Sheremetyevo International Airport has been recognized for the best customer service in the busiest airports in Europe category (i.e. airports that serve more than 40 mln passengers per annum) by ACI's global Airport Service Quality (ASQ) program for 2018. The ASQ Awards ceremony will be held in September in Bali, Indonesia, as part of the second Global Summit of the Airport Council International (ACI).
Since 2012, Sheremetyevo has repeatedly come on top among all airports in Europe in terms of customer service. 2018 saw Sheremetyevo enter the list of the world's best airports — ACI Director General's Roll of Excellence. This prestigious list features airports that have been ranked the best in the ACI's ASQ customer service quality ratings at least five times within the last 10 years.
"The award for best customer service at airports is an acknowledgement of success in this field and the highest award for airport operators worldwide. In traditional and new categories alike, these airports respond promptly to the evolving needs of passengers to provide an unrivaled level of service," commented Angela Gittens, Director General of ACI World.
Mikhail Vasilenko, General Director of Sheremetyevo International Airport JSC, said: "Our top ranking in Europe stands as proof that we assign top priority to quality passenger service. This is the cornerstone of our strategy for long-term development, increasing passenger traffic capacity and improving key performance indicators. The thousands of people employed by Sheremetyevo attach special significance to the fact that this recognition of our work by the Airport Council International falls on the year of the 60th anniversary of our company".
Sheremetyevo International Airport is the largest in Russia in terms of passenger and cargo traffic, the number of takeoffs and landings, the area of the airport complex and the cargo facilities' capacity. Sheremetyevo serves over 220 routes. In 2018, the Sheremetyevo airport served 45 million 836 thousand passengers, which amounted to year-by-year growth of 14.3%.
The British research company OAG ranked Sheremetyevo as the 2018 world leader in punctuality among airports with 20 to 30 million departing passengers per annum. 87% of all flights from Sheremetyevo were on time, which is the highest number for all airports within this category.
The ACI's ASQ program recognized Sheremetyevo International Airport as the best in Europe in terms of customer service in 2012 and 2013. In 2014, Sheremetyevo once again ranked strongly on 2nd place, and 2015 saw it back on the top. In 2016 and 2017, Sheremetyevo was named the best in Europe among airports with passenger traffic of 25 to 40 million per year. In 2018, Sheremetyevo made it to the list of the world's best airports according to the Airport Council International, the ACI Director General's Roll of Excellence. 2018 saw Sheremetyevo top the ranking for customer service among the largest airports in Europe whose passenger traffic exceeded 40 million per year.
The ACI's ASQ program is the only international initiative that surveys passengers at airports on the day of their flight. About 640,000 individual surveys are conducted in 91 countries yearly within the framework of this program. The surveys cover 34 major metrics of customer service, involving airport accessibility, check-in and screening, restrooms, locker rooms and catering service. The survey at each airport is conducted via centralized software that feeds data to an industry-wide database and enables ACI to compare airports. Airports are ranked within several categories, depending on their scale and location.