Airports Council International (ACI) World has chosen seven airports in India to include under its Voice of the Customer Recognition initiative, the Ministry of Civil Aviation announced. The ones that received the recognition are the airports at Chennai, Kolkata, Goa, Pune, Patna, Bhubaneswar and Chandigarh.
The Voice of the Customer Recognition initiative is to celebrate the efforts of the airports that demonstrated significant efforts in gathering passenger feedback through the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) programme, to help them better understand their customers during the pandemic. The airport must have collected three or more quarters of data to qualify for participation. The Voice of Customer Recognition is separate from ASQ awards.
Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey is the world-renowned and internationally established global benchmarking programme measuring passenger’s satisfaction. They measure customer experience through 34 key performance indicators.
According to ACI World, airports have to listen to the passengers and adapt their procedures to meet the expectations of the passengers, especially during the time of a pandemic. ACI’s ASQ programme provides airports with the tools for objective measurement and benchmarking, thus helping them collect information about customers' needs and expectations and helping them enhance their performance. More than half of the world’s travellers pass through an ASQ airport.
Patna Airport Took Careful Measures to Improve Its ASQ Rating
In response to the recognition, Bhupesh CH Negi, Director of Jayaprakash Narayan International (JPNI) airport, Patna, said, “It is a proud moment for us as our efforts for better customer handling has been recognised at the international level. We took up several steps for improving the customers’ experience, including expanding the existing terminal. Moving ahead, we are expanding the washroom space on both arrival and departure areas.”
Patna airport’s ASQ rating in the last quarter was 4.6. The rating has significantly improved over the years as it included more passenger-friendly amenities, more shopping facilities, restaurants, other eateries, the addition of ATMs, improvement in the speed of baggage delivery, etc. Patna airport handled 22,29,667 passengers from April 2021 to December 2021. Among the count, December alone witnessed 3,32,314 passengers.
