Hamad Airport first to receive BSI certification for COVID-19 safety protocols

Hamad International Airport (HIA) has become the first entity in the world to achieve independent verification from the British Standards Institution (BSI) for its implementation of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) COVID-19 Aviation Health Safety Protocols.

The airport has shown its commitment to maintaining business efficiency during the COVID-19 pandemic while implementing unprecedented measures to protect its staff and passengers in compliance with guidelines issued by the ICAO Civil Aviation Recovery Taskforce (CART).

The airport was awarded based on a compliance verification audit conducted by BSI to assess guidelines implemented by the airport during the pandemic and will be maintained via a continued verification that will be conducted to ensure this compliance is maintained over time. Qatar’s HIA demonstrated industry best practices, having implemented innovative measures for transferring, departing, and arriving passengers.

Commenting on the achievement, HE Abdulla bin Nasser Turki Al-Subaey, President of the Civil Aviation Authority, said: “We are pleased to witness this unprecedented development in Qatar’s aviation history. This achievement is a testament to Qatar’s keenness and commitment to ICAO’s principles and objectives that help achieve the safety, security, and efficiency of the world’s civil aviation system.”

Qatar’s airport has taken swift and comprehensive steps to curb the spread of COVID-19. Procedures are customised based on the categorisation of arriving passengers, and the use of robotics and advanced thermal screening helmets has been implemented to ensure the health and wellbeing of passengers and staff.

HIA continues to maintain a 1.5m physical distancing across all passenger touchpoints around the airport, through floor markings, signage and distanced seating. All passenger touchpoints are sanitized every 10-15 minutes, and all gates and bus gate counters are cleaned after each flight. The airport also conducts regular disinfection of all baggage trolleys and tubs.

The recent introduction of paperless air travel at HIA has seen biometric identification technology proven to be an extremely efficient tool in the airport’s battle against the virus, allowing departing passengers to move through key touchpoints with minimal physical contact.

The airport’s C2 technology security screening system allows transferring travellers the freedom to move through security checkpoints without having to take out any electronic devices from their bags, reducing possible cross-contamination in passenger carry-on bags.