Dublin Airport has been named one of the best airports in the world in a global ranking of passenger experience.
Dublin Airport was the joint winner in its category of European Airports that have 25-40 million passengers per year in the Airports Council International (ACI) World Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards which were announced today. Dublin shared its category win with Oslo Gardermoen and Zurich airports.
The 2018 ASQ Awards are based on 640,000 passenger survey results in 84 countries that measure the key elements of a passenger’s experience at each airport. The ASQ Awards are presented to the airports whose customers have rated them the highest during the year.
“The Airport Service Quality Awards celebrate the achievements of airports in delivering the best customer experience and they represent the highest possible accolade for airport operators around the world,” said ACI World Director General Angela Gittens.
“We are absolutely thrilled that Dublin Airport has won an ACI Airport Service Quality Award,” said Dublin Airport Managing Director Vincent Harrison. “This is a highly prestigious international customer service award based on detailed passenger studies carried out globally,” Mr Harrison added.
“This award is a huge endorsement for the entire team at Dublin Airport,” according to Mr Harrison. “Since 2014, our passenger numbers have increased by 45% to a record 31.5 million last year, and throughout that period, we have had a relentless focus on providing the best possible experience to our growing number of customers. We will continue to put the passenger at the heart of everything we do at Dublin Airport.”
Ms Gittens said Dublin Airport was “a credit to our industry” and had shown a “continued commitment to excellence”. Airports such as Dublin had responded to the evolving needs of passengers to deliver high levels of service and an award-winning performance, she added.
The ASQ survey measures passengers’ satisfaction across more than 30 key performance indicators including access to the airport, check-in, security, wayfinding, the courtesy and friendliness of staff, cleanliness, quality of internet/WiFi service. The global benchmarking programme is based on surveys of passengers at the airport on their day of travel.
“Dublin Airport welcomed a record 31.5 million passengers last year, which meant that an extra 1.9 million customers passed through its doors,” Mr Harrison said. “Notwithstanding this significant increase in traffic, our customers were provided with an award-winning customer experience last year.”
The Airport Service Quality (ASQ) programme is the world’s leading airport passenger service and benchmarking programme. Three quarters of the world’s 100 busiest airports are part of the ASQ programme which means that, in 2018, more than half of the world's 8.3 billion air travellers passed through an airport that is covered by the ASQ study.
“Airports have recognised that delivering a better customer experience is an important business tool in an increasingly competitive industry,” Ms Gittens said.
Dublin Airport has flights to almost 200 destinations in 43 countries, operated by 56 airlines and is the 11th busiest airport in the European Union. It supports 117,300 jobs in the Irish economy, including 19,200 people employed directly at the airport and its environs. The economic activity underpinned by Dublin Airport in terms of the spin-off benefits through trade, tourism, and jobs, is worth €8.3 billion to the Irish economy annually.
Dublin Airport and the other 2018 ASQ winners will formally receive their awards at ACI’s Customer Experience Global Summit in September.
