Bahrain airport trails behind Middle East biggies

Bahrain International Airport (BIA) was edged out by some of the top airports in the region in the annual Airport Service Quality Awards (ASQ) prepared by Airports Council International (ACI).

Bahrain trailed behind Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE in this year’s edition of ASQ, which is a global bench-marking programme that measures passenger satisfaction.

Its index ranked Jordan’s Queen Alia International Airport as number one in the Middle East while Qatar’s Hamad International Airport and the UAE’s Abu Dhabi International shared second place.

Saudi Arabia’s Dammam Airport and the UAE’s Dubai International Airport were third. Bahrain and Oman airports were also among the 10 airports analysed, but falling outside the top five meant they were not ranked.

 ACI claims that the airports industry is evolving at a rapid rate and that the ASQ aims to give new insights into the industry.

“Competition among airports has reached new heights as structural and ownership changes bring new stakeholders and business models into the industry. In this fast-changing landscape, ASQ is the key to understanding how to increase passenger satisfaction and improve business performance,” ACI stated. 

“ASQ research is in place in airports that serve over half the world’s 6.6 billion annual passengers and provides unique data indicating how passengers rate airport’s services, how airports compare to others, etc,” it added.

However, ASQ came under criticism from a few travellers who argued that the Bahraini airport offers superior quality, thanks to its efficiency and convenience.

“I think what is most important in an airport is how efficient it is, and I am surprised that Bahrain did not win” said Sameer Qader, a traveller.

“While I think the Dubai airport is beautiful and the most advanced in the Middle East, I do not believe that it is the best when it comes to convenience. Bahrain airport, on the other hand, is easy to come in and go out,” said Malaysian traveller Harris Firdouz.