ACI World: Athens and Thessaloniki Airports Among Best Worldwide for Customer Experience

The airports of Athens and Thessaloniki have been recognized among the best worldwide for offering excellent customer experience by the 2022 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards program, that were announced by the Airports Council International (ACI) World and travel technology company Amadeus.

Based on live research via surveys gathered at the airport – directly from passengers/travelers – this year’s ASQ program, the world’s leading airport customer experience measurement and benchmarking program, awarded 144 prizes across the world to 75 airports in total.

The winners were rated on over 30 performance indicators across key elements of the passenger’s airport experience, such as ease of finding your way, check-in, shopping, and dining offering.

The awards categories include the perennial Best Airports by Size and Region, as well as new categories introduced this year to reflect the evolution of passenger needs.

Airports of Athens and Thessaloniki among the best

The Best Airports by Size and Region in Europe category saw the Athens International Airport winning one of the three honoring mentions in the “25 to 40 million passengers per year” airport category and the Thessaloniki Airport “Makedonia” claiming a winning spot in the “5 to 15 million passengers per year” category among a total of seven winners.

This award recognized airports with the top 20 percent overall satisfaction score by size and region at departure.

Thessaloniki Airport “Makedonia”.

Other winners in the “25 to 40 million passengers per year” category included the Palma de Mallorca Airport in Spain and the Zurich Airport in Switzerland, while the “5 to 15 million passengers per year” category included the Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport in Serbia, Porto Airport in Portugal and Ankara Esenboga Airport in Turkey.

“The passenger is the centre of everything, and this is reflected in every aspect of the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) program,” ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira said.

“Travellers have spoken and recognized the successful efforts of these airport communities in providing outstanding customer experience. Congratulations to the best airports for customer experience worldwide.”

Europe’s winning airports per new category

Airport with the Most Dedicated Staff

This award recognizes the top 5 percent of airports for the efforts by key stakeholders and staff across different checkpoints.

Rome Airport.

– Aeroporto di Roma-Fiumicino (Rome Fiumicino, Italy)
– Aeropuerto de El Hierro (Valverde, Spain)
– Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport (Belgrade, Republic of Serbia)
– Inverness Airport (Inverness, United Kingdom)
– Skopje International Airport (Skopje, North Macedonia)
– Zagreb International Airport (Zagreb, Croatia)

Easiest Airport Journey

This award recognizes the top 5 percent of airports for their performance on the travellers’ ease of going through the airport.

Zagreb Airport.

– Aeropuerto de Reus (Reus, Spain)
– Aeropuerto Internacional Región de Murcia (Murcia, Spain)
– Inverness Airport (Inverness, United Kingdom)
– Milan Bergamo Airport (Milan, Italy)
– Skopje International Airport (Skopje, North Macedonia)
– Zagreb International Airport (Zagreb, Croatia)

Most Enjoyable Airport

This award recognizes the top 5 percent of airports for their offerings (restaurants, shops, entertainment) and efforts to make the waiting time enjoyable and comfortable.

Istanbul Airport.

– Aeroporto di Roma-Fiumicino (Rome Fiumicino, Italy)
– Ankara Esenboga Airport (Ankara, Turkey)
– Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport (Belgrade, Republic of Serbia)
– Istanbul Airport (Istanbul, Turkey)
– Milan Bergamo Airport (Milan, Italy)
– Skopje International Airport (Skopje, North Macedonia)

Cleanest Airport

This award recognizes the top 5 percent of airports for their overall cleanliness, an element that is key to the satisfaction of passengers.

Skopje International Airport

– Aeroporto di Roma-Fiumicino (Rome Fiumicino, Italy)
– Aeropuerto de Pamplona (Pamplona, Spain)
– Aeropuerto Internacional Región de Murcia (Murcia, Spain)
– Inverness Airport (Inverness, United Kingdom)
– Istanbul Airport (Istanbul, Turkey)
– Skopje International Airport (Skopje, North Macedonia)

Airports Council International (ACI) is the trade association of the world’s airports. As of January 2023, ACI serves 712 members, operating 1925 airports in 171 countries.