KLIA Wins 2006 World Best Airport Award

Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) notched another mark in its success story when its flagship airport, the KL International Airport (KLIA), once again reaffirmed its ranking as the World's Best Airport in the 15-25 million passengers per annum category for the Airport Council International's Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards 2006.

San Diego Airport in the United States and Zurich Airport in Switzerland were placed second and third in the category.

The award presentation was held here last night in conjunction with the two-day Airport Council International (ACI) Airport Business and Trinity Forum hosted by the Dubai International Airport, which kicks off today.

MAHB managing Director Datuk Seri Bashir Ahmad said the award was very important because it was given by the ACI's survey on airport services and infrastructure which gave passengers full satisfaction.

"We are very pleased to receive this award today, I think it is really rewarding for us and we hope to do better next year as the category and other airports will be more competitive and challenging for us," he told reporters after receiving the award.

He said the wi fi services had contributed the most to KLIA's success as it was the first airport in the world to provide the service without any charges.

The KLIA also maintained its third place in both the Best Airport Worldwide and Best Airport in Asia/Pacific categories, behind leader Incheon Airport, Korea, and Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok Airport while Singapore's Changi Airport was fourth.

When asked about KLIA being placed ahead of Changi Airport, Bashir said: "This is a very nice feeling. As you all know, we are always compared to Changi Airport in Singapore and it's nice to know that we have done very well this particular year and hope to continue to progress."

He said it is not just about the airport infrastructure but the quality of the service provided was more vital to please the passengers and winning the award had proven this. "There are 28 features in the ACI ASQ survey and we had to monitor each feature to ensure that we will not slip behind and to ensure that we had given the good services. We will continue upgrading our services and facilities to meet the increasing demands of our passengers," he said.

ASQ is a survey conducted by the ACI by benchmarking airports performance on service quality, facilities and passengers feedback in several categories, namely Regional Awards, Size/Domestic Awards and Special Awards. A total of 81 airports worldwide participated in the ASQ Survey 2006.

KLIA first participated in the survey in 2002 and has won the award for the same category since 2005. (Bernama)
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