JKIA, Moi airport ranked best in Africa on customer service

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport JKIA in Nairobi and the Moi International Airport (MIA) in Mombasa have been voted as the winners of the 2021 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards.

MIA was voted as the best airport for under 2 million passengers per year while JKIA was ranked as the best airport for passengers between 5-15 million a year.

Airports Council International (ACI) World director-general Luis Felipe de Oliveira congratulated Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) for its efforts in improving the passenger experience.

“Your customers have spoken and recognised the successful efforts of your team in providing a superior customer experience during these difficult times,” Oliveira said.

British tourists queue up check-in at the Moi International Airport in Mombasa on May 16, 2014. Around 400 British tourists are being evacuated from the Kenyan resort of Mombasa after Britain stepped up travel warnings following a wave of terror attacks, travel agents said on May 16. Special charter flights were organised days after Britain, France, Australia and the United States issued new travel warnings for Kenya's coast following a wave of attacks and unrest linked to Islamist extremists. (Photo credit should read Ivan Lieman/AFP via Getty Images) Pulse Live Kenya

“As the industry recovers, continuing to listen and adapt to travellers will be absolutely crucial to strengthening airports’ competitive advantage, non-aeronautical revenue, and ensuring the sustained recovery of the entire aviation ecosystem,” concluded Oliveira.

KAA managing director Alex Gitari on the other hand said “We are truly delighted that for the second year running, our two main airports have been awarded by ACI for the efforts made in delivering improved customer experience in a safe and secure environment.”

The awards are the result of data collected in 2021 from more than 370,000 surveys. 110 awards have been won by 87 individual airports around the world.

A Kenya Airways plane at JKIA. (the star) Pulse Live Kenya

The categories range from Best Airports by Size (passengers per year) and Region, as well as Best Hygiene Measures by Region, of which there are 46 winners.

The new health and hygiene related questions were added to the survey questionnaire in 2020 to allow airports to better understand the customer response to new health measures related to Covid-19.