Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville airports have received Airport Health Accreditation (AHA) from the Airport Council International (ACI).
The audits took place in November and focused on the health and hygiene measures put in place in the three airports in the context of COVID-19, including cleaning and disinfection, physical distancing, staff protection, physical layout, passenger communications and passenger facilities; processes specifically adjusted to protect passengers and the airport personnel when they interact (check-in, boarding, or disembarkation), and customers and those who cater to them at various outlets (duty-free, Food & Beverage, business lounge).
These measures are part of the international campaign “Protecting each other” developed and promoted by VINCI Airports for all the airports in its network worldwide, according to a press statement.
They are based on hygiene recommendations issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
In the ASEAN region, the three Cambodian airports are among the first to have obtained the ACI Airport Health Accreditation, in the same league as bigger regional hubs in Singapore, Jakarta, and Manilla.
Under the category of small and medium airports (less than 15 million passengers a year), Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, and Sihanoukville airports stand atop the podium.
“We congratulate the Cambodia Airports operated airports in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Sihanoukville for obtaining the ACI Airport Health Accreditation to prove to the world and to the communities they serve that effective health measures have been put in place in compliance with the highest standards recommended by ICAO,” said Mr. Stefano Baronci, Director General ACI Asia-Pacific.
Mr. Alain BRUN, CEO of Cambodia Airports, the company that develops and manages Cambodia’s network of international airports, said by putting the health safety of its passengers and airport users first, Cambodia Airports remains true to itself as one of Cambodia’s key public service providers.
“I must commend the outstanding cooperation between Cambodian health authorities and our teams. Having a reliable health system at its airports ensures that Cambodia will be looked at favorably when air travel restarts and people browse around destinations to visit either for leisure or business opportunities,” he said.
The three airports handled total air passengers of 2 million as of October this year, a year-to-date decrease of 78 percent, according to figures from the Cambodia Airports.