Planes park at Phnom Penh International Airport. Heng Chivoan
Cambodia's three international airports have earned health accreditations from an aviation watchdog group that carried out audits on the safety and hygiene measures put in place after the global Covid-19 outbreak, according to a press statement.
Cambodia Airports on November 30 said the airports in the capital, Siem Reap and Preah Sihanouk provinces had obtained Airport Health Accreditation from Airport Council International (ACI) for practicing proper health procedures, including cleaning and disinfection, social distancing and staff safety.
The ACI audit also focused on the measures airports had put in place to protect passengers, specifically when they interacted with airport personnel during checking in, boarding and disembarking. The inspection included airport facilities such as duty-free shops, food and beverage areas and business lounges, according to the press release.
France’s VINCI Airports, which is a 70 per cent shareholder in Cambodia Airports, has developed and promoted the “protecting each other” campaign based on recommendations by the World Health Organisation and the International Civil Aviation Authority.
“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 Stefano Baronci, director-general of ACI Asia-Pacific.
The three airports were among the first in the ASEAN region to obtain the ACI Airport Health Accreditation. According to the ACI, this puts the Kingdom’s airports “in the same league as bigger regional hubs in Singapore, Jakarta and Manila”.
Cambodia’s airports were ranked first in the category of airports with less than 15 million passengers per year, according to the ACI.
Cambodia Airports CEO Alain Brun said the Kingdom’s airports were key public service providers that had been recognised for putting the health of passengers first.
“I must commend the outstanding cooperation between the Cambodian health authorities and our teams. Having a reliable health system at its airports ensures that Cambodia will be looked at favourably when air travel restarts and people browse around destinations to visit either for leisure or business opportunities,” he said.
Sin Chansereyvutha, spokesman of the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, said the accreditations raised the profile of the Kingdom’s international airports and reinforced the image of the facilities as safe and secure for passengers.
