Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 10): The KL International Airport (KLIA) has been ranked among the top 10 in the world according to the latest Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey which benchmarks the world’s best airports. 

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) said despite challenging times caused by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, KLIA ranked ninth in the survey for the first half of 2020, from 17th in 2019, among airports of similar capacity. It achieved an improved overall score of 4.94 out of 5.00, from 4.69 previously. 

The airport also scored a perfect 5.00 for the overall satisfaction by both business and leisure passengers, 4.99 for cleanliness of airport terminal and 4.97 for the availability of washrooms, MAHB said. 

ASQ is a programme carried out by the Airports Council International (ACI), which sets service standards, protocols, and operational guidelines for airports worldwide. 

“I am extremely proud of the team for KLIA’s stellar ASQ performance to date this year,” said MAHB chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh in a statement. 

“Despite challenges arising from new normal requirements in airport operations, the whole airport community displayed a strong spirit of collaboration and came together as one to elevate KLIA's service performance in the eyes of the world,” he said.  

Mohd Shukrie said that as part of the company’s high-performance culture, MAHB has also formed an operational excellence (OE) division to specifically look at the pain-points of the passenger journey in the new normal and improve on them swiftly. 

The OE team, he said, is currently looking at both quick-wins and long-term solutions in passenger flow to avoid bottlenecks at various terminal checkpoints. 

“Due to new procedures and standard operating procedures, processing time at various checkpoints especially during peak periods [has] increased. On top of that, the team is also tasked to instil passenger confidence throughout the terminal by ensuring the highest standards of hygiene are being practised for the continued safety of the passengers,” he said.  

So far, the team has identified more than 60 improvement ideas at KLIA with 50 of them immediately implemented as quick-win solutions, he said. 

“These improvement ideas were identified by conducting ‘empathy walks’ i.e. shadowing actual passengers during their journey through the airport,” he added. 

Edited ByS Kanagaraju
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