It is expansion time at Malta International Airport. After turning higher profits last year and registering its 45th consecutive month of passenger growth, CEO Alan Borg talks to Kurt Sansone about a €78 million investment.

Restrooms at Malta International Airport come equipped with an electronic voting system that allows customers to rate the experience.

Responses are recorded in real time and three consecutive negative votes will prompt cleaners to check out the toilets.

Fancy as it sounds, the system may seem like a detail within the complexities of an airport operation that handles millions of passengers a year.

But for chief executive Alan Borg, attention to detail is important to ensure MIA offers its customers a positive experience.

“If the detail is right, everything else falls into place,” he tells me. Detail is what Malta needs in its every aspect to continue attracting more tourists, he adds.

I meet him in his office on the second floor of the terminal building. The wide window has a breathtaking view of the airport runway with the villages of Kirkop and Safi in the background.

Mr Borg was appointed CEO just over a year ago and has captained a successful year for the MIA. With the company making €67 million in revenue and turning a profit of €19.3 million, he attributes the success to the 5,000 or so people who work at the airport, be they MIA employees, ground handlers, customs and immigration officials or airline workers.

Attention to detail, he says, is one aspect that will mark his tenure at MIA.

To fulfil this commitment he has set up a committee tasked to closely monitor servi­ces that customers make use of in the terminal – guest touch points, he calls them. The electronic voting system introduced in the restrooms and the security area is one way of receiving customer feedback in real time and acting upon it.

He says that 80 per cent of customers were satisfied or very satisfied with the performance of the security area. Check-in takes an average of 10 minutes for 80 per cent of passengers, he adds.

“Having a hospitality background, I want the company to view passengers as guests, which is why detail is important for me,” he insists.

I bring up another detail: the trolley charge that had some customers fuming when it was introduced a few years ago.

“An internal audit showed us that most of the complaints were not related to the charge itself but rather the machines and the method by which passengers got the money refund. We carried out minor modifications and we have not received any negative comments about the trolleys since.”

Mr Borg says the past year has given the company a better understanding of how to shape the terminal and airport grounds for the future. The yearning for change comes with an investment package of €78 million.

Mr Borg says €28 million will be spent on improving the terminal building. The first phase, costing around €9 million, will start in October and will see the security area being transferred upstairs.

Having a hospitality background, I want the company to view passengers as guests

This move, which will take 18 months to complete, will lead to six more check-in desks in the departures area.

The security area will also be bigger, allowing for an increase in the screening machines to six from four and a queueing capacity double the current one.

The second phase of the terminal project will consist of the construction of a new building alongside the existing terminal (on the Costa Coffee side) that will add 14 more check-in desks and four more gates upstairs. It will also provide more space for retail outlets.

“The second phase will significantly improve the airport experience and a detailed evaluation process of traffic forecasts will take place once the first phase is over,” he says.

But €40 million of the investment package will be spent on Sky Parks 2, which will see an office block and a business hotel going up on the site of the petrol station.

The two blocks will accompany the Sky Parks building that opened in 2012 and which, according to Mr Borg, is now fully occupied.

He is unfazed by the argument that the market for high-end office space may be saturated, insisting the airport offers a unique location.

“We believe there are many businesses that operate from converted apartments that could benefit from a location like ours,” he says.

Apart from this, 2015 saw an exponential increase in aircraft registration in Malta – part of Transport Malta’s drive to have an aviation regis­ter similar to its ship register – that may also drive the need for more office space, he adds.

The masterplan for the whole of the airport grounds is currently at screening stage at the planning authority. It is one of those issues MIA has little control over.

“I hope the screening process will be concluded this year so that we will be able to apply for planning permits for Sky Parks 2,” he says, when asked for a timeframe.

Local councils in the airport’s vicinity have expressed concern over increased traffic volumes with an expansion of office space and retail outlets at MIA. The company is carry­ing out a traffic impact assessment but Mr Borg says it is unfair to pin down traffic congestion to one project or another.

“Traffic is a national issue and requires national solutions but we will be doing our part to mitigate the problem.”

MIA will shortly be rolling out an electronic carpooling system through which employees will be paired according to their work times and place of residence (see box).

This project is another of those details the CEO would like to see catered for as he targets gold in the Best European Airport Award given by Airports Council International. MIA placed second last year for airports in its category and has come first on a number of occasions in the past – and Mr Borg wants to regain the top spot.

With MIA registering its 45th consecutive month of year-on-year increases in passenger movements last February, where does he see the growth cycle going?

In August, the peak month, MIA handles more than 600,000 passenger movements. “I believe we should target that many passengers each month of the year.”

It is an ambitious goal and one that does not only concern MIA but all tourist operators.

He believes Malta has a fantastic product and there are still too many people in the world who have not yet experienced the country.

“Valletta is such a wonderful city and now with boutique hotels going up, it can up its game. But there are also many undiscovered areas, like the Three Cities. Malta can become a city-break destination between October and March, offering culture, heritage and hospitality.”

He says the most important thing is for the country to keep improving its product, its services and “getting the detail right”.

Security stepped up

Security has been stepped up at Malta International Airport in the aftermath of the Brussels attacks as a precautionary measure, Alan Borg said.

The MIA CEO reiterated government’s statement that Malta faced no imminent threat, and while calling for vigilance he also urged calm.

“Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and our colleagues at Brussels Airport… Together with the relevant authorities, we will continue to maintain the highest level of security at our airport,” Mr Borg said.

Since the triple bomb explosions in Brussels, security in key areas around Malta was stepped up and airport passengers may also notice a high visibility presence across the airport campus.

“Security is our topmost priority and we are constantly working with all our airport partners to ensure our guests remain safe and secure at all times,” Mr Borg said.

Travelling partners

Malta International Airport will soon introduce a car pooling system for its employees.

They will input their details into a database, including travelling times to and from work, and the system will automatically pair individuals with similar travel needs.

The employees will then receive a notification informing them of fellow workers who live in their vicinity and who have similar work schedules.

It will be up to the individuals concerned to determine whether they would like to share private transport.

kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com