INTERNATIONAL. Airports Council International (ACI) World has extended its Airport Health Accreditation programme, which now involves more than 600 airports worldwide. The initiative assists airports to demonstrate to passengers, regulators and governments that they are prioritising health and safety in a measurable, established manner.
The accreditation is granted for an initial 12 months – with the first airports having become accredited in August last year – and ACI has now opened the programme for airports to be re-accredited for a further one-year period.
All passenger areas and processes are assessed through the programme including terminal access, check-in areas, security screening, boarding gates, lounges, retail and food & beverage areas.
The processes assessed include cleaning and disinfection, physical distancing, staff protection, physical layout, passenger communications and passenger facilities.
The programme is supported by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and is aligned with the latest ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART) Recommendations.
It is also aligned with the ACI Europe Guidelines for a Healthy Passenger Experience, which in turn are aligned with the EASA/ECDC Aviation Health Safety Protocol, and industry best practices. The guidelines also dovetail with ACI’s updated Aviation Business Restart and Recovery publication.
ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira said: “ACI’s Airport Health Accreditation programme continues to provide invaluable support to airports around the world, enabling them to validate their own measures throughout their facilities and processes and reassure the travelling public.
“The re-establishment of air travel will be a key driver for a global economic recovery but, to succeed, passengers must have confidence in the industry’s focus on health and welfare.”
He added: “The Airport Health Accreditation programme has the support of ICAO and fosters this crucial passenger confidence through the harmonisation of health measures that have been introduced around the world and small, medium and large airports around the world have signed up.”
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