Mangaluru, Feb 16: The Mangaluru International Airport has received the coveted level-3 airport customer experience accreditation from the Airports Council International (ACI), a release from the MIA here said on Friday.
Issued by the ACI on February 2, the accreditation is valid for one year. The airport had received the level-2 accreditation in December 2022.
The accreditation aims to further strengthen the continued endeavour of this public asset to enhance customer experience. Airports that participate in this process undergo a comprehensive assessment and training that includes stakeholder-employee engagement and staff development.
It is the only accreditation programme in the airport industry worldwide that provides a 360 degree view of customer experience management.
The level-3 accreditation recognises MIA for advanced practices on the specific domain of service design and innovation, airport culture, governance, operation improvement, measurement, customer understanding and strategy.
The MIA is the first airport in India under the 5 million passenger category to reach this coveted milestone, the release said.
Luis Felipe de Oliveira, director general and CEO at ACI - ACI World in a LinkedIn post congratulated Mangaluru International Airport on achieving the accreditation, which will be conferred at the annual ACI customer experience global summit that will be held at Atlanta, USA from September 24 to 26 this year.
The airport has now set its sights on the level-4 of this accreditation, which necessitates airport-community collaboration, the release said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
