Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) has been named the ‘Best Airport over 40 million passengers’ in the Asia-Pacific region at the Airports Council International’s (ACI) Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards. This is the eighth consecutive year that the airport has received the award, based on passenger feedback collected and verified by ACI.
A CSMIA spokesperson said, “Winning the ACI ASQ Award for the eighth consecutive year is a true honour and resounding validation of CSMIA’s commitment to excellence. We are deeply grateful to our passengers for their trust and our dedicated team for consistently delivering exceptional service. This recognition motivates us to continue elevating the travel experience at CSMIA.”
Luis Felipe de Oliveira, director general of ACI World, congratulated the airport, stating, “The ASQ Awards celebrate airports that redefine passenger experience through innovation and operational excellence. Congratulations to Mumbai International Airport for consistently setting new standards in customer satisfaction.”
Passenger growth and operational performance
CSMIA handled approximately 54.8 million passengers in 2024, a 6.3 per cent increase from the previous year and a 19.41 per cent rise compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019. The airport also recorded 346,617 Air Traffic Movements (ATMs), reflecting a 3.2 percent year-on-year growth.
December 2024 saw the highest traffic, with 5.05 million passengers, while December 21 set a record with 170,000 travellers in a single day.
Technology and infrastructure upgrades
As part of its digital initiatives, CSMIA expanded terminal entry points (eGates) from 24 to 68, the highest at any airport in India. This increased processing capacity to 7,440 passengers per hour at Terminal 2 and 2,160 at Terminal 1, reducing wait times to under a minute.
The airport also introduced a digital payment system at its Multi-Level Car Park (MLCP), allowing transactions via mobile wallets, debit/credit cards, UPI, and FASTag. About 66 percent of payments are now made using FASTag.
In a recent initiative, CSMIA introduced therapy dogs at Terminal 2 to help reduce passenger stress. The programme, available from Friday to Sunday between 3 p.m. and 11 p.m., features nine trained emotional support dogs, including a Golden Retriever, Maltese, rescued Husky, Shih Tzu, Lhasa Apso, and Labrador.
