Newsmakers - ADANI AIRPORTS
Raising The Bar For The Passenger Experience
Team Connect
Two airports. One shared commitment to excellence. With Ahmedabad and Mangaluru achieving the prestigious ACI Level 5 Accreditation, the Adani Airports network is setting new benchmarks for customer experience in India.
For an airport, the passenger journey begins long before boarding and continues well beyond the aircraft door. It is shaped by every interaction—the ease of finding one’s way, the speed of a service, the warmth of an encounter, the convenience of technology and the confidence that comes from a seamless journey.
For Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPI Airport), Ahmedabad, and Mangaluru International Airport, this understanding has become central to the way they operate.
In July 2026, both airports achieved the prestigious Level 5 Accreditation under the Airports Council International (ACI) Airport Customer Experience Accreditation Programme—the highest level of recognition in the global airport industry for customer experience management.
The milestone places SVPI Airport among a select group of airports globally to achieve the highest level of customer experience accreditation. For Mangaluru International Airport, it marks an equally significant achievement: the airport has become the third airport within the Adani Airport Holdings Limited (AAHL) network, after Mumbai and Ahmedabad, and the second in Karnataka after Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, to receive the recognition.
Only four airports in India have received this global accreditation to date.
From Good Service to an Organisation-Wide Culture
The ACI Airport Customer Experience Accreditation Programme is the aviation industry’s only global framework that comprehensively assesses how airports embed customer experience across strategy, culture, governance, operations and service delivery.
The Level 5 Accreditation recognises airports that have successfully integrated customer experience across the organisation and fostered a culture in which every stakeholder contributes to improving the passenger journey.
At both Ahmedabad and Mangaluru, this includes employees, airlines, security agencies, Customs, Immigration, concessionaires and service partners.
The accreditation evaluates multiple domains, including customer understanding, strategy, measurement, governance, airport culture, service design and innovation, and collaboration across the airport community.
The achievement therefore represents more than a service milestone. It reflects a sustained, organisation-wide commitment to placing passengers at the centre of every decision.
Ahmedabad: Taking Customer Experience to the Next Level
For SVPI Airport, the Level 5 Accreditation marks a significant progression from the Level 4 Accreditation it received in June 2025.
Over the past year, the airport has strengthened its customer experience framework through passenger engagement programmes, future-focused service design, stakeholder collaboration, employee experience initiatives and digital innovation.
Technology has played a central role in this transformation. The airport has launched a 24x7 AI call centre dedicated to passenger queries and complaints and expanded passenger-facing digital services through the Adani One App, AI-powered assistance, biometric kiosks for seamless immigration and other smart airport initiatives.
Digital payments, smart feedback systems and improved connectivity solutions have further contributed to a more seamless journey.
The airport has also invested in the physical experience. Domestic lounges, seating areas, wayfinding systems, accessibility infrastructure and terminal amenities have been upgraded. At Terminal 2, entry lanes have been expanded from five to 11 to improve peak-hour traffic-handling capabilities, while exit lanes have increased from five to 10.
Facilities for senior citizens, persons with reduced mobility and families have also been enhanced to support a more inclusive travel experience.
A Sense of Place
Customer experience is not defined by efficiency alone. It is also shaped by a sense of place.
At SVPI Airport, cultural, festive and experiential initiatives celebrate the spirit of Gujarat and create a more engaging and welcoming environment for passengers.
The airport’s retail, dining and lifestyle offerings have also expanded. The operationalisation of Maison Twenty Seven by Bastian, spanning 56,000 sq ft and described as one of the largest restaurants in Gujarat, has added a significant new dimension to the airport’s commercial landscape.
New food courts and gourmet dining options in Terminal 2, alongside an expanded mix of retail and food and beverage offerings, are creating a more vibrant airport environment that blends local culture with global brands.
Mangaluru: A Remarkable Journey in 30 Months
Mangaluru International Airport’s progression to Level 5 reflects a particularly rapid journey of transformation.
The airport received Level 3 Accreditation in February 2024, progressed to Level 4 in July 2025 and achieved Level 5 in July 2026—moving through three levels in little over 30 months.
The progression reflects a sustained focus on customer-centricity, digital innovation, operational excellence and stakeholder collaboration.
A key feature of this journey has been the use of technology to make the passenger experience more convenient and efficient. The airport’s Aviio app—a first-of-its-kind digital initiative among airports in India—has helped enhance convenience, reduce friction and improve service efficiency across the passenger journey.
Robust passenger feedback and measurement mechanisms have also been introduced to capture customer insights and drive continuous improvement.
The People Behind the Experience
Technology and infrastructure can enable a better passenger journey, but people bring it to life.
Both airports have invested in employee engagement, training, empowerment and capability-building programmes to create service-oriented cultures across their airport ecosystems.
At Mangaluru, the accreditation recognises the contribution of the wider airport community, with every stakeholder—from CISF, Customs and Immigration to airlines, concessionaires and service partners—playing a role in creating a seamless end-to-end experience.
At Ahmedabad, employee wellness, engagement and capability-building initiatives have similarly formed an important part of the airport’s customer experience framework.
The underlying philosophy is shared: when employees are empowered and engaged, passengers experience the difference.
The Journey Continues
The Level 5 Accreditation is not an endpoint. It is a recognition of a culture of continuous improvement.
For SVPI Airport, the achievement reinforces its position as a benchmark in India’s aviation sector and reflects its commitment to serving the people of Ahmedabad while contributing to the city’s growing reputation as a modern, globally connected destination.
For Mangaluru International Airport, the milestone strengthens its position among leading airports globally that have successfully embedded customer experience as a core organisational value.
Together, the achievements of Ahmedabad and Mangaluru represent more than two individual airport milestones.
They reflect a shared philosophy across the Adani Airports network: that world-class airports are built not only through infrastructure and technology, but through a relentless focus on the people who use them.
From the first touchpoint to the final destination, the journey is being reimagined—one passenger, one innovation and one experience at a time.