Korea Herald correspondent

KRAKOW, Poland-- Incheon Airport has become the world’s first airport to be granted level 5 Customer Experience Accreditation by the Airports Council International on Wednesday, in recognition of its customer service and systematic operations to cope with increased travel demand in the post-pandemic era.

This is the first time that the ACI has granted the highest level since Customer Experience Accreditation began in April 2019 to evaluate world airports’ customer experience management and service innovations.

Customer Experience Accreditation focuses on a general evaluation of customer comprehension, strategic approach, satisfaction measurement, operation improvement, governance, airport culture, service design, and cooperation with related institutions.

Sixty airports around the world are subject to such evaluation by the ACI.

“Now, the airport is not just a space where aircraft land and take off. I think Incheon Airport is a place where people meet people and where something extraordinary takes place," said Kim Kyung-wook, president and CEO of IIAC during an interview with reporters at the ACI CX Global Summit held in Krakow, Poland. "I will transform Incheon Airport into somewhere with exceptional experiences, beyond a simple gateway."

In this year’s evaluation, Incheon Airport was recognized for an outstanding understanding of customers, preemptive move to improve customer experience, and efforts to communicate and cooperate with diverse organizations systematically, according to officials.

That includes operating a special committee that consists of 12 different institutions to focus on service improvement, they added.

Through such channels, the airport has built a foundation of broad cooperation across many airports to provide practical and outstanding customer experience in time for the post-pandemic era, says IIAC.

According to the ACI, Incheon Airport was also the first airport in the Asia-Pacific region to receive the ACI Airport Health Accreditation after the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Through this level 5 Customer Experience Accreditation, I was able to learn how Incheon Airport is applying the important principle of customer-centeredness in the constantly changing airport industry. I look forward to Incheon Airport playing a role as our partner in strengthening the competitiveness of global airport services,” said Luis Felipe de Oliveira, director general of ACI.

According to the IIAC, Incheon Airport plans to work on establishing a service standard for the global airport industry by cooperating closely with the ACI in developing customer experience education programs.

(yoohong@heraldcorp.com)