Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Research in Transportation Business and Management, cilt.67, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
The evolution of the modern airport from a utilitarian infrastructure node into a complex, multi-service commercial enterprise has fundamentally altered the parameters of passenger satisfaction. As global aviation recovers and expands, the definition of “service quality” has transcended simple operational metrics to encompass psychological, normative, and experiential dimensions. This research presents an exhaustive, empirically grounded conceptualization of passenger service perception at Istanbul Airport (IST), a mega-hub that exemplifies the opportunities and challenges of contemporary aviation infrastructure. Adopting a qualitatively-driven mixed methods approach, this study mainly relies on an inductive thematic analysis of 400 face-to-face short-intercept interviews with open-ended probing conducted within the airport's airside and transfer zones. Both qualitative and quantitative methods used during analysis, facilitated by NVivo and SPSS software. To reveal the distinct hierarchy of passenger concerns that diverge from traditional industry benchmarks analysis results have been triangulated with extensive document analysis. The findings indicate that Terminal Area physical attributes are the dominant determinant of perception (29.05%), followed by Personnel interactions (21.69%), Digital Comfort & Communication (17.40%), Price perception (16.24%), and Operational Process efficiency (15.61%). This report argues that at the scale of a mega-hub, the passenger experience is defined by a tension between architectural grandeur and physiological exhaustion (“walking distance”), a conflict between “high-tech” aspirations and “high-touch” necessities, and a critical sensitivity to price-value disparities in non-aeronautical services. The study challenges the sufficiency of quantitative metrics like on-time performance (OTP) in capturing the true passenger sentiment, advocating instead for a holistic management strategy that addresses the psycho-spatial and economic realities of the traveler's journey.