ACI World: Athens Airport Among Best in Europe for 2017

Photo Source: Athens International Airport (AIA)

Athens International Airport (AIA) has been honored as the Best Airport in Europe in the “15 – 25 Million Passengers/Year” category at the 2017 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards held by the Airports Council International (ACI) World.

The announcement coincides with an increase in passenger traffic at AIA for February 2018 by 6.5 percent, mainly due to a sharp rise in international arrivals.

According to ACI World, in 2017 over half of the world’s 7.7 billion travelers passed through an ASQ airport. This year an unprecedented sixteen airports are first time winners – with Athens Airport among them –  challenging best- in-class airports in the delivery of top-quality customer service.

Mumbai scooped first place for airports in Asia-Pacific serving over 40 million passengers a year. In North America, the top spot went to Toronto Pearson and in Europe to Rome Fiumicino.

“These winning airports are dedicated to delivering a stellar customer experience,” said Angela Gittens, director general of ACI World.

2017 ASQ Award Winners: Best Airport by Size & Region – Europe

2–5 million passengers per year – Newcastle Airport
5-15 million passengers per year – Sochi Airport
15-25 million passengers per year – Athens Airport
25-40 million passengers per year – Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport
Over 40 million passengers per year – Rome Fiumicino Airport

ASQ is the only worldwide program to survey passengers at the airport on their day of travel. It includes 74 percent of the world’s top 100 busiest airports  and delivers 600,000 individual surveys per year in 42 languages in 84 countries. The program served 343 airports in 2017.

Athens Airport Passenger Traffic up by 6.5% in February

Meanwhile, passenger traffic at Athens International Airport significantly increased by 6.5 percent in February compared to the same month in 2017, with passengers reaching approximately 1.2 million.

According to data, although the number of domestic travelers presented a decline by 9 percent, mainly due to the reduction of the offered capacity in domestic flights, the number of international passengers showed a sharp increase by 16.5 percent.

During the first two months of 2018 the airport’s passenger traffic reached 2.5 million, exceeding prior-year levels by a robust 6.5 percent. Domestic traffic was below the respective 2017 volumes, decreasing by 6.2 percent, whereas the number of international passengers showed a sharp increase by 14.1 percent.

Source: Athens International Airport (AIA).