"Alexander the Great" wins ACI's airport quality award

Skopje-based "Alexander the Great" airport has won the 2012 award for best airport in Europe in the category up to two million passengers annually. "Alexander the Great" is recognised out of 275 airports in the Best Airport by Size category by the Airports Council International (ACI).

The award is presented based on interviews with passengers about the quality of airport services.

Murat Ornekol - Operations Director of TAV Airports Holding, the concessioner of the two Macedonian airports - told a press conference on Wednesday that the company "is honored by this prestigious accolade for the Skopje airport." "It was rebuilt and started providing services in a very short time owning to our knowledge and experience."

Ornekol added that TAV's objective for 2013 was to increase the number of passengers using the Skopje airport up to one million.

Figures show that 906.871 passengers travelled through "Alexander the Great" in 2012. Between 2009 and 2012, the number of passengers handled by the Skopje airport increased by 17.5%. At the moment, there are direct flights to 20 destinations, thus "Skopje is being connected with most of Europe and via Istanbul to any other place worldwide."

Minister of Transport and Communications Mile Janakieski said that the accolade for airport service quality "comes as a result of the project for the reconstruction and modernisation of the Macedonian airports by being taken over by TAV company."

"After completing the new airport, new standards in airport services in Macedonia have been introduced, which is now being recognised with this award," Janakieski stated adding that measures were being taken in cooperation with the concessioner to attract new airlines and to increase the number of flights in a bid to bolster the number of passengers up to one million.

Interior Minister Gordana Jankuloska said that "Alexander the Great" after being constructed and modernized nowadays represented a facility "that each and everyone of us can be proud of."

"Professionally, all MoI staff have made utmost efforts to provide efficient services and simple procedures to the passengers," she added.

The ACI award is considered one of the most prestigious accolades in the industry.