Airports Council International (ACI) World recently awarded Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) as the winner of “Best Airport in the Middle East”, and “Most Improved Airport: Middle East”, in its annual Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards for 2016. 

The ASQ Awards recognize airports around the globe that demonstrate a commitment to providing an excellent customer experience and they are given on the basis of passenger surveys that are supervised by ACI. Passengers give their views on a group of services offered to them, as well as rating their satisfaction with these services provided by the airport. The areas reviewed include airport access, check-in, security screening, stores, and restaurants amongst other services. 

Awards are then presented to those airports whose customers have rated them the highest over the course of the year.

Brigadier General Sheikh Mohammed bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Director General of Security and Border Protection for Abu Dhabi Police, attended the recognition event with H.E. Eng. Awaidah Murshed Al Marar, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Airports. Over 150 staff and stakeholders were invited to the celebration at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Abu Dhabi. The attendees watched a short film about the fantastic passenger experience at Abu Dhabi International Airport, after which awards were presented to key entities. Those recognized included: Ports and Airports Security Police, General Directorate of Residence and Foreign Affairs, Abu Dhabi Customs Administration, Etihad Airways, Ministry of Interior-Electronic Borders, Abu Dhabi Airport Traffic Police, General Authority of Ports, Borders and Free Zone Security, Department of Municipal Affairs and Transport, General Civil Aviation Authority, Management of Moral Guidance in the General Command of Armed Forces, Ministry of Foreign Affairs-Protocol, Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, The General Authority for Tourism and Culture, Seha, National Ambulance, TransAd, and various departments at Abu Dhabi Airports,

Abu Dhabi Airports Chairman, H.E. Eng. Awaidah Murshed Al Marar, commented: “These awards are thanks to our dedicated staff and excellent support from our stakeholders. This is a team achievement and we wanted everyone involved in our winning to know how much we appreciate the efforts they go to in order to make our international airport one of the best in the world, with an exceptional passenger experience. 

Our vision is to be the world’s leading airports group and awards such as these move us a step closer to achieving that vision. We are also deeply thankful to our passengers for their appreciation, and for voting for us. This is the best vote of confidence in our services we could have asked for.”

Abu Dhabi Airports was the first airport in the region to join Airports Council International, the trade association of the world’s airports, and winning the two awards of “Best Airport in the Middle East”, and “Most Improved Airport: Middle East” coincides with the tenth anniversary of the company’s membership with the organization.