Pune airport drops six places in service rankings

PUNE In spite of a surge in passenger traffic, the Pune airport dropped six places, from 71st to 76th position, in the second quarter (April to June 2024) in the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey, compared to the first quarter (January to March 2024).
Out of the 31 parameters of the survey the airport scored low points on 17 parameters, while the overall satisfaction of passengers has also gone down by 0.02 per cent, as per the survey.
Daily around 200 flights are operational from the airport, 100 arrivals and 100 departures take place, some of them are international flights as well. Even the cargo service from the airport is considerable as goods are sent from Pune to various parts of the country.
“While a great ambiance and modern infrastructure are basic essentials for any airport, ease of navigation, comfort while waiting, cleanliness and hygiene, and courteous and helpful service are actually the key factors that shape a passenger’s opinion about an airport,” said aviation expert, Dhairyashil Vandekar
“The issues arising out of space constraints at Pune airport’s old terminal can be understood (though some of which are attributed to the airport being permitted to handle passengers far beyond its capacity), but the decline in ratings for cleanliness especially of toilets, quality of Wi-Fi, a sufficient number of charging stations cannot be justified as these are very basic requirements expected of any airport. Discourteous or unhelpfulness on the part of any staff working at the airport should not be tolerated as the very purpose of these staff being at the airport is otherwise negated,” said Vandekar.
The ACI-ASQ survey has been conducted since 2006 and over 400 airports worldwide, with 90 countries participating. While there are 31 parameters checked in this survey, and every quarter the results are declared.
“Fall in rating on this parameter for staff at check-in areas, security screening, immigration, restaurants and shops is a grave indicator as it collectively contributes to the whole airport experience. The Airport Authority of India (AAI) must take strong corrective action to discourage such staff behaviour as it tarnishes the image of the airport and negates the good efforts being put in by others,” he said.
“Overall, the survey findings indicate a need for more concerted efforts on the part of AAI and the airport stakeholders to achieve the service quality desired by the passengers. Fortunately, Ramp safety is not a part of this survey otherwise with the recent incidents on the airside at Pune airport, the airport ranking would have been further adversely affected,” he added.
The AAI officials are working hard to give better services to the passengers. “Soon all the flight operations at the Pune airport will be shifted to the new terminal building and so the passenger facility services will also improve. All our staff are working tirelessly to give better service in all sections at the airport and we are always open for the suggestions given by such survey,” said a senior AAI official requesting anonymity.