Toronto Pearson achieves Airport Health Accreditation

Toronto Pearson International Airport has become the first Canadian airport to be accredited under ACI’s Airport Health Accreditation programme.

Deborah Flint, president and CEO of operator, Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA), believes that the award shows how seriously Toronto Pearson is taking COVID-19 and reflects the airport community’s efforts to prioritise the health and wellbeing of passengers and staff.

“We all have a role to play in overcoming COVID-19 and building trust in aviation – we are truly all in this together,” notes Flint.

“At Toronto Pearson, we’ve taken this calling and run with it. We’re not only telling passengers and employees what they can do to help limit spread, but we have transformed our operation to deliver health and hygiene practices with consistency and quality assurance.

“We call it our five-point ‘Healthy Airport’ commitment. It encompasses everything from making passenger and employee health our top priority and working diligently with government and industry partners to communicating transparently and ensuring that our approach is innovative, aligned with industry standards and best in class by utilising the latest processes and technologies.”

ACI’s Airport Health Accreditation programme assists airports by assessing new health measures and procedures introduced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in accordance with ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task Force recommendations.

Areas of assessment for accreditation include cleaning and disinfection, physical distancing (where feasible and practical), staff protection, physical layout, passenger communications and passenger facilities.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, North American airports have taken unprecedented steps to ensure the health and safety of passengers and airport workers,” says ACI-NA president and CEO Kevin Burke.

“We are proud to recognise Toronto Pearson International Airport as the first Canadian airport to achieve their Airport Health Accreditation. This important step further demonstrates the airport’s deep commitment to promoting health and safety as air travel begins to recover.”

The Airport Health Accreditation programme is also consistent with the recommendations and industry priorities put forward by ACI-NA’s Airport Industry Recovery Advisory Panel in June 2020.

As the report recommends, the restart and recovery of the aviation sector will require a consistent and harmonised approach with clear industry standards and good practices.

More airports adopting the Airport Health Accreditation programme, notes GTAA, is a concrete step that airports can take to reaffirm their commitment to health and safety.

ACI World director general, Luise Felipe de Oliveira, says: “Consistency will be the key to a sustained global recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and Toronto Pearson’s achievement in being accredited by the ACI Airport Health Accreditation programme contributes to a globally-coordinated approach which will foster public confidence in aviation.

“I am very impressed in how Toronto Pearson has swiftly adapted to new realities to introduce new measures based on globally-consistent protocols.”