New Delhi: GMR-run Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) in New Delhi and Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Hyderabad have received the ACI (Airports Council International) world’s prestigious ‘Voice of Customer’ recognition.
Both airports have been recognized for their continuous efforts to listen to their passengers, engage and gather feedback to understand their needs and ensure customers’ voice was heard during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
COVID-19 has virtually affected every sector in the world and aviation was a sector which took a hard hit. With the objective of restoring passenger trust in air travel, GMR-run Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) and GMR Hyderabad Airport Limited (GHIAL) went all out to quickly adapt to the new normal situations and implement several passenger-friendly measures for safe travel.
Passenger feedback was constantly monitored and worked upon. Various channels to garner passenger feedback to address concerns were activated to make the journey through the airport a memorable experience.
Both GHIAL and DIAL also implemented several passenger-friendly measures such as contactless elevators, contactless information desks, promotion of digital transactions, app-based technologies for shopping and food ordering through HOI App, UV sanitization of passenger baggage, strategic placement of disinfectant mats, ensure higher input of UV disinfected fresh air (filtered through ‘high-efficiency particulate air’ (HEPA) filters) in the terminal buildings and sanitization of cabs were put in place.
To ensure social distancing norms are being followed inside the IGI Airport, DIAL installed XOVIS Passenger Tracking System (PTS), which alerts airport staff in case of crowding.
RGIA, which is the only airport in the country to have an advantage of the paperless e-boarding facility for several years for all domestic travellers, extended this contact-less boarding for international passengers.
The 24×7 social media command centre emerged as eye and ear of Delhi Airport. It listened to passenger needs and provided them with support or guidance whenever they were approached by flyers in need.
Delhi Airport also launched Air Suvidha portal, which provided international passengers with an opportunity to sail through various quarantine exemption procedures.
Apart from these, a dedicated team of housekeeping professionals were deployed at both the airports to carry out frequent disinfection drives, deep cleaning of various passenger touch points and ensure strict compliance of social distancing norms.
Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, CEO-DIAL said, “This ACI recognition is a testimony to the fact that the airport community and stakeholders have given their best to take care of passengers’ needs without compromising with their comfort and experience. I thank all of them for Delhi Airport getting this unique achievement.”
Pradeep Panicker, CEO – GMR Hyderabad International Airport, said, “We are honoured to receive this recognition in such critical times. This speaks volumes about the hard work and commitment of the entire airport community and all stakeholders who made it possible and diligently work round the clock to ensure passenger delight.”
DIAL and GHIAL have won the coveted ACI’s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Departures Awards by being adjudged as the ‘Best Airport by Size and Region’ in Asia-Pacific region for 2019, in their respective categories. ASQ is the world’s leading airport passenger service and benchmarking programme measuring passengers’ satisfaction while they are travelling through an airport.