While Pune International Airport (PIA) improved its ranking from 76th in Quarter 3 (Q3) to 67th in Quarter 4 (Q4) in the Global Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey last year, flyers remained dissatisfied with the cleanliness of washrooms and staff behavior at the airport. Pune Airport’s service quality has been consistently improving every quarter. In the last quarter of 2024 (October to December), its ASQ rating increased from 4.84 to 4.91, compared to the previous quarter (July to September). This growth has helped PIA climb the global rankings for passenger satisfaction. Based on 31 parameters, including cleanliness, waiting time, parking arrangements, and other factors, Pune Airport has achieved excellence ratings in most of them, as set by the Airports Council International (ACI). According to ACI’s MoU, the target for an excellent rating in 2019-20 was set at 4.68 on a five-point scale. However, seven key parameters have declined, including staff courtesy and helpfulness during check-ins and screenings, shopping experiences, and the cleanliness of washrooms and toilets. Pune Airport Director, Santosh Dhoke, stated that the airport has performed excellently on these scales and assured that more facilities will be enhanced in the future. Regarding the declining parameters, he remarked that even if the ratings improved further, individual complaints would still arise. “These are individual narratives, and we cannot do anything about them,” he said. “The global average ASQ rating for this quarter is 4.32, whereas Pune Airport has 4.91, indicating a much better performance than the global standard,” Dhoke added. Dhoke also mentioned that the survey is conducted by companies from Canada to assess global standards at Pune Airport. “It is a proud moment for Punekars as we are providing world-class services. We have reduced congestion through various initiatives like buses and multilevel parking. With these measures, people no longer face issues near the gate areas,” he said. However, one of the declining seven parameters has received negative feedback, leaving passengers disappointed with the comfort of waiting at the gate areas.
