Bahrain International Airport receives ACI’s Airport Health accreditation

Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), a government-owned company responsible for managing and operating the Bahrain International Airport (BIA) said that BIA has become the latest airport to receive Airport Health Accreditation from Airports Council International (ACI) in the Middle East region.

This acknowledgment from the global aviation organization honors the contributions of BAC during the pandemic in safeguarding the well-being of passengers and employees.

ACI is an organization that represents the airports of the world and their common interests. It encourages professional excellence in airport management and operations and works closely to develop standards, strategies and recommended practices along with leading aviation organizations such as ICAO and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

According to the BAC, its accreditation program provides airports with an assessment of how aligned their health measures are with ACI Aviation Business Restart and Recovery guidelines, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Council Aviation Restart Task Force (CART) recommendations, and industry best practices.

Cleaning and disinfection, physical distancing, staff safety, physical layout, passenger communications, and passenger facilities are the areas evaluated for the accreditation approval, it added.

“This achievement does not belong to BAC alone but it is a stark recognition of the team efforts and dedication of all our partners at the airport. I would like to thank the National Medical Taskforce for Combating Covid-19 for its vital support in implementing BIA’s precautionary measures, Bahrain Civil Aviation Affairs, our airlines’ partners our passengers for diligently following the regulations and for BAC team members for consistently upholding our high safety standards. By continuing to work together, we can ensure that travelling is recovered safely and confidently. BAC took a proactive approach from the onset of the pandemic, introducing a range of precautionary measures to minimize the impact of the pandemic at airport facilities and protect public health”.

Al Binfalah pointed out that the resumption and development of passenger traffic are among BBC’s top priorities.

“These will remain in place at the new Passenger Terminal, enabling BAC to deliver and facilitate a hassle-free airport experience replete with comfort, connections, and character. Some of the measures include frequently sterilizing and disinfecting the airport, installing hand sanitizer dispensers throughout the terminal, enforcing social distancing, and ensuring that personal protective equipment such as face masks and gloves are available for both passengers and staff alike,” Mr. Al Binfalah further added.

It is important to harmonize and carefully organize this process through different industry authorities. We assume that the global aviation industry will be in a stronger position to recover quicker, with a rising number of airports enrolling in the ACI World Airport Health Accreditation program, he concluded.

Luis Felipe de Oliveira Director General ACI World said, “To restore passengers’ trust in travel, we must achieve a harmonized approach to health measures across the globe. This is particularly important for airports that predominantly serve international traffic, like BIA, which is a formidable passenger and cargo transportation hub in the region and beyond.”

He noted that the Airport Health Accreditation shows travelers that BIA is part of the leading global airport which has put in place the health measures successfully.