey, which gauges passenger satisfaction, is a key benchmark for customer service in the global airports' industry.
The awards, announced by ACI in Montreal, Canada, showed that Abu Dhabi International Airport had the biggest overall improvement in ASQ satisfaction results in the region for 2012. The airport excelled in categories that measure operational efficiency and quality of service. The airport scored 4.40 in the ASQ indicators for 2012, up from 4.31 in 2011, to place the airport 1st in the Middle East. It was ranked 2nd last year.
ACI World Director General Angela Gittens said: "This is an exciting time for airports. As airports and their operators increasingly accept the positive correlation between passenger satisfaction and airport revenues, we see more and more airports striving to meet, and in some cases exceed, the levels of customer service that their passengers expect from their favored product and service providers. Airports that deliver superior customer service stand apart from the competition and superior customer service remains one of the most important differentiators in the increasingly competitive airport industry."
Gittens added: "I am delighted to see longstanding favorites take home ASQ awards as it is testament to the growing and accepted wisdom in the airport community that maintain customer service excellence, which is central to a winning business strategy.
I am equally excited to see other airports rank for the very first time this year, which stands to prove that it is never too late to adopt a winning customer service orientation to which the ASQ program is fundamental."
Chairman of Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) Ali Majed Al-Mansoori said: "ADAC is thrilled to be named the Best Airport in the Middle East' from the industry-leading Airport Council International (ACI). It is an honor to have achieved this ranking through the opinions of millions of visitors to Abu Dhabi International Airport, as their testaments to the quality of service is an accolade that ADAC has been striving to achieve. This award today crowns ADAC's continuous efforts to achieve its mission to become the world's leading airports' group, and it comes as a result of the team's relentless commitment to achieve excellence in quality service." Al-Mansoori added: "I would like to thank our customers and passengers for giving us these ratings and I want to salute our various teams from ADAC, and airlines and agencies at Abu Dhabi International Airport who together have realized this achievement with their collective and honest work. As ADAC celebrates this victory, it promises to continue developing and enhancing its products and services to deliver millions more of unique travel experiences in the years to come."
Since its creation in 2006, the ASQ Awards have become the world's leading airport passenger satisfaction benchmark, with over 275 participating airports. The ASQ Awards recognize and reward the best airports in the world based on ACI's ASQ passenger satisfaction survey and they represent an opportunity to celebrate the commitment of airports worldwide to continually improve the passenger experience.
