By: Adele Nkomo is the Acting Senior Manager for Corporate Communications at Airports Company South Africa (ACSA)
In the fiercely competitive global aviation landscape, an airport transcends its traditional definition of a collection of runways and terminals. It is, in essence, the first impression a nation makes and the last one when the visitor departs. It is a nerve centre of commerce and tourism, and most importantly, both a key driver and indicator of the country’s customer service excellence.
For Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), this understanding forms the cornerstone of our strategic vision. Customer centricity is not just a slogan; it continues to guide and define our decisions, direction, and delivery.
At its core, customer centricity is a fundamental mindset that demands us to take the punches from the feedback we get and, in turn, celebrate the wins we get. It places the traveller at the centre of every decision to ensure that every touchpoint within the travel value chain is built around their needs, preferences, and their cognitive and emotional expectations.
In aviation, customer centricity is even more magnified. A single delay, a trolley out of line, a confusing terminal layout, or an inefficient check-in counter can impact the travel experience of an entire journey. Conversely, a seamless, intuitive, and thoughtful airport experience can equally transform the travel experience.
So, for us at ACSA, investments in creating memorable and stress-free experiences are not seen as operational costs. They are strategic growth levers to enable and improve customer experiences throughout the journey.
Our 2025/26 Corporate Plan outlines an ambitious path forward for ACSA. It aims to solidify our role as a regional and global aviation leader. The plan seeks to drive our operations, fuel innovation, and shape our aspirations. Our goals are to deliver exceptional travel experiences and uphold the highest standards of service quality across our extensive network of nine airports, including three international gateways across three provinces of the country.
The consistent accolades we receive from prestigious bodies like Skytrax and Airports Council International (ACI), across categories such as On-Time Performance (OTP), service excellence, passenger experience, and operational efficiency, are more than symbolic. They are evidence of our relentless commitment to prioritising the customer at every level.
From Cape Town International Airport’s decade-long reign as Best Airport in Africa to King Shaka International’s recognition as Best Regional Airport, and the numerous ASQ awards received by our international and regional hubs, these honours continue to highlight the importance of seamless, efficient, and positive airport experiences that make the travel journey a little more pleasurable for travellers, airlines, and the broader tourism and trade sectors that rely on our connectivity.
Our investments in digital transformation, including automated check-in systems, self-service kiosks, and other advanced technologies, are strategically aimed at optimising airport operations, improving the overall travel experience and reducing levels of friction for travellers. Our goal is to improve the overall traveller experience by, among other things, shorter queues, improved passenger flow, and giving travellers a voice in shaping and sharing their airport experiences.
Grounded on what matters
While substantial investments have been made to enhance technology across our airport network, we recognise that technology alone will not create an exceptional travel experience. True customer centricity will be measured by how we receive, interpret, and act on feedback. It requires continuous and, at times, deep dialogue with the people and partners who shape the airport ecosystem: travellers, airlines, safety and security agencies, concessionaires, border control, tourism stakeholders, and surrounding communities, among others.
Our stakeholder engagement model ensures that customer experience is co-created, not imposed. Through robust consultation, feedback loops, and collaborative frameworks, we continue to maintain alignment between evolving stakeholder needs and ACSA’s service delivery. Global tools such as ACI’s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey and the Net Promoter Score (NPS), for example, enable us to generate actionable insights that are central to our continuous improvement philosophy.
Operational excellence remains non-negotiable; therefore, honest feedback remains at the core of the work that we do. We measure what matters to travellers and all airport users, from passenger wait times and baggage handling to terminal cleanliness, among others.
We aim to ensure that acceptability, affordability, accessibility, and awareness remain solid in our approach to engaging with all stakeholders across the aviation and travel value chain.
We recognise that our success is intrinsically tied to the satisfaction of the communities around us, the travellers, airline partners, government agencies, service providers, safety and security partners, and crucially, our surrounding airport communities. And so, we welcome all feedback because we know it can only enable us to be a country that welcomes every traveller.
