Airport Service Quality and Passenger Experience
Summary
Airport service quality encompasses the full range of touchpoints encountered by passengers from arrival to departure, including check-in, security screening, wayfinding, terminal ambience and retail offerings. Passenger experience is shaped by operational efficiency, staff interaction, environmental comfort and the seamless integration of digital technologies. Recent global trends highlight the rise of automation, data-driven passenger flow management and a renewed focus on health, safety and sustainability. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated developments in touchless processes and sanitation protocols, while long-term research has emphasised the need to balance high throughput with wellbeing. Airports now deploy advanced simulations and sensor networks to predict congestion, optimise resource allocation and personalise information for diverse traveller segments. Service quality not only influences immediate satisfaction but also shapes behavioural intentions such as loyalty, advocacy and future travel decisions. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for airport operators seeking to enhance competitiveness, support regional connectivity and generate non-aeronautical revenue.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent studies have applied digital twin frameworks to model passenger flows in real time, integrating sensor data from entry points, security lanes and boarding gates. These simulations enable dynamic staff deployment and queue management, resulting in measurable reductions in wait times and improvements in perceived service efficiency. Another line of work has investigated the role of biophilic design and indoor environmental quality on passenger stress and comfort. By using virtual reality to simulate terminal layouts incorporating natural light, plantings and acoustic dampening, researchers demonstrated enhanced emotional wellbeing and higher satisfaction ratings. Together, these advances illustrate how combining real-time operational analytics with human-centred design can elevate both efficiency and the quality of the passenger journey.
Airport Service Quality and Passenger Experience publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in airport service quality and passenger experience across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Airport Service Quality (ASQ): A multidimensional measure of service performance encompassing tangible and intangible airport elements.
Digital Twin: A real-time virtual replica of physical processes used to simulate and optimise operational scenarios.
Biophilic Design: An approach that integrates natural elements into built environments to enhance occupant wellbeing.
Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA): A method for identifying conditions that must be present to achieve a desired outcome.
Structural Equation Modelling (SEM): A statistical technique for evaluating relationships among latent constructs and observed variables.
References
- Airport service quality and passenger satisfaction: The impact of service failure on the likelihood of promoting an airport online. Research in Transportation Business & Management (2021).
- How to Achieve Passenger Satisfaction in the Airport? Findings from Regression Analysis and Necessary Condition Analysis Approaches through Online Airport Reviews. Sustainability (2022).
- Segmentation of passenger preferences for using digital technologies at airports in Norway. Journal of Air Transport Management (2021).
- Gaps, Trends and Challenges in Assessing Quality of Service at Airport Terminals: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis. Sustainability (2022).
- Influences of airport service quality, satisfaction, and image on behavioral intention towards destination visit. Urban Planning and Transport Research (2022).
About these summaries
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