ACI-ICAO develops new airport safety programme for COVID-19 response

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and Airports Council International (ACI) have developed a new Global Airport Safety Professional (ASP) qualification programme to help airports improve ICAO compliance and support critical pandemic recovery activities being aligned through ICAO worldwide. A very quiet Changi Airport in Singapore. (PHOTO: Matt Driskill) “The successful recovery and resumption of global air transport operations relies significantly on the technical and managerial skills of airport safety professionals and airport civil aviation regulators, and on their capacity to innovate in the face of the many challenges now confronting our sector and the societies and industries it serves,” said ICAO Secretary General Dr Fang Liu. “This new ICAO-ACI initiative will help assure we maintain a safe, secure, and efficient aviation system supporting both current essential air cargo and other services, and pandemic air transport recovery more generally.” The ASP initiative will focus on middle and senior airport managers and airport regulators. It will address relevant ICAO SARPs and ACI industry best practices. In January and February, Changi Airport in Singapore was full of passengers. Now a lone student waits to say goodbye to a friend in a nearly deserted departure hall. (PHOTO: Matt Driskill) “This programme promotes ACI’s leading practices alongside ICAO industry standards and recommended practices giving students an invaluable/extensive learning experience,” ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira said. “This programme was developed through our strong relationship with ICAO, and our joint efforts to offer only the highest quality of training in the industry. Partnerships like this, forged with our global partners, are key in promoting the development of the entire aviation ecosystem and providing the skills and expertise need to carry the industry through recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.” The new ASP programme represents the second programme jointly offered by ICAO and ACI. The Global ICAO-ACI Airport Management Professional designation Accreditation Programme (AMPAP) was first introduced in 2007, and has since recognised over 1,000 International Airport Professionals (IAPs) globally. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Kay Rolland at [email protected]