For a second year in a row Skopje's Alexander The Great Airport has been named the best airport in Europe handling under two million passengers according to Airports Council International (ACI). As the industry’s most comprehensive customer service benchmarking tool, the ACI survey captures passengers’ immediate assessment from check in through departure at the gate at more than 285 airports. These awards represent passengers’ views on 34 key service indicators and are an objective and accurate indicator of the top worldwide performing airports. The awards are presented in four categories that include: best airport by region, best airport by size, best small airport and best improvement.
Skopje Alexander the Great Airport is the only in the former Yugoslavia to win or be shortlisted for an award this year. In the past, within the former Yugoslavia, Sarajevo, Dubrovnik and Pristina have received ACI awards in the same category. Meanwhile, Moscow Sheremetyevo was named Europe’s best airport, ahead of Zurich, Porto, Keflavik and Malta. Gothenburg was the continent’s biggest improvement on last year. “As airports face the increasingly competitive and demanding aviation market, it is crucial to keep a focus on meeting and exceeding passenger expectations. Airport managers need factual intelligence to guide their efforts and optimize their investments. The ACI Survey is a tool that provides data that enables airports to identify what their passengers value most and what the airport community needs to do to achieve excellence in customer service”, Angela Gittens, Director General at ACI World said.
Skopje Airport opened its brand new terminal in September 2011. It is managed by the Turkish TAV group. In 2013 Macedonia’s busiest airport saw impressive passenger growth of 18.8%. While the airport did see its numbers slump this January, it expects to return to strong growth later this year with Wizz Air to base a second aircraft in the city in spring and launch several new routes. Furthermore, Alitalia will launch flights from Rome.
