The Airports Council International (ACI) World’s second edition of the ASQ Global Traveller Survey has revealed that the desire of passengers to travel by air is high despite the pandemic.
The 2021 ASQ Global Traveller Survey provides an updated perspective on the speed of return to air travel, as well as key insights and guidance to assist airports and other related stakeholders in evolving their customer experience strategies and maintaining their competitive advantages.
According to the survey, 48 percent of respondents have traveled since the pandemic began. The survey suggests that respondents who have traveled during the pandemic are more likely to travel by air again sooner and more frequently. These observations highlight that “on returning to air travel, the journey feels safe and secure.”
Luis Felipe de Oliveira Director General ACI World
“COVID-19 has caused substantial changes in human behavior and provoked a whole new set of expectations affecting how products and services should be delivered and experienced, and the airport sector is no exception. While this dramatic shift presents a major challenge to airport customer experience teams who must meet and exceed a diverse range of new traveler expectations, it also opens new opportunities to improve overall levels of satisfaction. A key part of this endeavor to build passenger confidence is government support. ACI continues to call on governments to take action to implement risk-based, pragmatic approaches, such as mutual recognition of vaccines and interoperable solutions for proof of health status.”
The research’s second new segmentation was based on travelers’ vaccination status, which revealed polarizing results. Even though all respondents are equally interested in traveling by air again, the vaccinated respondents, although protected by the vaccine, retain concerns about their safety when traveling and want clear reassurance that the airport environment is safe.
Such findings emphasize the importance and relevance of the ACI Airport Health Accreditation program, which helps airports analyze how well their health measures align with global standards while also increasing passenger confidence.
The report offers both a global perspective as well as regional insights. Furthermore, the guidelines include regional dashboards that illustrate some of the major considerations that should be made when creating a customer experience strategic plan for a specific airport.
