Noi Bai International Airport (NIA) has officially been accredited under the Airport Health Accreditation (AHA) program of Airports Council International (ACI). This is a recognition for NIA in term of high standard in upholding health and safety in its operations.  The program was launched on November 24, 2020 and the accreditation is valid for the next 12 months.

The ACI Airport Health Accreditation recognition ceremony was virtually organized at the Airport Operations Control Center (AOCC), Terminal 2 in Noi Bai international airport on November 27, 2020. The ceremony was honored to welcome Mr. Antoine Rostworowski – Permanent Vice President in charge of Programs and Commercial Services of ACI, Mr. Dinh Viet Thang – Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, Mr. Nguyen Quoc Phuong – Vice president of Airports Corporation of Vietnam, representatives from relevant authorities and employees of Noi Bai International Airport.

The AHA program has developed to support airports around the world in demonstrating to passengers, staff, regulators and governments that they are prioritizing health and safety in a measurable and an established manner in their ongoing fight against Covid-19 pandemic.

The ACI AHA recognition ceremony was virtually organized

In order to receive the AHA certification, Noi Bai International Airport experienced a rigorous assessment process for safety and health measures at the airport. All the requirements for accreditation are included: cleaning and disinfection procedures, physical distancing, employee health protection guidance, physical layout, passenger communications and passenger facilities which must comply with the highest standards of civil aviation sector.

“NIA has shown that it is providing a safe airport experience for all travelers which is in line with the recommended health measures established in the ACI Aviation Business Restart and Recovery guidelines and ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task Force Recommendations, along with industry best practices” Mr. Luis Felipe de Oliveira, General Director of ACI stated in the congratulation letter to NIA dated November 24, 2020.

Director of Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam Dinh Viet Thang was authorized to grant AHA certificate to Noi Bai International Airport

At the virtual ceremony, Mr. Antoine Rostworowski, Senior Vice President of ACI congratulated ACV in general and NIA in particular for their great endeavors to maintain the airports operation and sustainable development in the Covid-19 period. He said: “We are pleased to know that ACV has been completing the necessary procedures to start the construction of Long Thanh International Airport in the end of 2020. And, we sincerely express our compliment to NIA and its constant rank in the top of international airports with the largest passenger volume of over 15 million recently. Working with NIA to evaluate the applied safety measures for travelling during Covid-19, we appreciate the strict and careful preparation of the airport in compliance with a series of criteria and standards that we set out in the AHA assessment program. This is the one and only program coordinated by ICAO and all participants have to go through a really hard work process…Along with NIA, the Tan Son Nhat international airport and Da Nang international airport are in process to get the AHA certificate in the upcoming time.”

In the connection with the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic around the world including Vietnam, ACV’s airports especially NIA have applied the aviation health safety protocol and the safety operation procedure for passengers during Covid-19. In particular, NIA has drastically put many epidemic prevention and control measures into practices such as sanitizing and disinfecting periodically; installing thermal sensor camera systems to control passengers’ temperature effectively; equipping autonomic check-in and boarding systems for direct contact restriction; applying TCACS technology for air conditioner systems in order to mitigate the spread of bacteria and viruses in the air; placing acrylic barriers at check-in counters and boarding gates at terminals. In addition, NIA has required all passengers and staff to wear masks, provided personal protective equipment for direct-contact staff, equipped a series of hand hygiene booths around the airport. Furthermore, the airport has effectively facilitated several communication channels to ensure that passengers strictly comply with epidemic prevention regulations as well as flexibly arranged appropriate flights in accordance with the regulations of the Government, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

Mr. Antoine Rostworowski, Senior Vice President in charge of Programs and Commercial Services of ACI spoke at the ceremony

In order to get AHA certification, Noi Bai International Airport experienced a rigorous assessment process for safety and health measures at the airport. All the requirements for accreditation are included: cleaning and disinfection procedures, physical distancing, employee health protection guidance, physical layout, passenger communications and passenger facilities which must comply with the highest standards of civil aviation sector.

“NIA has shown that it is providing a safe airport experience for all travelers which is in line with the recommended health measures established in the ACI Aviation Business Restart and Recovery guidelines and ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Task Force Recommendations, along with industry best practices” Mr. Luis Felipe de Oliveira, General Director of ACI stated in the congratulation letter to NIA dated November 24, 2020.

At the virtual ceremony, Mr. Antoine Rostworowski, Senior Vice President of ACI congratulated ACV in general and NIA in particular for their great endeavors to maintain the airports operation and sustainable development in the difficult Covid-19 period. He said: “We are pleased to know that ACV has been completing the necessary procedures to start the construction of Long Thanh International Airport in the end of 2020. And, we sincerely express our compliment to NIA and its constantly top rank international airports with the largest passenger volume of over 15 million recently. Working with NIA to evaluate applied safety measures for travelling during Covid-19, we appreciate the careful preparation of the airport in complying with a series of criteria and standards that we set out in the AHA assessment program. This is the only program coordinated by ICAO and all participants have to go through a really hard work process…Along with NIA, other ACV airports are in the assessment process and hopefully to be accredited soon.

Mr. Dinh Viet Thang – Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam spoke at the ceremony

In the connection with the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic around the world including Vietnam, AVC’s airports especially NIA have applied the code of safe practices and the safety operation procedure for passengers during Covid-19. In particular, NIA has drastically put many epidemic prevention and control measures into practices such as sanitizing and disinfecting regularly and periodically based on the epidemic situation; installing thermal sensor camera systems to control passengers’ temperature effectively; equipping autonomic check-in and boarding systems for a restriction on direct contact; applying TCACS technology for air conditioners in order to mitigate the spread of bacteria and viruses in the air; placing acrylic barriers at check in counters and boarding booths at terminals. In addition, NIA has required all passengers and staff to wear masks, provided personal protective equipment for direct-contact staff, equipped a series of hand hygiene booths around the airport. Furthermore, the airport has effectively facilitated several communication channels to ensure that passengers strictly comply with epidemic prevention regulations as well as flexibly arranged appropriate flights in accordance with the regulations of the Government, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

The leaders of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam together with the leaders of the Airports Corporation of Vietnam and relevant units congratulated Noi Bai International Airport on AHA certification

Rendering the AHA certificate to Noi Bai International Airport, Mr. Dinh Viet Thang opined: “Not only the acknowledgement from the ACI but also there are the world-wide recognition to ACV in particular, and to competent authorities of Vietnam in general who have effectively and successfully coped with Covid-19 pandemic.” Mr. Thang, on behalf of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), thanks to relevant Ministries and Ha Noi city’s authorities for creating favorable conditions for Noi Bai International Airport to complete the ACI evaluation. “CAAV always supports ACV to participate a wide range of ACI’s activities and programs, particularly airport operations, aviation safety and security programs” – he emphasized.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Hung – Vice president of ACV, Director of Noi Bai International Airport said: “The receipt of this accreditation is a remarkable achievement for our continued efforts in implementing several Covid-19 control and prevention measures. It will motivate our employee to diligently strive to carry out better safety measures for airport staff and passengers, creating a confidence to use airport’s services”.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Phuong - Vice president of ACV stated: “As a number of international airports have been certified ACI’s accreditation, I hope that the Government and relevant regulators will consider reopening certain international routes among certified airports, creating a safety corridor from airports to airports and contributing to reduce damages caused by Covid-19 to the global aviation industry.”

Source: Noi Bai International Airport’s Administration

Airports Council International (ACI) is the only global trade representative of the world’s airports. Established in 1991, ACI represents airports interests with Governments and international organizations such as ICAO, develops standards, policies and recommended practices for airports, and provides information and training opportunities to raise standards around the world. ACI has 5 regionals offices and locations such as: ACI Europe; ACI Asia-Pacific; ACI Africa; ACI Latin America-Caribbean; ACI North American. ACI serves 641 members operating 1,935 airports in 181 countries.

According to the AHA certificate airport map on ACI's website, 118 airports are currently at the standard, 51 airports are in the process of finalizing ACI's assessment process. In the ACI Asia-Pacific region, some major airports have already recognized by the AHA certification included: Changi; Hongkong, SiemRiep ... In Vietnam, there are 3 international airports under ACV such as: Noi Bai International Airport (NIA), Tan Son Nhat International Airport (TIA) and Da Nang International Airport (DIA) are all registered to participate in the AHA program, in which Noi Bai International Airport (NIA) has received the accreditation since November 24, 2020 and the remaining two airports are continuing to implement strict ACI procedures to be recognized in the near future./.