Gaps, Trends and Challenges in Assessing Quality of Service at Airport Terminals: A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

This study investigates the main aspects of the quality of service (QoS) assessment process at airport passenger terminals to find gaps, highlight trends, and discuss current day challenges. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted in Scopus and ISI Web of Science databases. Excluding redundancies, the searches resulted in an initial set of 565 articles. After preliminary steps, 61 of these studies were selected for in depth analysis. The research findings and discussions are organized into subsections focused on: (1) places of application (countries/regions); (2) airport areas; (3) evaluators profile; (4) methods; and (5) evaluation criteria. The main gaps revealed are the lack of: (a) applied studies in underdeveloped or developing countries; (b) specific studies for important airport areas, such as those related to access; (c) studies using assessments from arriving and transfer passengers, as well as from travel professionals and experts; and (d) full noncompensatory multicriteria sorting methods. In terms of trends, there is a clear advance in the use of data mining and sentiment analysis, evidencing the challenge for airport managers in dealing with the sources of online information as a management tool. Finally, the challenge of including in assessment process new criteria related to sustainability and COVID-19 era aspects is also noteworthy.

Sustainability in the Airports Ecosystem: A Literature Review

“…For example, cooperation between Seville-San Pablo Airport and Seville public-private organisations has helped to improve the accessibility and brand image of Seville as a tourist destination and to control rising costs, optimise processes, reallocate resources, and especially improve access by air [64]. Also, the pandemic COVID -19 caused significant disruption to the airline industry, including the closure of flights in many markets [65].…”

Airport service quality perception and flight delays: Examining the influence of psychosituational latent traits of respondents in passenger satisfaction surveys

“…Usman et al (2022) conduct a literature review outlining the evolution of airport service quality (ASQ) research and highlight the need for further investigations to reconcile general service quality measures with those specific to the airport industry. Rocha, Costa, and Silva (2022) perform a comprehensive review and bibliometric analysis on quality of service (QoS) evaluations at airport terminals, identifying key areas lacking specific studies and suggesting the inclusion of sustainability and COVID-19 related criteria in future evaluations.…”

Aspect-Based Sentimental Analysis for Travellers’ Reviews

“…The reviews provided by travellers hold immense significance for the aviation industry. These reviews have the potential to strongly influence travellers' decision when it comes to selecting an airport [1][2][3][4][5]. Even minor improvements in airport services can lead to positive changes in travellers' perceptions and enhance their overall airport experience [6][7][8][9].…”

“…Given that travellers can easily access and refer to other travellers' online reviews, airport management must prioritise the Airport Service Quality (ASQ). In order to understand the key areas that airport management should focus on to enhance positive reviews, researchers have developed tools [1] for extracting and analysing travellers' reviews. This study employed aspect-based sentimental analysis in order to explicitly tag every airport service-mentioned in the traveller's feedback with positive/negative.…”