Purpose Airport managers must apply customer-oriented strategies in order to maximize their lifespan in today’s highly competitive climate. The aim of this study is to identify the top-performing airports based on specific criteria and determine the critical service attributes at these airports. Design/methodology/approach This study employs a trilateral integrated MEREC-MARCOS-Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) technique to measure customer satisfaction and determine the parameters that are necessary but not sufficient in 5-star airports. The data was obtained from Airline Quality assessments using a web scraper. Findings MEREC found that “terminal seating,” “Wi-Fi connectivity,” and “food and beverages” are the most significant attributes. MARCOS revealed that Tokyo Haneda Airport ranks first. Moreover, the sensitivity analysis confirmed the MEREC-MARCOS approach. According to the NCA, Wi-Fi connectivity has the largest effect size, and airports must improve service quality by 87.3%–100% to satisfy customers. Research limitations/implications As with any empirical study, this research has limitations. It relies on secondary data from Skytrax, and does not incorporate demographic variables, customer type, or travel intent, all of which may influence satisfaction outcomes. Moreover, assessing service quality using only eight factors provides a focused but not exhaustive evaluation of the passenger experience. The volatile nature of human behavior also suggests that satisfaction drivers may shift over time. Practical implications Wi-Fi emerged as the most impactful attribute, highlighting a shift toward digital service priorities and offering a prioritization model for managers to allocate resources based on high-impact attributes. Social implications This study combines MEREC-MARCOS with NCA, using both sufficiency and necessity reasoning, and adds service bottlenecks to explain the differences between what is relatively important and what is essential for satisfaction. Originality/value Unlike COVID-19 era studies, this research identifies Wi-Fi as the most critical satisfaction driver, possibly reflecting post-pandemic shifts, where passengers, reengaging in social life, now prioritize digital connectivity more than before.
İnce et al. (Wed,) studied this question.