Seoul’s Gimpo International Airport inducted with distinction into ACI’s Director General’s Roll of Excellence

Montréal, 20 May 2015 – Airports Council International (ACI) World is pleased to announce that Seoul’s Gimpo International Airport has been inducted with distinction into the 2015 Director General’s Roll of Excellence. The airport achieved the number one position in the 15–25 million passengers category in the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) passenger satisfaction survey for five consecutive years.

The induction ceremony will take place on Tuesday, 1 September 2015 in Panama City, Panama during the Gala Dinner of the ACI Latin America-Caribbean/World Annual General Assembly, Conference and Exhibition. Indianapolis International Airport, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport, all of whom placed in the top five in their respective categories for five consecutive years—will also be honoured at the event.

“I believe the great achievement at Gimpo Airport can be attributed to the wonderfully concerted effort among all the players, including airlines, ground handlers, government agencies and the airport operator,” commented Dr. Seokki Kim, President and CEO of Korea Airports Corporation, operator of Gimpo International Airport. “I would like to thank all the partners for sparing no effort in making the airport faster, more convenient and more passenger-oriented.

“As part of our effort to take a leap forward in quality service, we have recently initiated new projects such as the ‘culture-port project’ and the ‘barrier-free airport,’” Dr. Kim continued. “We will focus in the coming years on offering airport users rich cultural experiences during their stay at Gimpo Airport. Plus, the airport will be redesigned to be barrier-free to better take care of people with special needs.

“I would like to thank all the passengers for recognizing Gimpo Airport for five consecutive years,” Dr. Kim concluded. “We also thank ACI for greatly encouraging airports to enhance passenger experiences by organizing the ASQ programme.”

“ACI World commends Gimpo International Airport and Korea Airports Corporation for going above and beyond in its quest to better serve passengers,” said Angela Gittens, Director General, ACI World. “The worldwide community of airports is, at bottom, a business of people serving people. It is refreshing to see airports like Gimpo—and indeed all of our Roll of Excellence inductees—implementing initiatives rooted in improving the travel experience for passengers.”

Notes for editors

1.  Airports Council International (ACI), the only worldwide association of airports, has 590 member airport authorities, which operate 1,850 airports in 173 countries. ACI’s mission is to promote professional excellence in airport management and operations, and this mandate is carried out through the organization’s multiple training opportunities, as well as the Airport Service Quality customer service benchmarking programme, a wide range of conferences, industry statistical products and best practice publications.

2. The ASQ Survey covers 34 key service areas and includes eight major categories such as access, check-in, security, airport facilities, food and beverage, retail and more. All participating airports use the same survey questions, creating an industry standard set of responses that allows participants to track and analyze their performance, as well as benchmark results against airports across the globe. All participating airports can view the ASQ survey results of all other participating airports on a confidential basis.

Benchmarking allows participants to compare their airport’s performance against industry best practices. Through the use of key performance indicators, participants see where their airport under—and over—performs; where improvements are required; and where investment is most likely to deliver the biggest return.

Benchmarking offers a broad range of benefits, allowing participants to:

•          get an independent perspective on performance;
•          identify areas of opportunity;
•          understand passengers’ needs, priorities and expectations;
•          prioritize improvement opportunities;
•          set and monitor performance expectations; and
•          manage change effectively.

For more information about ASQ, please visit https://aci.aero/Airport-Service-Quality/ASQ-Home. To view details of the 2014 ASQ winners, please visit https://aci.aero/Airport-Service-Quality/ASQ-Awards/Current-Winners.

3. The 2015 Director General’s Roll of Excellence induction ceremony will take place on Tuesday, 1 September 2015 in Panama City, Panama during the Gala Dinner of the ACI Latin America-Caribbean/World Annual General Assembly, Conference and Exhibition.

4. For a pdf version of this media release, please click here.

Media contacts

Martine Ohayon
Director, Communications and Events
ACI World
Telephone: +1 514 373 1200
Email: mohayon@aci.aero

Ryan White
Manager, Communications
ACI World
Telephone: +1 514 373 1226
Email: rwhite@aci.aero