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Fiumicino, 21 August 2020 – Important international recognition for Rome's airports in the fight against the spread of Covid-19. Fiumicino and Ciampino airports are the first airports in the European Union - and third in the world - to receive the Airport Health Accreditation issued by Airports Council International (ACI), the international association that represents over 1,900 airports and that develops standards, policies and best practices for airports, providing information and training opportunities to increase worldwide safety standards. A recognition that demonstrates how the protocols and measures taken at “Leonardo da Vinci” and “G.B. Pastine” are at the forefront in the procedures for containing the spread of the virus and are examples of best practice to be followed in the air transport industry.
The ACI Airport Health Accreditation (AHA) programme provides airports with an assessment of how well their health measures align with the ACI Aviation Business Restart and Recovery guidelines and the recommendations of the ICAO Council Aviation Restart Task Force, along with industry best practices. The certification was obtained after a careful assessment of the new health measures and procedures introduced, following the COVID-19 pandemic, by the management company of the two Rome airports.
Amongst other aspects, the cleaning and disinfection of areas, the maintenance of physical distancing, the protections provided to staff and communication to passengers were all assessed. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Aeroporti di Roma has launched a considerable intervention plan, due to the breadth and depth of the measures implemented, in order to ensure safety and comfort for passengers and workers.
From the sanitisation of the entire airport perimeter, to the restructuring of the areas inside the airport to ensure social distancing, which is indicated by specific signs, to the installation of over 300 gel dispensers and approximately 100 thermal scanners within the two airports of Fiumicino and Ciampino. Utmost attention has also been paid to information to the public, both through the updating of service monitors and thanks to dual-language information display screens with suggestions on the behaviours to comply with the fight against Covid-19.
“We are extremely proud of this new result,” commented the CEO of ADR, Marco Troncone “because it confirms our commitment in an essential sector, the health sector, which is a priority for us and which was previously certified in June by the Biosafety Trust certification, issued, for the first time to an airport, by RINA SERVICES. Since the very beginning of the Covid crisis, as an airport management company, we have implemented a series of measures to provide passengers and employees with the highest health and hygiene standards within a very short period of time, continuously seeking cutting-edge solutions that combine safety to comfort and it is with this spirit that we will continue to operate in the months to come”.
Olivier Jankovec, ACI EUROPE Director General said: “Aeroporti di Roma, the operator of Rome-Fiumicino and Rome-Ciampino airports, has been at the forefront of passenger service excellence and its commitment to serving the travelling public hasn’t faltered due to the catastrophic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the absolute priority being on ensuring the health and safety of passengers and staff alike, Fiumicino and Ciampino have moved
swiftly to secure their certification under the Airport Health Accreditation programme. This confirms that the recommendations and procedures set out by ICAO, EASA and the ECDC enshrined in the ACI EUROPE Guidelines for a Healthy Passenger Experience have been implemented to the letter at the Rome gateways. I would like to applaud and commend the excellent team effort that led to this achievement".
Aeroporti di Roma, and Atlantia Group company, manages and develops Rome Fiumicino and Ciampino airports and carries out activities associated with and supplementary to airport management. Fiumicino has two passenger terminals and is dedicated to business and leisure customers on domestic, international and intercontinental routes; Ciampino is mainly used by low-cost airlines, express couriers and General Aviation activities. In 2019, ADR, as an airport system, recorded 49.4 million passengers, with over 240 worldwide destinations that can be reached from Rome, thanks to the approximately 100 airlines operating at the two airports. In 2019, Airports Council International Europe awarded Leonardo da Vinci the “Best Airport 2019” award. For the second consecutive year, Fiumicino was confirmed as coming first place in the ranking of 20 European airports, with over 25 million passengers in terms of service quality, technological innovation and infrastructure efficiency. The award adds to the Airports Council International World recognition, which, also in 2019, for the third consecutive year, awarded Leonardo da Vinci the “Airport Service Quality” award, as the most popular airport in Europe out of the hubs with over 40 million passengers. ADR's management capacity is also confirmed by the awards received in 2019 from Skytrax, the main international rating and assessment company in the airport industry, which confirmed the 4 Skytrax stars obtained by Fiumicino in 2017.
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