Airport flying high after landing major accolade

It was the only UK airport to win an accolade at Airports Council International (ACI)’s 2017 Airport Service Quality Awards.

It was named best airport in its category for customer service in Europe.

The ACI awards recognise the world’s best airports for the quality of their passenger experience provision.

Nick Jones, chief executive officer at Newcastle International Airport, said: “I’m absolutely delighted that we have won this award.

“Everyone here at Newcastle goes above and beyond to offer an excellent experience for our passengers and it’s great to see that this been recognised.

“I have no doubt that this will spur our colleagues on to continue offering such incredible service to all who travel through the airport.”

The airport is part-owned by seven local authorities in the North East, including Northumberland County Council.

Coun Iain Malcolm, leader of South Tyneside Council and lead of the LA7 shareholders, said: “This adds to the range of national awards the airport has received in recent years.

“Its team and shareholders work tirelessly all year round to open up new markets for our leisure and business customers and to help the airport grow.

“Members of the team pride themselves on their customer service and ensuring every visitor has a positive experience.

“Newcastle International Airport is hugely important to the North East, both as a gateway for the region and as a generator of jobs and millions of pounds for the local economy.”

Meanwhile, the airport this week unveiled the progress of work on its new international arrivals hall, which is on course to open ahead of this summer.

The multi-million pound investment, in collaboration with UK Border Force, sees the arrivals hall significantly expanded and improved and includes five new ePassport gates.

The self-service machines use facial recognition technology to verify the user’s identity against data stored in the chip in their biometric passport.

The new ePassport gates will be available to use for all those aged 12 or above holding UK, EEA and Swiss passports.