Quito Airport is recognized for its quality of passenger experience service

Mariscal Sucre Airport achieved level 4 accreditation (out of a possible 5) in the Airports Council International’s Passenger Experience Accreditation program. Accreditation is granted after an audit of more than 20 airport activities.

In recent years, airports have attached greater importance to the experience they offer to their passengers and, precisely to encourage airport terminal managers to work more proactively and creatively to improve that experience, the Airports Council International (ACI), launched the Passenger Experience Accreditation in 2018.

Quito’s Mariscal Sucre International Airport has participated in this program since its creation and has recently achieved level 4 accreditation (out of 5 possible) and is currently the only airport in the world at this level, surpassed only by Incheon airport. in South Korea, which is at level 5.

The accreditation that certifies level 4 for the Quito airport was delivered on September 14 within the framework of the ACI World Global Passenger Experience Summit that takes place in Krakow, Poland.

To grant level 4 accreditation to Quito airport, ACI carried out an audit that verified compliance with more than 20 activities in 8 dimensions of airport service that include knowledge of passenger characteristics, strategy, measurements, operational improvements, governance, airport culture, innovation and collaboration with the airport community.

Level 4 in the Passenger Experience Accreditation means that Corporación Quiport, as responsible for managing the airport, meets five key conditions:

• Incorporate customer service policies into your overall strategy.
• Know the profile of your passengers.
• Measures the level of satisfaction.
• Implement improvements and new services considering the real needs of passengers.
• Shares information with commercial operators and government agencies that provide service at the airport and involves them in initiatives to improve the passenger experience.

One of the main innovations carried out has been the adoption of Service Design Thinking, a methodology that seeks to create services by improving the quality and user experience under a philosophy of continuous improvement based on the feedback given by the users themselves. Quito airport is one of the pioneers in the industry worldwide in incorporating this methodology, which has 5 phases:

• Empathize
• Define
• Ideate
• Prototype
• Evaluate

In short, it is about understanding the needs or aspirations of the passenger, defining them properly, devising a possible solution, creating physical or virtual prototypes to be tested by the passengers and after evaluating the results, changes are made based on the opinions and finally the project is implemented.

Another point highlighted by the ACI audit is Quiport’s personnel hiring and evaluation policy. For these processes, the customer service attributes of the company’s employees are considered.

Ramón Miró, President and CEO of Quiport, the company that manages and operates the Mariscal Sucre airport, explained that: “The work was carried out throughout the year and incorporated the coordinated actions of different areas of the company to guarantee that the solutions that we propose throughout the passenger journey through the terminal, are not only adapted to their needs, but also exceed their expectations”.

“This achievement is based on Quiport’s DNA of always providing an excellent service to passengers, an approach that comes from the will of our shareholders, as well as the full conviction of all our collaborators, and is shared with our commercial operators and with government entities,” he stressed.

Katya Bastidas, general manager of the Metropolitan Public Company of Airport Services (EPMSA), pointed out that: “With no doubt, at Quito’s Mariscal Sucre International Airport there is a synergy that allows teamwork among all of us who are part of it. of this great family: the Municipality of Quito, EPMSA, Corporación Quiport, airlines, commercial and government operators”.

The main authority of the EPMSA sent “congratulations to each of the people who work at this airport, and who contribute with great commitment and empowerment to deliver the best of this beautiful city to the world.”

“The successes that we are reaping constitute a motivation to continue walking together towards the achievement of more goals, for more tourism and productivity for the capital”, he concluded.