The annual Airport Safety Week was delivered by the Australian Airports Association (AAA) in partnership with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), Airservices and the New Zealand Airports Association from 16 -20 October 2017.
Established in 2014, this is the fourth time the event has been held and has grown to include airports from all over the world including Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America.
AAA CEO, Caroline Wilkie, said, “Airports have a unique set of safety challenges, and the AAA is dedicated to ensuring the industry upholds the highest health and safety standards, safeguarding everyone who accesses airport facilities.”
Throughout safety week the AAA engaged with key stakeholders across the political spectrum to discuss the importance of an effective, efficient and fair aviation safety regulatory systems and emphasise the importance of having nationally consistent messaging and core safety principles around the critical elements of airport safety especially for airside workers regardless of the airport size.
The overall theme for the week was ‘One Airport, One Team’ which aimed to bring together the aviation industry to strengthen safety awareness.
“The various themes each day range from emergency and wildlife hazard management, personal protective equipment right through to drones which have become a safety consideration as a result of advances in technology and large numbers of recreational adopters,” Ms Wilkie said.
Each safety theme provided airports with an opportunity to encourage participation from employees, contractors and consultants to highlight the importance of safety in the workplace and the commitment to providing a safe environment for all airport users.
“Airport Safety Week provides an online toolkit of resources, daily e-newsletter’s and quizzes to participating airports and organisations,” Ms Wilkie said.
In 2016, there were 126 airports from around the world and 28 organisations registered as participants which the AAA is forecasting will increase as Airport Safety Week spreads across the world.
