NUSA DUA - Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman (SAMS) Sepinggan International Airport in Balikpapan received a world-class prestigious award Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards 2018 organized by Airports Council International (ACI) for customer service on National Customer Day which falls on September 4, 2019.
The award was given by several ACI World officials such as ACI World Director General Angela Gittens, ACI World Chairman Governing Board Sheikh Ahmed Al Hosni, and other ACI World officials to Angkasa Pura Airports President Director Faik Fahmi and SAMS Sepinggan Airport General Manager Farid Indra Nugraha during the Gala Dinner held on Wednesday night (4/9) in the series of the 2nd ACI Customer Experience Global Summit 2019 from September 2 to September 5, 2019.
The award strengthens the position of the SAMS Sepinggan International Airport as the best airport in Asia-Pacific in the category airport with 5-15 million passengers per year. Last year, it also won the same award.
At the 2018 ASQ Awards, SAMS Sepinggan International Airport won awards in four categories, namely:
- Best Airport by Size and Region (5-15 million passengers per year in Asia-Pacific)". The best airport in Asia-Pacific with a number of passengers of 5-15 million people per year.
- "Best Environment and Ambience by Size (5-15 million passengers per year)". The best airport in the field of environment and atmosphere with a number of passengers of 5-15 million people per year.
- "Best Customer Service by Size (5-15 million passengers per year)". The best airport in the field of customer service with a number of passengers of 5-15 million people per year.
- Best Infrastructure and Facilitation by Size (5-15 million passengers per year)". The best airport in the field of infrastructure and facilitation with a number of passengers of 5-15 million people per year.
The assessment is based on the results of the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey released on March 6, 2019 Canadian time. ASQ is the only global benchmarking program that measures the level of passenger satisfaction in airports carried out by Airports Council International (ACI), a leading airport organization in the world based in Montreal, Canada.
"The SAMS Sepinggan International Airport in Balikpapan sees a better achievement compared to the previous year in the same event by winning the title of the Best Airport in the Asia-Pacific in the airport category with a number of passengers of 5-15 million passengers per year again. Last year, the largest airport in Kalimantan won the title of "2nd place Best Airport by Size: 5-15 million passengers per year". In addition, Balikpapan’s SAMS Sepinggan International Airport also won awards in several new categories ofsuch as 'Best Environment and Ambience', 'Best Customer Service', and 'Best infrastructure and Facilitation’,” Faik said.
The awards, Faik said, are an evidence that Angkasa Pura I works hard and focus to always improve its services to airport service users.
"The ASQ Awards is a celebration of the achievements of airports in providing the best customer experience. This award is the highest tribute to airport operators throughout the world. The airport that received this award is considered to have successfully responded to the changing needs of passengers by providing better service and performance,” Gittens said.
Award-winning airports, Angela added, have recognized that providing better customer service is an important business tool in this increasingly competitive industry.
"The ASQ award is the only global program that provides objective measurements and comparisons for airports to help driving their performance.”
Since 2006 the ASQ survey has been conducting passenger satisfaction assessments on airports services around the world. Around 74 percent of the world's 100 busiest airports are part of the ASQ network. Every year, the program interviews 600,000 airport service users in 42 languages in 84 countries in the world.
The program measures the opinions through 37 performance indicators, including airport access, check-in, security screening, shopping and restaurant facilities, and toilets. The questions of the survey and the mechanisms are carried out equally at all airports to create an industrial database that allows each airport to compare themselves with other airports in the world. Scientific methodology, stringent quality control procedures, and a commitment not to take sides in any assessment make the ASQ survey a global standard for measuring passenger satisfaction at airports.
ACI World Hands Over World-Level Airport Service Accreditation to 10 Airports Managed by Angkasa Pura Airports
Apart from the awarding of the ASQ Awards, during the Gala Dinner session of the 2019 ACI Customer Service Experience Global Summit, ACI World also symbolically handed over the Airport Customer Experience accreditation to 10 airports managed by Angkasa Pura Airports.
This accreditation makes Angkasa Pura Airports as the first airport operator in the Asia-Pacific region with majority of its airports get recognition for the commitment to improve customer experience from this prestigious international airport institution based in Montreal, Canada.
The ten airports managed by Angkasa Pura Airports that have successfully obtained accreditation are:
- I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport - Bali
- Juanda International Airport - Surabaya
- Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport - Makassar
- SAMS Sepinggan International Airport - Balikpapan
- Jenderal Ahmad Yani International Airport - Semarang
- Sam Ratulangi International Airport - Manado
- El Tari International Airport - Kupang
- Pattimura International Airport - Ambon
- Adi Soemarmo International Airport - Solo
- Lombok International Airport - Praya
"We are proud that our commitment in improving service and customer experience in the airports that we manage has given us international accreditation through the Airport Customer Experience Accreditation Program conducted by ACI. This accreditation further strengthens the service of all Angkasa Pura I airports to be equal to airports other world-class airports,” Faik said.
In its strategic program, Angkasa Pura Airports plans to double the total capacity in all airports it manages within the next five years. Angkasa Pura Airports emphasizes that the quality of service to customers is a priority that continues to be improved in order to achieve the target of being one of the best airport operator in the world.
This accreditation is based on airport practices in providing the best customer experience consisting of customer understanding, strategy measurement, operational improvement, governance, airport culture, service design/innovation, and airport community collaboration.
"With the accreditation from ACI, it means that airport operators have demonstrated a continuing commitment to reviewing and improving the experience of their customers who are constantly changing, excelling, and learning how they can continue to improve,” Gittens said.
Ten airports managed by Angkasa Pura Airports received accreditation with other international airports in the world such as John F. Kennedy International Airport (USA), Chattrapati Shivaji International Airport (India), Incheon International Airport (South Korea), and Halifax Stanfield International Airport (Canada).
