Oman Air Hosts Global Conference For Airport Services Managers

Staff, including more than 50 airport managers from around the world, converged at Muscat’s Golden Tulip Hotel to attend Oman Air’s Airport Service Managers Conference.  The theme for the global, three-day event mirrored Oman Air’s vision statement: “To Become the Best”. 

The packed, three-day event offered a wide range of team-building workshops and Q&A sessions. It also featured presentations by various departments and strategic business units from Oman and from within Oman Air’s wider global network. Furthermore, the event gave participants an opportunity to showcase their strengths and performance potential, whilst also sharing experiences with, and learning from, colleagues. And the event concluded with a forward planning session, at which Oman Air’s proposed deliverables for the coming year were outlined. 

However, the centrepiece of the conference was an awards ceremony which recognized many of the high achievers in Oman Air’s international Airport Operations team. Five objective awards were made, each of which was judged against operational Key Performance Indicators. In addition, seven subjective awards were made in recognition of the individual performance of the Airport Service Managers. Meanwhile, two Special Recognition Awards celebrated those members of the Airport Operations team who had ‘gone the extra mile’ in the performance of their duties.

Saleem Amanulla, General Manager, Airport Operations at Oman Air conceptualized the event from its start through to its conclusion. He commented:

“On behalf of Oman Air, we were extremely happy to hold this event in Muscat. Not only did it offer us all the opportunity to share our experiences and learn from our colleagues, but it also allowed us to celebrate the highest levels of operational commitment and achievement.

“A major highlight of the event was the awards that were presented to participants. Not only did they reward the outstanding work undertaken by the recipients, but they also provided additional motivation amongst the participating airport managers and the airports represented by them to become the best. 

“We are grateful to His Excellency Talal Al-Rahbi, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Planning, for agreeing to be the Chief Guest for the Awards Ceremony. We would also like to offer our thanks to Dr. Waheed Al Kharusi, Vice President of the Oman Cancer Association, Dr Mohammed Al-Zaabi, Chief Executive Officer of the Public Authority for Civil Aviation, and Sheik Aiman Al-Hosni, Chief Executive Officer of Oman Airports Management Company for being our chief guests throughout the three-day event.”

The five objective awards were presented by Oman Air’s Chief Executive Officer, Paul Gregorowitsch. The Best On-Time Performance Award was presented to Oman Air’s Bangalore Airport Services team. The Best Revenue Collection (Excess Baggage) Award was received by the Munich Airport Services team. The Best Passenger Profiling Award went to the Chennai station, whilst the Best Baggage Handling Award was received by Oman Air’s team at Manila. Meanwhile, the Best Customer Relations Award was presented to Oman Air’s team at Kuwait. 

The subjective awards were presented by Dr Mohammed Al-Zaabi, Chief Executive Officer of the Public Authority for Civil Aviation. Each award recognised leadership at their respective stations and were based on the unanimous votes of the 10 judges. 

The first award recognised the best Management of Resources and was presented to Philip George, Airport Services Manager at Kuwait. Suresh Pillai, Airport Services Manager at Trivandrum, the received the award for Best Leadership. The Best Relationship Management and Public Relations Awards was received by Elnaaz Mahboobi, Airport Services Manager at Tehran, whilst the Best Teamwork Award was presented to Saif Al Masruri, Assistant Airport Manager at Dubai. The Best Cost Management and Savings Award was presented to Louise Evans, Airport Services Manager at London Heathrow. Two winners were recognized in the Best Management of Disrupted Services category and awards were presented to Marcella Boneto, Airport Services Manager at Munich, and Anita Pulega, Airport Services Manager at Milan. Two winners were also recognized in the final category of this section of the awards. Sawsan Nimri, Airport Services Manager at Amman, and Qazi Abdulaziz, Airport Services Manager at Lucknow, each received an award as Most Reliable Manager. 

The ceremony was rounded off with the presentation of two special awards, each of which recognized a special contribution which saw the winners deliver outstanding results in the course of a major project. The awards were presented by His Excellency Talal Al Rahbi, Deputy Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Planning.

The first of the two awards was for the transformation of the Oman Air First and Business Class lounges at Muscat International Airport. The project involved substantial refurbishment of the lounges, with the aim of increasing the seating capacity to reflect the increase in Oman Air’s passenger numbers. The project was achieved on a tight budget and against a background of major change at the airport. The result was that Oman Air’s lounge won awards for the best lounge In the Middle East and Africa, and was listed as the fifth best in the world. CNN said, "This lounge feels at home". The project was overseen by Airport Lounge Manager Maryam bin Hamad Al Harthy, who was delighted to accept the award.

The second special award recognized the exceptional task of overseeing major change at Salalah Airport.  Abdulwahab Al Balushi, Airport Services Manager at Salalah, led a team of more than 200 Oman Air staff to achieve a smooth and successful transition.  His award was presented for the exceptional leadership he displayed throughout.