Think for a moment about the image of airports for many passengers, excitement, glamour, far away destinations; indeed, holiday passengers often say that the holiday starts at the airport. Is this the reality offered by Nigerian airports? Often the reality is long waits, long walks, nowhere to sit and little to do. Not a perfect recipe for delighted passengers.

It is not uncommon to hear Nigerians and foreigners using facilities at the various Nigerian airports complaining about operators, service providers, handling companies as well as concessioners among others.

Most of the complaints bordered on poor services delivery. It is in Nigerian airports you see airlines delaying flights without any explanation, it is here you find passengers baggage misplaced and no compensation.

The stakeholders in the industry here in Nigeria operate as if they are insulated from international benchmark.

It is the wishes of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to enable the country’s airports grow beyond today, by reinventing a new set of service excellence rules.

This is why plans are being put together to make the country’s airports passengers friendly , because all over the world every airport has a brand and the esteem  in which they are held when  people think about  their names.

To this end, an airport Customer Satisfaction Survey is about to be launched in the country.

This passenger survey lets travellers demonstrate their levels of Customer Satisfaction for all airports across the Nigeria.

The survey results   will be used to compile an annual Airport Customer Satisfaction index, and also form part of the airport Passenger’s Choice Awards that will be respected as the leading passenger market research study.

Disclosing this in Lagos weekend, the Managing Director, Karamba Media Solution, Dr. Daniel Young said they are set to organize a workshop on benchmarking service delivery standards   for all airlines, airport personnel and other stakeholders as a way of maintain and sustaining international standards.

He said the courses that will taken at the workshop will “stress  the importance of getting senior and mid-management committed to implementing a culture of customer service excellence to be communicated to all employees across the organization.”

Young explained that the workshop will be a highly interactive one where participants will be encouraged to share their views, exchange ideas and partake in discussions.”

He added “the main thrust of this program is to put in to sharp focus the vision of an ideal passenger service experience for all different categories of passengers at the airport through better understanding of their respective needs and the adoption of passenger’s service excellence values at all levels as upheld by international bodies.

While explaining that most of the local airlines have keyed into the program, he said most international airlines are still not interested as it seems they enjoy the chaotic situation things are in the country’s airports today.