WORLD IN MOTION

Hicham Ayoun reports on the appointment of Martin Eurnekian as the new chair of the ACI World Governing Board and the unveiling of the organisation’s long-term vision for airport security.

ACI World has announced the appointment of Martin Eurnekian as the new chair of the ACI World Governing Board.

Eurnekian – the CEO of Corporación América Airports and president of Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 – has just ended his two-year term as president of the ACI Latin America-Caribbean Region.

He is a prominent and successful figure in the industry and an active member of ACI Latin America-Caribbean for more than a decade, so brings enormous field and leadership experience to his role as chair.

Eurnekian has been vice-chair of the ACI World Governing Board since January 1, 2018, and succeeds Bongani Maseko, former CEO and executive director of Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), who had served as chair since that date.

ACI World Governing Board members thank Maseko for his dedicated service to ACI, including service on the Board of Directors of ACI Africa. His leadership has been most productive and appreciated.

Eurnekian has more than 17 years’ experience in managing diverse businesses in seven different countries, primarily in Latin America as well as in Europe.

“I am honoured to be named as the chair of the ACI World Governing Board,” he enthuses. “It is a critical time for the aviation industry, and especially airports, as we come together to meet the growing global demand for air services and deliver the social and economic benefits this growth will bring to the communities we serve.

“I look forward to working with the Board, our members, partners, and stakeholders to continue to advocate for the interests of airports around the world as we pursue sustainable growth over the long-term.”

The global community of airports is invited to join ACI in congratulating Martin Eurnekian for this new chapter of his career.

ACI World sets out new long-term vision for airport security

Security remains one of the top ACI policy priorities. In 2018, we continued to take a very active role in assessing airport operational issues and working with our members to improve processes.

This includes informing regulatory authorities of the impact of new security rules while helping to shape those rules and ensuring that changes in security are communicated to airport authorities.

In November, ACI outlined its long-term vision for aviation security at ICAO’s Second High-level Conference on Aviation Security. The vision focuses on more innovative procedures, greater efficiency, and a better passenger experience.

During the event, ACI presented three papers in front of senior government officials and invited representatives of international and regional organisations formulating recommendations on key aviation security priorities, namely:

• Vision for Aviation Security at Airports
• Joint Approach to Border and Aviation Security Threats at Airports
• ACI’s Contributions and Updates to the Global Aviation Security Plan (GASeP)

The Vision for Aviation Security at Airports was produced in partnership with IATA and promotes the efforts that the aviation industry is making to identify themes, innovations and developments that will affect airport security in the long-term.

The paper identifies new and emerging themes in airport security, including off-airport handling of passengers and bags to minimise required processes at airports, walk-through, seamless, stand-off security from kerb to gate for passengers, and whole-of-airport security to secure the overall airport infrastructure from a range of current and evolving threats.

In addition to detailing its ongoing contribution towards the Global Aviation Security Plan, ACI committed to take a leading role on the Smart Security programme following years of fruitful partnership on the programme with IATA.

The programme has delivered positive change in the effectiveness, efficiency and customer experience of primary passenger screening checkpoints. The three papers are available on ICAO’s website, under the Meetings and Events section.