Upington boasts Africa's best small airport

© Iurii Kovalenko – 123RF.com

The Best Small Airport by Region category is open to airports with fewer than two million passengers per year.

ACI's ASQ Survey is based on interviews with passengers on the day of travel and covers 34 key service areas including categories such as access, check-in, security, airport facilities, food and beverage and retail. The responses are used to rank airports worldwide. The survey is widely recognised as a leading benchmark of passenger satisfaction.

In the same survey, Airports Company South Africa's other airports, King Shaka International, Cape Town International Airport and O.R. Tambo International featured taking second, third and fourth place respectively in the Best Airport by Region (Africa) Category. The first place went to Mauritius' SSR International Airport.

Commitment to service

"The strong performance by our airports in the survey is evidence of our commitment to excellent customer service, which is a central element of our business plan. That is why it is important for us to benchmark our performance against the best airports in the world. This is in line with our strategy to build an efficient and customer-focused business. The survey provides useful data on our customers' perceptions and priorities," says Airports Company South Africa CEO Bongani Maseko.

Yvette Schoeman, Regional Airports general manager at Airports Company South Africa, congratulated Nongo Dibete, manager of the winning airport. "We are especially pleased that Upington International has won this award because of the changes to the profile of passengers using the airport. In particular, we see engineers and other workers using the airport to get to the solar energy and other projects being developed in the Northern Cape. Their positive experiences also enhance the reputation of South Africa as a whole," says Schoeman.

"It is satisfying to note that our efforts to deliver an efficient and seamless traveller experience are paying off. These awards inspire us to work even harder to improve customer experience at all our airports in this fiercely competitive market," says Schoeman.