Pune Airport bags top spot among 16 AAI airports in Q3 ACI-ASQ survey

Pune airport has emerged as the best performer among 16 Airports Authority of India (AAI) airports in the latest Airports Council International (ACI) Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey, scoring 4.98 out of 5.

The airport recorded this rating in the third quarter (July to September) of 2026, a marginal improvement over the 4.97 it scored in the previous quarter (April to June), according to the survey. The rise is 0.01 points. In the global ranking, Pune stands at 58th place this quarter, down one spot from 57th in the previous quarter.

Pune’s score is well above the average of the 16 AAI airports, which stands at 4.90 for the July-September quarter, up from 4.88 in the previous quarter. It is also far ahead of the world average of 4.36, which fell by 0.02 points from 4.38.

Pune is followed by Chennai and Patna, which both scored 4.94. Chennai made the biggest jump among the top performers, improving by 0.09 points from 4.85 in the second quarter, and climbing from 87th to 66th rank globally. Four airports saw their ratings dip this quarter: Raipur, Dehradun, Amritsar and Srinagar. Kolkata and Port Blair remained unchanged from the previous quarter.

The ASQ survey is based on feedback from passengers about various services at the airport, such as check-in, security, cleanliness, wayfinding, staff courtesy, food and beverage outlets, and the overall experience. A high score reflects how satisfied travellers are with their journey through the terminal.

Aviation analyst Dhairyashil Vandekar said the Q3 performance shows that the airport is operating well above global benchmarks. “With a difference of +0.01 over Q2, it shows stability despite handling 10+ million passengers in a constrained, defence enclave facility,” he said.

Vandekar pointed out that the airport has now entered the fourth control period of 2026-2031, during which the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India (AERA) determines the aggregate revenue requirement and approves user development fees (UDF), landing and parking charges, among others.

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He noted that the previous control period saw many AAI airports charging UDF of up to Rs 745 for domestic departures. “Pune, being a high growth, capacity constrained airport requiring continuous terminal upgrades, will need enhanced capital expenditure. AERA’s new philosophy, as seen in Mumbai and Delhi tariff orders for the fourth control period, is to allow a reasonable increase in UDF while rationalising airline charges to ensure financial viability,” he said.

According to Vandekar, Pune’s score, with 28 of 31 parameters above 4.60, provides strong evidence to AERA that the airport is using passenger fees effectively. However, he cautioned that the regulator may also note the 14 parameters that declined in Q3, including a steep drop of 0.25 in connection ease and 0.05 in overall cleanliness. “Under the proposed service-quality linked tariff regime, these could trigger a rebate mechanism. Therefore, the improved ASQ performance can be used to justify the increased airport charges in the fourth control period, but only if the business plan clearly earmarks incremental UDF revenue for addressing the identified deficiencies, improved internal circulation, expanded seating, enhanced washroom maintenance and better flight information dissemination,” he said.