Operational Factors Affecting Service Delivery in Margaret Ekpo International Airport, Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined operational factors affecting service delivery of Margaret Ekpo International Airport in Cross River State, Nigeria. The research was motivated by the scantiness of studies on the factors which shape the observed airport service quality from the managerial perspective. A total of 240 respondents were surveyed out of the 600 staff working at various units of the airport. Data were collected using a six-point Likert scale closed-ended questionnaire. Airport operational factors were represented by three variables (Personnel management, the level of adherence to Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) service policy and funding availability), while the dependent variable was represented by employees’ evaluation of service quality. The instrument was content-validated, while the Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient gave a reliability range of 0.54- 0.744. The data generated was analyzed using simple linear regression analysis computed electronically with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science version 21. The findings revealed that the level of adherence to FAAN service policy and funding of airport operations significantly affects staff response to customers’ needs at Margaret Ekpo International Airport; and the ambience of Margaret Ekpo International Airport. Personnel management did not show a significant effect on staff ability to provide information at Margaret Ekpo International Airport. The authors, therefore, recommend that airport management should ensure the availability and utilization of the airport’s service charter and improve on the funding streams of the airport through strategies such as private–public partnership funding model.

Keywords: Airport; Service; Quality; Personnel Management; Operational Factors; Service Policy; Service Delivery

Australian Academy of Business and Economics Review, vol 3, issue 3, July 2017, pp 156-165