The Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has been accredited under the Airport Health Accreditation (AHA) program of the Airports Council International (ACI) in recognition of the airport’s enhanced health measures aimed at building passengers’ confidence in air travel.
HKIA is among the first few Asia-Pacific airports to be accredited by the AHA program, Airport Authority Hong Kong said in a statement on September 13.
The program was launched in July 2020 to support airports around the globe in introducing new hygiene measures of global standards in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Accreditation indicates that an airport’s health measures are aligned with the ACI Aviation Business Restart and Recovery guidelines and the recommendations of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Council Aviation Restart Task Force, as well as with industry best practices.
The program assesses airports’ new health measures and procedures in areas including cleaning and disinfection, physical distancing, staff protection, physical layout, passenger communications and passenger facilities.
The accreditation enables airports to demonstrate to passengers, staff, regulators, and governments that their health and safety are prioritized in a measurable and established manner.
The accreditation is valid for the next 12 months.
Vivian Cheung, AA executive director of airport operations, said the accreditation shows recognition of HKIA’s continued efforts to implement various health measures to ensure the safety and well-being of the airport staff and passengers.
“We will continue to strengthen our works and conduct ongoing self-assessment according to the evolving situation of the pandemic, with a view to maintaining the safe and healthy environment and building passengers’ confidence in travelling at HKIA,” Cheung said.
Luis Felipe de Oliveira, director general of ACI World, said the AHA program helps to reassure travelers that airport facilities remain safe, and that precautions are being taken to reduce any risk to their health.
Over the past few months, the AA has been implementing a host of enhanced health measures at HKIA including introducing the latest disinfection technologies at terminals and installing e-security gates equipped with facial recognition technology.
Other measures include conducting temperature screening for all persons entering the terminal and upon arrival, installing over 400 hand sanitizer stations throughout the passenger terminals, and stepping up cleaning and disinfection efforts on airport facilities and passenger amenities.
HKIA has also installed protective screens at airline check-in counters and other service counters, and segregated originating departing passengers and transfer passengers into separated zones.
It also uses signage, public announcements, tensile barriers and floor markings to remind passengers and airport staff of the safe distance advice. At the same time, it collaborates with catering outlets to provide self-service kiosks to reduce contact between staff and customers.
Photo courtesy of HKIA
