Airports Council International (ACI) World and ACI EUROPE announced Tuesday that Istanbul Airport (iGA) was the first airport in the world to be reaccredited through the Airport Health Accreditation program.
The airport was also the first to be reaccredited in 2020.
ACI reopened the reaccreditation program in June and was initially launched in July 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The accreditation process assesses all passenger areas and processes within the airport. Processes include cleaning and disinfecting, physical distancing, staff protection, physical layout, passenger communication, and passenger facilities. Areas to assess include terminal access areas, check-in areas, security screening areas, boarding gates, lounges, border control areas, and baggage claim areas.
“Fostering confidence in air travel will be key to the sustained recovery of the industry, and we congratulate the Istanbul Airport team for again demonstrating to passengers that their health and safety is an overriding priority,” ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira and ACI EUROPE Director General Olivier Jankovec said. “Recovery will be best achieved through a coordinated and globally harmonized approach which is aligned with global standards. Istanbul has set an example for the industry in pursuing this through the Airport Health Accreditation programme, which provides airports with assessment of their health measures against globally accepted standards.”
The accreditation program is supported by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The program was updated this year and is now in alignment with the latest ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART) recommendations and with the ACI EUROPE Guidelines for a Healthy Passenger Experience. The program is also aligned with industry best practices, including ACI’s own updated Aviation Business Restart and Recovery publication.
“For about 2 years, the whole world has been struggling with a health crisis that has deeply affected the humankind,” Kadri Samsunlu, the Chief Executive Officer of iGA Airport Operation, said. “With the acceleration of the vaccination campaign and the beginning of the summer season, we entered a process in which we are approaching the best scenario in terms of aviation. As iGA, we have come a long way in terms of health measures by putting extra effort until we saw this optimistic view. Seeing that the steps taken in terms of health measures in Istanbul Airport were later implemented in different industries is the biggest proof of how we excelled at our work.”