Press release from Greater Asheville Regional Airport Authority:
Asheville Regional Airport (AVL) is the first airport in the state of North Carolina to receive an industry-approved global health accreditation from Airports Council International (ACI). The accreditation process consisted of a significant evaluation of the airport’s health and safety policies and procedures, with emphasis on best practices implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure health and safety of airport employees and passengers.
“We chose to pursue this accreditation to hold ourselves to high standards as we respond to new challenges created by the pandemic,” said Lew Bleiweis, A.A.E., Executive Director. “It was important to examine all facets of our organization, from our guiding directives to implementation of new practices, in order to ensure we are diligently and proactively providing the safest possible environment for our team and guests.”
The ACI Health Accreditation program assesses an airport’s compliance with new health measures and procedures, resulting from COVID-19 and in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Aviation Task Force recommendations. The areas of assessment include cleaning and disinfection, physical distancing (where feasible and practical in the airport environment), staff protection, physical layout, passenger communications and passenger facilities.
“I am proud of the team at AVL, and their dedication and resilience in a challenging time,” said Bleiweis. “This recognition affirms our organization’s commitment to excellence. I would also like to acknowledge that the airport industry across North America has responded very well to the pandemic – we consistently learn from each other, and share information freely and swiftly. ACI Health Accreditation is one more layer of evaluation and validation, to ensure the highest quality approach possible.”
To find out more about AVL’s health and safety plan for travelers, visit flyavl.com/AVLTravelSmart. To learn more about how airports across North America are addressing enhanced health and safety for travelers, visit ReadyForEveryJourney.com.
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