DIAL gets ISO 9001-2000 certificate

Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) has been awarded the prestigious ISO 9001:2000 quality certificate for Indira Gandhi International Airport. DIAL received the prestigious ISO 9001:2000 certificate from UK based organisation Lloyds Register Quality Assurance. As per the Operations Management, Development Agreement (OMDA), DIAL was to achieve the certification by May 2008. Instead, DIAL has however achieved this milestone more than 7 months ahead of schedule.

Since taking over the charge of IGI Airport in May 2006, DIAL has been striving to improve the airport experience of its customers. Delivering quality and the highest level of customer service is high on the agenda of DIAL. It is working closely with airlines, government agencies, ground handlers and concessionaires to improve the service quality at the airport as the airport helps build the first impression of the city and the country.

Earlier this year, Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) achieved the ISO 9001:2000 quality certificate for the International Cargo Terminal of Indira Gandhi International Airport as well. The certificate was in recognition of the efforts put in by DIAL to improve customer service, quality control and efficiency at the cargo Terminal. DIAL had achieved this landmark within a short span of seven months from taking charge of IGI Airport.

DIAL has also setup a dedicated Quality & Service Delivery Department which is the first of its kind in the country. This department is working closely with the Singapore based Service Quality Centre (SQC), a consultancy specialising in helping organisations to develop strong and sustainable customer service cultures. SQC is active internationally and has been working with service sector industries such as banks, hotels, insurance Companies for many years.

For DIAL, the ISO certification represents one step towards organisational excellence. The focus ranges from people management, efficient operational processes to continuous improvement in quality of service to the customer. In order to maintain and improve its Quality Management System, DIAL has trained more than 20 internal quality auditors with 20 more expected to join their ranks within the next few weeks. In order to ensure consistency across the airport, DIAL is also supporting CISF's airport team to prepare for ISO 9001 certification. It is also encouraging other government agencies at the airport to improve the service quality.

DIAL is currently implementing the Master Plan for the development of a new airport complex. Work on the integrated passenger terminal and runway commenced in Feb 2007 and the new terminal would be inaugurated in 2010 before the Commonwealth Games. Prior to that in 2008, the brand new Code F compliant runway and domestic terminal will be ready to cater to the growing traffic. IGI Airport is one of the largest airports in India with over 20 Million passengers per year, and will become one of the largest airports in the region by 2010, with slated capacity of 37 Million passengers per annum (mppa). The Master Plan envisages an ultimate design capacity of 100 million passengers per annum by 2026.