Auckland Airport gets health tick from Airports Council International

A masked passenger inside an almost-deserted Auckland Airport domestic terminal. Photo / Peter Meecham

Auckland Airport has become the first airport in New Zealand to gain international endorsement for the health and safety measures introduced during the pandemic.

Established by the Airports Council International (ACI) in response to the Covid-19 outbreak, the airport health accreditation programme assesses health procedures and processes put in place against global best practice.

Close to 190 airports around the world have been accredited.

Auckland Airport's general manager operations Anna Cassels-Brown, said the ACI accreditation was important validation for the careful approach her company had taken in protecting the health and welfare of staff, travellers and the wider public.

"We recognise the vital role airports have in managing the risks of Covid-19. We've worked really hard alongside airlines, government agencies and retailers to ensure people can feel confident there are protections in place to safeguard everyone's health and wellbeing," she said.

The assessment process covers cleaning and disinfection, management of physical distancing, staff protection, physical layout, passenger communications and facilities.

"Health and safety are at the heart of airport operations, so incorporating the additional protections needed to reduce the risk of virus spread is another layer to maintaining our ongoing safe operation."

ACI world director general Luis Felipe de Oliveira said Auckland Airport's achievement in being accredited would help the harmonisation of health measures and facilitate the recovery of aviation.

"This achievement demonstrates to passengers, staff, regulators and governments that Auckland Airport is prioritising health and safety in a measurable, established manner while also validating their own measures and processes."

Cassels-Brown said the pandemic outbreak has required fast adaptation and innovation to ensure operations could safely continue through all alert levels and border restrictions.

Auckland Airport has prepared to separate its international terminal into two self-contained zones: a Safe Travel area to be used exclusively by people travelling to and from countries with whom New Zealand has formed a safe travel bubble and a second completely self-contained zone, the Health Management area, to be used by travellers who are required to undergo either managed isolation or quarantine on arrival.

Already passengers transiting through Auckland Airport to other countries are restricted to a separate, self-contained transit lounge area within the international terminal, and must stay in that area until boarding their aircraft via a dedicated bus transfer service.

"We will continue to evolve our operational response to the pandemic, backed by the latest scientific and government advice, in order to carry on protecting our community from the risk of community spread," said Cassels-Brown.