At a time when most Indian cities are being damned for infrastructural problems, this comes as a much-needed cheer . With a handling capacity of 1.5 crore to 2.5 crore passengers per year, Mumbai’s airport - Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) has been ranked as the 4th best airport in the world and best in India. The rankings were announced by the Airport Council International (ACI) -  an independent global agency that conducts quality audits on airports

Mumbai’s airport scored 4.34 out of five for 'overall satisfaction' by the ACI for the second quarter of 2010 - an improvement over a first-quarter score of 4.20.

Seoul's Gimpo International Airport, Vancouver and Taipei airport in Taiwan were ranked higher than the Mumbai airport

The survey is based on data collected by randomly asking questions to 1,500 passengers to know the conditions of an airport overall quality. The questions which were asked include services from the airport staff, rates offered by the retail stores and connectivity within terminals.

The CSIA scored high on the airport service efficiency, nature and quality of services available, connectivity (how well connected the check-in, boarding area etc are), value for money (retail outlets), staff helpfulness, etc.

The survey considered 146 airports around the world for the rankings.

“To be rated as the best airport in India, amongst those handling above 15 million passengers per annum, reinforces our commitment to maintain high service standards and provide the best experience to passengers. It is very gratifying to note that MIAL’s efforts in improving service quality at CSIA have  been widely recognized by passengers, given the extremely challenging operating environment that we work in.” Krishna Reddy, chairman of the Mumbai International Airport said.

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