Edinburgh flies up ratings as Europe’s second best airport
CityJet will increase its number of flights to Edinburgh. Picture: Phil Wilkinson
EDINBURGH Airport has been rated second best in Europe and among the best in the world for customer satisfaction, according to a new independent survey.
The airport’s terminal, services and facilities triumphed over 47 other European airports, beaten only by Malta.
As a result, it has been given its first ever Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Award, a prestigious title which is handed to airports which have received the most positive feedback from passengers who are interviewed while they are waiting to board their flight at the gate.
The annual ASQ Survey is considered the global standard for measuring passenger satisfaction and asks more than 350,000 air travellers in 200 airports worldwide to rate their satisfaction with the airport they are in that day.
Jim O’Sullivan, managing director of Edinburgh Airport, said that the quality ratings were key in maintaining customer service.
“This award is a fantastic validation of the dedication and hard work of the team at Edinburgh Airport,” he said.
“ASQ scores are vital to us in improving our service because they give voice to our passengers. We’re listening to them and I believe that it is paying dividends.”
The awards focus on ten separate factors to measure customer service satisfaction, which in order of importance are: the ambience of the airport, cleanliness of the terminal, comfort of the waiting areas, availability of toilets, cleanliness of toilets, courtesy and helpfulness of the airport staff, business lounges, ease of making connections, passport/ID inspection experience and good shopping facilities.
The award is the second the terminal has received this month, having already been named the UK’s most family friendly airport.
Edinburgh Airport is Scotland’s busiest airport, with more than 40 airlines serving upwards of 100 destinations and some 9.3 million passengers a year pass through the airport – figures which are set to grow as Scotland’s international connections develop.
It is the sixth largest in the UK and employs more than 5,000 people, annually contributing hundreds of millions of pounds to Scotland’s economy
The award comes on the back of news on Monday that the airport’s passenger numbers fell by 4.4 per cent last month compared to January 2011.
It is also up for sale by BAA, with the owner of Gatwick and London City, US-based investment firm Global Infrastructure Partners, emerging as the leading contender to buy it. It is expected to fetch about £700m.
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Comments
There are 36 comments to this article
Page 1 of 3
Canton-eze
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 12:17 AMEdinburgh still has the drab look and feel of a small provincial airport rather than the gateway to an important capital city. Geneva is of similar size and appearance but everything there is smooth and synchronised, and public transport for the short trip to the city centre is flawless. In fairness, and against what at least one poster said, I'd have to say that the transport links at EDI are absolutely fine. But ... polls? Nah. Schiphol, for me, is the tops in Europe. Last recent arrival in EDI the carousel screen was jiggered. End result was that two flight arrivals had to fight for space when this one belt got moving. Supremely lucky, I spotted my bag above the crowd and fought my way through a four-deep melée - and many thanks to the kind man who responded to my "that's my bag!", and grabbed it for me as my trolley with laptop took off sideways behind me. Good man, and thanks again if you read this. That arrival one-quid rip-off still rankles though.
mrbrianmcgrath
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 11:05 PMYou guys should try getting to and from Cardiff Airport and having to spend time there before you moan about Edinburgh. At least Edinburgh has public transport options and to be fair departures has enough in it to keep you occupied for a time. There are at least plenty of security gates to go though. Seriously try sitting in departures in Cardiff. Arriving there is worse...I call it Barry International Cowshed as it looks like a barn and isn't even near Cardiff....You guys honestly don't know how bad it could be.
Scotswoman at heart
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 10:34 PMReally?? When I was there in July for a return flight to the USA by way of Schiphol, it was absolute chaos on the first floor. There were insufficient check-in points, causing many to mill around waiting for one to open. When one finally did open, the lines were ill-defined, and the kiosks had barely working touch screens, adding to the frustration and causing lengthy delays. On a more positive note, once one went upstairs, it was a much more pleasant place. How it ever rated ahead of Schiphol is mind-boggling. Perhaps it was rated against airports of similar size?
Graeme M
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 09:58 PMWell folks after being away for 46 years, I wouldn't mind landing there at all!...In spite of its failings!...Its hard to please everybody though. Ciamar a that thu.....
james(1)
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 07:15 PMEven though they still rip the public off for picking up arrivals? Well you live and learn. £1 for stopping for up to 10 minutes and then it jumps up to £5. Robbing bar stewards
Sally Longlegs
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 04:41 PMThis award seems on par to the best bar none pub awards made to bars in Edinburgh. Another joke. I was outside The Tam o Shanter in Gt Junction Street, one of the award winners when i had to witness the spectacle of one of their drinkers hanging on to a bollard in the street vomiting everywhere and almost falling in front of a no 22 bus. Disgusting. And the award is for only serving people not drunk ! Give me a break. After his episode he staggered back in , no doubt for more drink.
Sally Longlegs
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 04:35 PMmahatmacoat well named you must be living somewhere else and using another airport unless of course you are not the full shilling. Have you used the airport recently? Just read all the other comments.
Sally Longlegs
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 04:31 PMMy goodness can you imagine how bad the rest must be. Last year we were on our way out on holiday when a hysterical woman staff member basically closed the airport for no good reason. We were herded like sheep and were kept in the dark about what was happening. If it was a terrorist incident the polis disappeared when they should have been taking control. Even the special branch officers sloped shoulders. An absolute disgrace. One old chap took ill because of his treatment and he and his family could not go on holiday. Rubbish airport in my opinion.
AuldLochinvar
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 03:11 PMBe fair, folks. "The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul" by Douglas Adams, reminds us that in no known language is there a phrase "beautiful as an airport". The hysteria following the hijacking of September 11 has only made things worse. That hijacking was only 75% effective, counting aircraft. The populace now knows that a hijacking means you might as well fight the villains to the death, so civilian aircraft can no longer become faith-based missiles.
aIasdair
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 03:06 PM#25 - quite so. You'll see, buy the way, that my earlier comment pointing out that only rather odd airport fanboys feel otherwise has been removed. You see, these types prefer to censor dissenting opinion, as the "deflect & deny" approach is their usual tactic...
jalmassi
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 02:44 PMYou must be joking.......!!!!!!!
victor is back
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 01:23 PMI was going to protest at the utterly ludicrous decision to grant an award (any award frankly) to Edinburgh airport but it seems every poster on here, with the exception of one or two wholly deluded individuals, has already done that and quite right too. It is a simply dreadful airport who's list of faults would take me literally all day to go through. Discussion ends.
William Ellis
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 01:17 PMEdinburgh is a nice provincial airport. It does not rate properly as a full international one on the scale of a comaparbly sized conutry like Belgium though. It needs better facilities all round . Frankly to come second to Malta is not something i would have advertised!!
The Airman
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 12:42 PMWhen the current terminal was opened in 1977 the airport was handling less than a million passengers a year. It now handles that in a peak month (=August). It would struggle to manage the load, either arriving or departing, of something like an Emirates A340 flight, never mind a B777. Solutions? One which has been suggested is turning the whole of the southeast pier into an international wing, including checkin and customs. The airport is handling no more in the way of *domestic* passengers than ten years ago, but the current terminal was designed around a small domestic load (at a time when it handled almost no international passengers at all).
MOCO
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 12:25 PMAgree with most comments about the poor level of service, particularly, the time taken to open the doors of aircraft that have landed, baggage retrieval times and queues at immigration. The most ludicruous scene of all is two big machine-gun tottin' Edinburgh "polis", standing guard as a plane-load of local wrinklies just back from a holiday in Tenerife queue up to prove to UK Border Agency jobsworths that they are neither terrorists nor illegal asylum seekers.
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