Mangaluru Airport conferred int'l award for customer satisfaction

Mangaluru, Oct 29: Out of 16 international and 37 domestic airports in the country, Mangaluru International Airport (MIA), Airports Authority India was awarded with World Quality Commitment (WQC) 'International Star Award' under the Gold Category, at the 29th International WQC Convention held on October 24-25 in Paris, France.

MIA Airport Director J T Radhakrishna represented and received the award for the airport at the convention in Paris.

Addressing reporters at a press conference in the airport premises on Thursday, Mr Radhakrishna said that MIA was the only airport in India that was selected for the WQC award in the aviation sector.

The award has been awarded by Business Initiative Directions (BID) in Madrid, Spain to recognise the contribution of Mangaluru International Airport in terms of quality, leadership and excellence. The airport was selected for the Award by the WQC Selection Committee on the basis of criteria such as total quality management, Quality Commitment principles, ISO 9000, customer satisfaction, business results, continuous developments for passenger amenities, innovation, growth and facilities to stakeholders, he said.

He informed that the level of customer satisfaction index at Mangaluru International Airport had improved from 4.35 to 4.82 between July and December 2014, making it the second highest ranking among airports in the country. The airport had also received of 4.92 (out of 5) in cleanliness, which is another major component in quality service to customers, he said, adding that it was important to maintain the quality of improvement in the airport and bring new innovations.

The airport also saw the highest growth of nearly 12 percent in air traffic in India, he told reporters.

Speaking on the occasion, KCCI president Rammohan said that the award secured by MIA was the first feather in the cap for Mangaluru for becoming a Smart City.

CISF Deputy Commandant (Mangaluru International Airport) Amith Kumar, Air India Express station manager Nagesh Shetty, Pandit's Health Resort president L Goel and others were present on the occasion.