JEDDAH: Khaled Al-Molhem, director general of Saudi Arabian Airlines, has urged the airline's ground service staff to improve their performance by extending the best possible services to passengers and solving their problems and difficulties.
Al-Molhem made this statement during an inspection tour of ground service staff and facilities at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. He met with top officials of Saudi Ground Services Company (SGSC) and discussed the airline's preparations to handle passengers during the peak summer season.
During the tour, the Saudia chief inspected all services being rendered to passengers. He emphasized the need to provide advanced training to ground staff on how to use modern technological applications. He called for setting up cameras at all major airports to monitor services being rendered to passengers.
Al-Molhem urged Abdul Rahman Al-Hilali, CEO of SGSC, and other senior officials to make sure that Saudia passengers received the best possible services. "Branch and department managers should be present in their positions to ensure the comfort of passengers and fulfill their demands," he said.
Al-Molhem also stressed the need for proper coordination with officials of the General Authority for Civil Aviation and other related government departments in all airports to ensure high standard of services, matching passengers' expectations.
Al-Molhem's KAIA inspection tour comes in the wake of complaints by passengers about Saudia's poor services at airports and aboard its flights. "Arrogance is the hallmark of everyone from the ground staff to the cabin crew," one passenger said. "I have noticed that SV staff do not really have the customer at heart in the true sense," said a frequent flyer.
Al-Molhem said the airline would take strong punitive action against negligent staff. "We have been dealing with the negative attitude of some of our staff members firmly as we punish them in accordance with law without showing any leniency," he told a Shoura Council delegation.
"The punishment includes cutting salary and dismissal, which is applied on all staff members who do not meet job requirements and fail to behave with passengers properly," he said.
Speaking about SGSC, Al-Hilali said it is the largest ground service company in the Middle East, providing services to passengers at 26 Saudi airports and of 76 foreign airlines. "We serve more than 50 million passengers annually including pilgrims." He emphasized SGSC's resolve to provide excellent services to passengers making use of modern technology.
SGSC was established merging Saudia's Strategic Unit for Ground Services with National Handling Services Company and Attar Ground Services Company as part of the airline's privatization program. Saudia has a 75 percent stake in the new company while National and Attar hold 21 and four percent respectively.
© Arab News 2011
