Velana International Airport (VIA) has received the Airport Health Accreditation Certificate for the 2nd time from Airport Council International (ACI). The certificate was awarded due to the continuous effort by VIA ensuring health and safety measures during the COVID-19 Pandemic era.
In a special letter sent by the Director General of ACI World Mr. Luis Felipe de Oliveira and the Director General of ACI Asia- Pacific Mr. Stefano Baronci to Maldives Airports Company Ltd (MACL) states that “We wish to extend our congratulations to the team at VIA for maintaining the accreditation of ACI’s Airport Health Accreditation program. After reviewing the evidence presented through our evaluation process, VIA has demonstrated an admirable continuation of its efforts to provide a safe airport experience for all travelers which is in line with the recommended health measures established in the ACI Aviation Business Restart and Recovery guidelines, and also ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART) Recommendations.”
VIA achieved the certification by completing a tight assessment in accordance with ICAO CART recommendations along with the industry best practices.
Adhering to the international health guidelines established by International Aviation institutions, the first ACI’s Airport Health Accreditation Certification was awarded in September 2020 as the 2nd Airport from Asia Pacific Region and 12th from the world.
The ACI Airport Health Accreditation (AHA) programme provides airports with an assessment of how aligned their health measures are with the ACI Aviation Business Restart and Recovery guidelines and ICAO Council Aviation Restart Task Force recommendations along with industry best practices.
Benefits of Airport Health Accreditation include enabling airports to demonstrate to passengers, staff, regulators, and governments that they are prioritizing health and safety in a measurable, established manner. Enabling airports to validate their own measures throughout their facilities and processes. Reassuring the traveling public using the airport’s facilities. Promoting the recognition of professional excellence in maintaining safe hygienic facilities. Promoting best practices and aligning efforts across the industry. Ensuring harmonization between ICAO global guidance and industry.
The Accreditation is based on guidance from the ICAO CART Take-Off document and ACI Recovery and Restart Best Practices which supplement the CART approach. They are consistent with CAPSCA recommendations for States, taking an airport centric approach to common requirements. Topics include cleaning and disinfection, physical distancing (where feasible and practical), staff protection, physical layout, passenger communications and passenger facilities.
