At the Annual Airport Reception organised by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) today, Changi Airport staff from the entire airport community were recognised for their efforts in delivering excellent service and contributing to

the airport's success, with 20 awards presented.

Three categories of awards were presented at the reception. They are 'Service Personality of the Year', 'Outstanding Service Providers' and 'Outstanding Team Award'. In the first category, CAAS' Customer Service Officer under P-Serv Pte Ltd, Ms Sarah Jane Casama, was bestowed the top award, 'Service Personality of the Year', for going beyond the call of duty to assist a passenger. She provided assistance over three days to a Tagalog-speaking passenger who had missed his flight due to a medical condition.

Over the three days, and even during her off day, Ms Casama provided constant help to the passenger, assisting to make numerous changes to his flight arrangements and highlighting the passenger's medical condition to the airline.

For her outstanding achievement, she received S$1,000 ($644) of Changi shopping vouchers, a crystal trophy and a certificate of commendation signed by the Chairman of CAAS, Liew Mun Leong.

To align airport organisations towards the goal of quality service and to cultivate a customer-oriented service culture among airport staff, campaigns and initiatives are held regularly under the Quality Service Management (QSM) programme at Changi Airport. For example, the SMILE1 campaign was launched last year where staff could learn about providing quality service through games and other interactive ways. To help upgrade the staff's service capabilities and skills, courses such as personal grooming are also organised under the QSM programme.

Speaking at the reception, Raymond Lim, Minister for Transport and Second Minister for Foreign Affairs urged all staff to continue to work hard together as a team and sustain the excellent service, to enable Changi to keep ahead of its competitors. He said: ‘Whatever his or her role, every person is critical to the Changi experience. Looking ahead, given the tough economic environment, we can expect air travellers to be even more demanding in their choice of stopover airports and holiday destinations.

‘Like what happened during the SARS crisis, all of us at Changi Airport must once again rise to the challenge and work hard to maintain our air hub position. Whether you are a staff of the airport, an airline, a retail outlet, a ground handler or a security agency, we must work together. As always, excellent customer service will be key to retaining the competitive edge.’

Meanwhile, while service excellence is constantly pursued at Changi Airport, the less fortunate have not been forgotten. At the reception, CAAS' Director-General and CEO Lim Kim Choon, presented a cheque for S$50,000 ($32,000) to the president of the Rainbow Centre Margaret Drive School (RCMDS), Professor Lee Eng Hin.

CAAS adopted RCMDS, which offers special education programmes for children with developmental disabilities, as its beneficiary under CAAS' charity adoption programme last year. The money was raised through staff donations and activities. In addition, CAAS staff also participate in programmes and activities held at RCMDS.