Over the years there has always been a difference of opinion as to how best to solve the problems that face air passengers at the Kingdom's busy domestic and international airports. In order to get a clearer picture of the situation, Okaz Arabic daily, sister publication of Saudi Gazette, issued a detailed questionnaire to find out how passengers view the quality of the service provided at the Kingdom's airports and what improvements they would like to see being made. Satisfactory services The poll showed that 31 percent of air passengers are completely satisfied with the quality of the Kingdom's airports and with the services they render. Some even went further and described the services as excellent. At the same time, 46 percent of respondents expressed their dissatisfaction with the quality of airport services, describing them as substandard and inferior and not in keeping with the international status of the Kingdom, while 22 percent felt that airport services were severely below par saying, “Most of the Kingdom's airports need a facelift to match the quantum leap made by the Kingdom in all aspects of development.” Delays in flights The majority of the people who participated in the poll commended the airports' architectural styles pointing out that they are spacious and secure besides having ample room for parking. However, questions were raised about the quality of services, particularly in the areas of cleanliness and maintenance, attributing these shortcomings to the low standards and relative lack of experience of the airport maintenance companies. Poll respondents also expressed their discontent with the behavior of airport staff whom they cited as displaying a lack of professional training in their dealing with passengers. The repeated failure of airport computer systems and slowness of staff in serving passengers at check-in counters was felt to explain the occurrence of long queues at airports regardless of the time of year. A large number of people also complained about the drastic shortage of public telephone booths and the fact that even if booths are available, there is no place to get prepaid telephone cards. Added to this, it was felt that there was an insufficient number of mosques and banks at the Kingdom's airports. Poll respondents also stressed the need for creating special check-in areas for elderly and disabled passengers as well as setting up more information centers manned by trained bilingual staff. Additionally, they suggested the construction of recreational facilities for children and closed-door terminals for women. High prices …. Lack of monitoring Evaluating the quality of the small shops and cafeterias at the Kingdom's airports, 59 percent of those who completed the questionnaire expressed their dissatisfaction saying that the prices of the snacks and beverages they serve were too high and that the location of these service centers spoil the general appearance of the airports as compared to similar shops and cafés at airports in other countries. Additionally, it was felt that the poor standard of cleanliness of these shops and cafes and the lack of supervision meant that workers had a free hand to tamper with prices and exploit passengers. The majority of respondents hoped that the authorities concerned would think about designing airports which resembled those in Malaysia and Singapore, while some others stressed the need to preserve the Islamic architectural style at airports to reflect the country's Islamic identity. They also stressed the need for the creation of information centers at airports to enable arriving passengers to orient themselves to the city that they are visiting. Poll respondents also stressed the need for increasing the number of seats at airports to accommodate the large number of passengers besides constructing automatic walkways for elderly and disabled passengers. Further suggestions included the need for carefully monitoring the porters at the airport who manipulate the luggage trolleys; providing free Internet service to passengers; erecting huge entertainment screens at the terminals and building walkways leading directly to the planes instead of using buses to convey passengers. Best Airports Over 60 percent of those who completed the questionnaire selected King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh as the best airport in the Kingdom. King Fahd International Airport in Dammam was second with 27 percent and the third and last was King Abdul Aziz Airport in Jeddah with 11 percent. Dubai Airport garnered the highest number of votes as the world's best international airport. Kuala Lumpur Airport ranked second, followed by London's Heathrow, Hong Kong, Berlin and Kuwait.
