The King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has received The Voice of the Customer certificate this month.
What is The Voice of the Customer Award?
The Airports Council International (ACI) created the award in 2020, with the idea of giving airports recognition for gathering passenger feedback from the Airport Service Quality Departures Survey.
The surveys help airports to gain a greater understanding of their customers’ needs during the pandemic. However, airports could only qualify for the award if they collected 75% or more of quantifiable data.
Other airports that received The Voice of the Customer included the Moi International Airport in Mobasa, Kenya and the Velana International Airport in Male, Maldives. Thus, the certificate is awarded throughout the world. It is globally recognised as a huge achievement.
Hearing customer feedback is vital, but it’s especially critical during the pandemic. Airports need to make sure they are ensuring the safety of those that fly with them.
Why did the King Khalid International Airport receive the certificate?
The King Khalid International Airport has been demonstrating a commitment to travellers using their airport, which is exceptionally important during the pandemic. They received the award because of their understanding of their flyers’ feedback. This includes the airports’ health and safety guidelines – a vital aspect to a travellers’ journey flying with the threat of coronavirus.
They introduced new measures to protect flyers, including artificial intelligence to enforce social distancing, new boarding procedures and facility designs that reflect the new rules and regulations. The new safety additions also protected those that worked there, making it the recipient of ACI’s health accreditation in 2020 as well. It was the second airport in the Middle East to acquire the international certificate.
Only two other airports in the region received The Voice of the Customer accreditation. In addition to this, The King Khalid International Airport is only one of 140 airports that were accredited with it globally. The King Khalid International Airport being awarded with The Voice of the Customer certificate shows how critical good customer service is. During a period where things are uncertain, it’s refreshing to see an airport taking the time to listen to their travellers’ views and opinions.
Finally, some good news for airports during these strange and troubling times. Have you visited the King Khalid International Airport during the pandemic? Let us know your experience travelling below!
