Kolkata: Kolkata airport has posted marked gains in passenger satisfaction, recording improved scores in 26 of the 31 parameters assessed in the latest quarterly survey. Passengers reported significantly better experiences in the availability and cleanliness of toilets, shorter waits at immigration counters, and smoother flight connections.While the airport’s overall worldwide rating remained unchanged at 72 from the previous quarter, it climbed two places in the rankings among Airports Authority of India-run airports to secure the sixth position.According to sources, the airport’s initiative to form two teams to monitor housekeeping and operations in the terminal appears to have paid dividends and has significantly improved passenger experience. The authorities have also partnered with sanitaryware brands and instituted a strict rotational deep-cleaning regimen to preserve the lustre of its newly renovated washrooms.“Apart from two specific teams to track overall terminal operations and housekeeping efficacy, we are also actively responding to passenger complaints shared on platforms like X by dispatching cleaners to dirty spots and publicly posting before-and-after photos. All these efforts have improved the overall passenger experience,” said a senior official at the airport.While the airport has received positive feedback on most fronts, there have been some peeve points like long time to reach the airport because of poor roads outside, quality of shops, comfort of waiting at the security hold area near the boarding gates, availability of seats and Wi-Fi service that has emerged in the survey.Over 400 airports across 110 countries participate in the Airport Service Quality quarterly survey conducted by the Airports Council International, the trade association of the world’s airports. It is the only globally recognised procedure that reflects opinions from more than 7,00,000 flyer voices annually and measures how satisfied passengers are while travelling through an airport.The survey instrument has 31 ASQ attribute items that are classified in terms of their respective functional area. Passengers rate the survey on a 5-point scale. In all, 16 AAI airports participated in the survey, of whom only Chennai and Bhubaneshwar made significant improvements in rankings.Kolkata airport had a notable slide in the last two quarters but held on to its overall rank of 72 during the period of Jan to March this year. With 4.9 ASQ rating this quarter, it is way higher than the world average of 4.4 as well as the ministry of civil aviation’s target of 4.7 ASQ.None of the 16 AAI airports that participated in the survey had a score below the target set by the ministry and managed an average score of 4.88 ASQ. Pune, Chennai and Goa airports topped the charts with scores above 4.9 ASQ.
