For 2nd consecutive year and 8th time in its history, QAIA named ‘Best Airport by Size’ in Middle East

AMMAN — Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) has secured the title of “Best Airport by Size and Region: Middle East” for airports serving five to 15 million passengers for the second consecutive year and eighth time in its history.

Airport International Group CEO Nicolas Deviller was quoted in a statement to The Jordan Times as saying that the award came in acknowledgment to its commitment to customer experience excellence.

This accolade was awarded by Airports Council International World (ACI World) based on the 2023 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Survey; a component of the world’s leading airport customer experience measurement and benchmarking programme, the statement said. 

“We are deeply honoured to have once again been granted this prestigious award, serving as a testament to our steadfast commitment to delivering a seamless and memorable customer experience in line with our strategic goals for 2023-2025,” Deviller said. 

“Here at QAIA, we place special emphasis not only on facilitating efficient and safe travel, but also on ensuring that passengers from around the globe feel at home, comfortable and welcomed at Jordan’s prime gateway to the world. This recognition would not have been possible without the dedication of Airport International Group teams, partners and stakeholders to excellence, alongside our close partnership with the Government of Jordan, represented by the Ministry of Transport. Together, we shall continue to innovate and push the envelope, exceeding the expectations of those at the heart of everything we do; our passengers,” he said. 

The ACI ASQ initiative is unique as the airport industry’s only global benchmarking programme measuring passenger satisfaction while passengers are at the airport. Implemented at close to 400 airports worldwide, the ASQ programme delivers an in-depth assessment of the quality of the customer service experience, according to the statement. 

This year’s results recognise ASQ Award winners as being the world’s best airports for the quality of their customer experience as selected by their passengers, it said. 

Airport International Group is a Jordanian company comprising local and international investors. In 2007, following a transparent and open international tender, the government awarded Airport International Group a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) concession agreement to manage the rehabilitation, expansion and operation of QAIA.

Since the agreement commenced, QAIA ranked first place for eight years in the Airport Service Quality Survey’s “Best Airport by Size and Region: Middle East” category for airports serving 5 to 15 million passengers and was amongst the top two in the “Best Airport by Region: Middle East” category for four consecutive years. In 2022, QAIA became the first airport in the Middle East and the second in Asia Pacific to reach Level 4+ “Transition” of the Airport Carbon Accreditation Programme (valid until 2025), as well as the first airport in the Middle East to achieve Level 3 of the Airport Customer Experience Accreditation (renewed until January 2025), according to the statement. 

According to a study commissioned by Airport International Group and conducted by International Air Transport Association  in 2019, QAIA supported 238,000 jobs and JD2.5 billion (8.9 per cent) in GDP. By 2032, these figures are expected to increase to 278,000 jobs and JD3.9 billion in GDP. Underscoring its socioeconomic significance and standing as the main entry point to the Kingdom, QAIA processes over 97 per cent of passengers and 99 per cent of cargo, the statement said.