Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – Whereas Mohammed V Airport frames itself as an international hub and Africa’s best, the travel website e-Dream recently ran a survey that knocked the Casablanca-based airport off its pedestal and dubbed it “the world’s worst airport.”
As should be expected, eDream’s move provoked the wrath of Moroccan airport authorities who immediately replied to the website’s ‘outrageous provocation.’
The office National des Aéroports (ONDA), which is the body in charge of monitoring Moroccan airports, issued a statement in which it directly attacked the website’s categorization of Mohammed V as the “world’s worst airport,” calling the ranking “subjective and unsubstantiated”.
“This agency [eDream] operates through a system of online booking of flight tickets, hotels rooms, and rental cars. Its conclusions are therefore based on the personal opinions and comments written by its users,” ONDA said in the statement, underscoring the fact that the conclusions reached thereof are dubious and inconsequential as “they are not based on the usually rigorous scientific approach used in surveys.”
ONDA most specifically lambasted eDream’s sample, deeming it unrepresentative and skewed.
Elaborating further, ONDA cited the example of what it deems a more “qualified” and “serious” survey: Airport Service Quality (ASQ).
As a reminder, ASQ, which is Airports Council International’s sub-branch associated with appraising service qualities at airports around the world, is reputed to be the world’s leading quality survey for airports. It annual surveys generally consist of a pool of over 600,000 individuals while the questionnaires are presented in 41 different languages around, all of which ONDA presents as more credible and reliable.
“This program [ASQ] ranked Mohammed V Airport of Casablanca as the best airport in Africa in terms of services available for customers,” the statement noted, further explaining that ASQ’s conclusions constitute the best reply to a “buzz website that deals with a serious and important topic in a flippant, amateurish, and unscientific manner.” ONDA further hinted that it may consider lodging a legal complaint against eDream if it continues to endorse and disseminate such “outrages.”
