The Airports Council International (ACI) has awarded El Hierro airport the award as “Best Airport in Europe” in the category of facilities with less than two million passengers, along with the mention “Airport with the Most Dedicated Staff in Europe”.
The infrastructure of the island of El Hierro, which was awarded in 2019 and 2021 by ACI as the best airport in Europe in its category for the quality of its service, has now been recognised again for its management throughout 2022.
In addition, it has won the award in a newly created category which, under the name of “Airport with the Most Dedicated Staff in Europe”, recognises the dedication, friendliness and courtesy of its staff, explained AENA.
The director of El Hierro airport, Óscar González Betancort, has indicated that this award “is a reflection of the daily effort and dedication of our staff to provide the best possible service to passengers”. An international recognition which, he says, “encourages us to continue in this line of professionalism, based on our commitment to always offer excellence”.
In this regard, he recalled that the El Hierro airport was also recognised by the Airports Council International for the “Best Hygiene Measures” in Europe, an award obtained for the health measures implemented by AENA throughout the airport network during the Covid-19 pandemic.
These awards given by ACI are part of the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Programme, a global benchmarking scheme in the airport industry, which allows the service offered by each airport to be tested and compared with infrastructures of a similar size in the rest of the world.
The awards are based on the results of the ASQ surveys, which are carried out within this programme to measure passengers’ perception of service quality through questionnaires in which they rate their experience at airports in relation to aspects such as access, facilities, staff friendliness, security and waiting time at the security checkpoint. All participating airports use exactly the same methodology.
ACI was set up in 1991 to promote collaboration between airports and other partners in the aviation world, such as IATA (International Air Transport Association), or CANSO (International Air Navigation Service Providers Organisation), with the aim of contributing to the development of a safe, efficient and environmentally friendly air transport system. It currently has 712 members, operating 1,925 airports in 171 countries.
