London - Getting through an airport might not be the most exciting part of a holiday, but it’s unavoidable if you want to travel.
According to passengers who voted in the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards, the best European airport for customer service is Keflavik International Airport in Reykjavik, Iceland, with Moscow Sheremetyevo, Porto, Malta and Zurich completing the top five.
Mauritius took the honours in Africa - and Upington got a mention.
Passengers judged the ASQ Awards based on key service areas, including how easy it is to access the airport, the check-in experience, security, airport facilities, food and drink options available, and the shopping on offer.
Hlynur Sigurdsson, director of the Leif Eiriksson Air Terminal at Keflavik Airport, said he was surprised the airport had won in the face of a 20 percent increase in passenger numbers, but put the success down to improving the airport’s free wi-fi service and keeping the public areas clean.
He said: “The 10-point improvement from last year is truly remarkable in light of a 20-percent hike in passenger numbers and considerable renovation work being conducted simultaneously in the check-in area.
“We have worked diligently with our staff and other service providers to improve the services that are most important to our customers.
“We improved the wi-fi connection and provide free service, restructured the cleaning operation with improved supervision and made first place in that category together with that of business/executive lounge where we expanded an area that was becoming crowded during peak hours.
“What I think sets Keflavik apart is the mindfulness of our dedicated staff. They take pride in their job and understand that the service affects the experience of individual customers.”
Indianapolis International Airport in Indiana came top in North America for airport service, followed by Tampa, Jacksonville, Sacramento and Ottawa airports.
Other winning international airports were:
* Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport in Port Louis, Mauritius (best African airport)
* Ecuador’s José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport in Guayaquil (best Latin-American airport)
* Jordan’s Queen Alia International Airport in Amman (best Middle Eastern airport)
* South Korea’s Seoul Incheon (best Asia-Pacific airport).
The African airports ranked after Mauritius were Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Nairobi, in that order.
Bigger airports generally meant lower passenger satisfaction, with smaller airports scoring higher for customer service.
Although Seoul Incheon bucks the trend, with 40 million passengers a year, Amman, Mauritius and Guayaquil all serve fewer than 10 million passengers per year.
Heathrow, by comparison, receives a massive 70 million passengers per year.
The best small airport for terminals with two to five million passengers went to Murcia San Javier Airport in Spain for Europe, while Victoria International Airport in British Columbia, Canada, was the best in North America in that category.
And the award for "Best Airport with Fewer than 2 Million Passengers per Year" in Africa went to Upington airport in South Africa.
St Petersburg Airport in Russia, and San Antonio International Airport in Texas won the best improvement award for Europe and North America, respectively.
Angela Gittens, director-general of Airports Council International (ACI), the body behind the ASQ Awards said: “Airports are more than simply points of departure and arrival. They are complex businesses in their own right.
“At the end of the day, good business acumen comes down to a simple equation: better service, improved traffic and a healthier bottom line.”
Daily Mail, IOL