Airports need to take a leaf out of hospitality’s book
Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, urges airports to work together to ensure they are a place passengers enjoy rather than endure.
Speaking at this year’s Airports Council International (ACI) World Customer Experience summit being held in Atlanta, Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, urged airports and their stakeholders to work together to ensure they are a place passengers enjoy rather than endure.
Under the theme: ‘The Airport and Beyond: All for the Travel Journey’, this year’s ACI World Customer Experience Summit & Exhibition, hosted by the world’s busiest airport – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) has brought together more than 600 international delegates from more than 65 countries.
Paul Griffiths delivered a keynote speech referencing the One DXB initiative, which is designed to foster alignment among all stakeholders within the airport community. He said airports are often the necessary evil for travellers who are often subjected to commands such as: “Take out your liquids. Take out your laptops. Take off your shoes.” Airports he said, need to be a place that passengers “enjoy, rather than endure.”
The summit has focused on improving the passenger experience and the role of seamless interactions across every touchpoint in shaping superior customer experiences. It has also hosted the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards, which recognise excellence in customer experience worldwide based on data from ASQ’s Departures and Arrivals surveys.
Also speaking at the summit, ACI World’s new Director General, Justin Erbacci (who took up the helm at the airport trade body in September) said: “Customer experience stems from how the entire airport community interacts and collaborates. Every stakeholder plays a crucial role and the real key lies in how we integrate these individual touchpoints.”
Recalling this year’s summit theme, he added: “In essence, the customer experience should be more than just the sum of its parts – it must deliver value and hold real meaning as a whole.”
Commenting on its own customer service offering as the world’s busiest aiprot with 105 million passengers in 2023, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s interim general manager, Jan Lennon, said: “Exceptional customer service is the cornerstone of our mission. At ATL, we are uniquely positioned to spearhead discussions on how airports can adapt and innovate to meet the dynamic needs of our customers and the evolving aviation landscape.”
