An assessment of passenger experience at Melbourne Airport

• This study investigates the service quality at Melbourne airport.
• The results demonstrate that there are discrepancies between passengers' expectations of service quality and their perceptions of service quality.
• Measured values for passenger satisfaction are found to be consistently lower than those for passenger expectations.
• Fourteen of the thirty service items used in the survey were rated as important and satisfactory.
• Airport parking, immigration, internet/Wi-Fi access, and baggage delivery are areas that may have caused concerns for passengers.

This paper aims to assess the service quality at Melbourne airport by conducting an airport user survey. The results demonstrate that there are significant discrepancies between passengers’ expectations of service quality and their perceptions of service quality at the airport. Measured values for passenger satisfaction are found to be consistently lower than those for passenger expectations, which imply that there is room for Melbourne airport to improve its service quality. Fourteen of the thirty service items used in the survey were rated as important and satisfactory, and thus should be maintained. Airport parking, immigration, internet/Wi-Fi access, and baggage delivery are areas that may have caused concerns for passengers and should be urgently addressed by airport management. These results complement the existing survey findings reported by Airports Council International and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.