Customer Experience of Airport Passengers in Asia - Pre and Post-COVID

1. Food & Beverages

Until recently, a hurried cup of beverage and a cold sandwich on their way to the boarding gate was quite normal. But nowadays, a new generation of passengers wish to begin their travel experience even before they get on the plane – and food and beverages form a key element of this wonderful experience.  Passengers are looking forward to a great selection of restaurants at affordable prices. 

As per the sub-drivers extracted from passengers’ conversations, passengers experience a great customer experience when they get a wide choice of food options in food courts. They want to see multi-cuisine restaurants, vegetarian restaurants – all with great variety and reasonable prices.

As more passengers are getting comfortable with eating out at an airport, the expectations of their dining experience have increased. This is forcing airports to upgrade their food and beverages offerings.

2. Faster Boarding Process

Long lines are not new in airports. Over the last decade, things have gotten worse due to heightened security checks, increased passengers, and an increase in flights – but not much space to increase infrastructure.

No matter how carefully a passenger has planned business trips or vacations, a bottleneck cannot be predicted. A passenger might be stuck in long queues at entry gates, boarding passes, security control, and immigration before boarding the aircraft.

The below sub-drivers highlight the areas where passengers spend most of their time – waiting for passport clearance, security checks, and near boarding gates. 

Passengers prefer that international airports have reduced waiting time by implementing self-check-in options, lounges to wait, self-service bag drop options, and priority boarding options. All of this will reduce the waiting time and the frustration attached to waiting thereby improving the customer experience. 

3. Friendly Staff

It is often noticed that the experience a passenger has with an airport is directly proportional to the experience with the airport staff. In order to enhance customer experience, it is important for airport staff to provide friendly, professional, and good service.  

When you look at the sub-driver below, you know that passengers lay a huge emphasis on having friendly airport staff who are professional and skillful. They want to be greeted and treated with a lovely smile.  

Passengers are quick to appreciate the help they received from airport staff – “one of the best international airport staff are willing to help you go through the transfer process,” says a passenger. 

Airport staff should manage all processes and ensure the smooth functioning of the airport to create a stress-free environment for passengers. 

4. Duty-Free Shopping

Duty-free shopping is one of the top drivers in airports in Asia. Passengers want to enjoy duty-free shopping after the stressful ordeal of getting through airport security. 

When passengers have crossed all security checks and dropped their baggage, the only thing on their mind is to browse through a duty-free shop that offers a vast variety at the best prices.

But most passengers feel that duty-free goods are expensive. 

1. Security Screening 

Post-COVID, security screening is coming up as the top driver for airports in Asia. 

It has become crucial to adapt security screening to suit new circumstances without compromising the overall security of the system.

Passengers feel the need for security inspection personnel to wear disposable gloves, surgical masks, uniform caps or disposable medical caps, goggles, and protective suits. 

The sub-drivers clearly bring out the passengers’ voices asking for easy security checks and avoiding unnecessary checks and long queues. 

Airports should allow passengers to wear gloves and masks for safety. They should reduce hand searches and minimize surface touches to a great extent.

Overall, airports have to follow the guidance regarding airport security screening so that they can safeguard airport passengers from COVID while still preserving security measures.

2. Social Distancing

Now everyone understands that the only way to break the chain of contagion is by way of social distancing. No wonder it is coming up as an important driver, even for airports.

As flights are getting ready to resume operations, airports have to gear up to ensure minimum contact between passengers, airport staff, and crew members. The basic social distancing guidelines as set up by the governments are to be followed by everyone.

The sub-drivers of social distancing clearly indicate that passengers are asking for more counters to avoid long queues and waiting time while maintaining social distancing. 

Passengers are hoping that airports take additional precautions to create extra space during boarding, seating, terminals, food and beverage outlets, shopping areas, and restrooms.

3. Staff Behavior

Airport staff has to don a variety of roles while serving thousands of passengers in a busy airport and play a key role in creating this unified passengers journey. Regardless of whether passengers had a bad day with delay or disruption to their flights, or they had a smooth journey, airport staff played a significant role in dealing with the passengers. 

Passengers expect airport staff to provide reliable and accurate services. Airport staff who have professional knowledge of airport services and those staff who behave kindly and courteously have a higher likelihood to win the customers’ trust and confidence.

A happy passenger says, “The airport staff is also amazing helping people out with whatever they want.”

Smiling airport staff everywhere! That is all that passengers need to have a memorable experience.

4. Shops and Restaurants

Airports are expected to have a lot of facilities for passengers to enjoy a huge terminal – ranging from duty-free shops to world-class lounges and food courts. Passengers enjoy the restaurants and food courts that are easily accessible on every floor. 

Passengers love it when they have duty-free shops that offer a variety of products at reasonable prices.

We can note that one passenger says, “Great airport and one of my favorites ..great duty-free shops, food outlets, and other facilities.”

When passengers have nothing to do except wait for their next flight, the least they expect is to take a nice walk around the terminal and explore shops and food courts.

5. Health Protection & Hygiene

The world is witnessing the deadliest crisis of the 21st century. Airports that are known to ferry thousands of passengers daily, unwittingly have become the gateway for this contagion.

Hence, passengers expect airports to play a major role in health protection and hygiene during this current pandemic spread.

Passengers demand, “Changi airport  need  to  think  about the public  health  instead  of inviting  to  come  there  tell  it  not  safe  to visit  at  present  for  risk  of  getting the virus.”

The conversations reflect the state of mind of the passengers. They demand more cleanliness, additional screening, and medical advancements. Passengers want to see flights are disinfected, airports are cleaned more often, and sanitizers are made available. 

Passengers demand hand sanitizer dispensers & antibacterial wipe dispensers liberally located throughout the airport. 

Their biggest worry is about traveling with infected people or confirmed cases on the flight. Airports have to address this concern as the aviation industry’s future depends heavily on the health and screening of passengers.

“The airport is large, too large, friendly staff, there are instructions but still not effective, making it difficult for passengers like me to find the way.”

“Especially the duty-free is a fantastic place to shop with so many varieties.”

“It is inconvenient that there are no shops near the entrance gate.”

“Fast security, lots of shops, easy to navigate, beautiful and very clean, so no complaints.”

“Terminal 2 for budget airlines – too crowded, no nice place to rest, facilities are not clean, no sockets available.”

“What happened to #SocialDistancing They’re too close.”

“Reach out the airport at least 2 hours before the departures as sometimes the crowd of passengers is too much that takes hell lot of time in security and check-in.”

“The signage could be a bit more user-friendly, and the security checks could be done once only instead of having to go through the procedure twice for some reason.”

Asia Airport Industry – Future Trends

• COVID-19 pandemic is creating demand for facial recognition which will eliminate human interference.

• Thermal scanners and infrared scanners for passenger screening will become a norm in all airports.

• Demand for thermal imaging cameras to detect fevers from a long distance will soar up amidst the social distancing and quarantine measures.

• Opportunities emerge for innovative technology companies to manufacture smart biometric solutions, thermal imaging, and fever detection scanners

Summary

Insights from passenger conversations pre and post-COVID clearly show the difference in the way people are thinking about airports. While in pre-COVID emphasis was higher on airport security and screening, aesthetics, airport staff, and car parking, post-COVID it has shifted completely towards health and protection.

Emerging from nationwide lockdowns, airport passengers will be more alert about health protection and therefore increase their demands on social distancing and safety precautions.

Airports will have to gear up to provide the best customer experience that satisfies rigorous health and safety checks that can rebuild trust for passengers.