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5 October 2011 | By Jack Kreckie, Regulatory Affairs Officer at the Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting Working Group (ARFFWG)
Aviation is perhaps one of the most difficult businesses to maintain profitability in today’s struggling economy. The industry has seen dozens of carriers come and go. In recent years, even the legacy carriers have found themselves trying to recover from bankruptcy, sometimes merging with their competition as a means of…
5 October 2011 | By Andy Baxter, Bird Management Unit, the UK Food and Environment Agency (FERA)
Flight 1549, ‘The miracle on the Hudson’ brought the risks aircraft face from birdstrikes to a worldwide audience. For those involved in managing this risk, it merely re-confirmed the potentially catastrophic consequences such events can have. Birdstrikes are not an uncommon feature of air travel. Thousands of events occur around…
5 October 2011 | By Saskia van Pelt, Business Development Director, Schiphol Cargo
Many aspects of the air cargo industry have changed beyond recognition in recent years. But one area which has stubbornly resisted change is the continuing reliance on paper processes.
5 October 2011 | By Eric Dautriat, Executive Director of Clean Sky
Clean Sky is the most ambitious aeronautical research programme ever launched in Europe. Its mission is to develop breakthrough technologies to significantly increase the environmental performances of airplanes and air transport, resulting in less noisy and more fuel efficient aircraft, hence making a key contribution to achieving the Single European…
5 October 2011 | By Paul Wilson, Head of Air Traffic Management, EUROCONTROL and Yvonne Page, Project Manager of Runway Safety at EUROCONTROL
Today there are a number of diverse technologies available to aid operational staff in their work to prevent runway incursions and excursions and assure runway safety. The kinds of technologies we refer to include systems for air traffic controllers, pilots and manoeuvring area vehicle drivers and provide an alert that…
5 October 2011 | By Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai
Mumbai is the financial capital and most popular city in India. Capital of the state of Maharashtra and home to 20 million people, diversity and vibrancy display the city’s true personality. With its diverse set of people, Mumbai is the home ground for many reputed enterprises and organisations. Mumbai is…
5 October 2011 | By Karen Medweth, Director of Air Service Development and Marketing, John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport
John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport, which serves a catchment area with a population comparative to Greater London, is surrounded by a booming industrial growth area and along with its own regional natural attractions, is just an hour’s drive to one of the world’s most famous sites, Niagara Falls. Driving…
5 October 2011 | By Hanspeter Moll, Head of Airfield Maintenance and Winter Operations, Zurich Airport
In over 60 years of operation, Zurich Airport has never had to be closed down because of snow – a fact the airport is immensely proud of. Last year Several European airports fought harsh winter weather conditions and some hubs – such as Frankfurt and London Heathrow – had to…
8 August 2011 | By V.P. Agrawal, Chairman, Airports Association of India (AAI)
As a result of the influx of air traffic in the past decade, AAI have embarked upon a plan to modernise and upgrade its airports with two aims; firstly, to not only match but to keep on top of the increase of air traffic, and secondly, to create world class…
8 August 2011 | By William Shea, Former FAA Associate Administrator
If it were a separate nation, California would be one of the largest economies in the world. Currently the population of the Golden State stands at 36 million with an expected increase to 60 million by 2040. Air travel demand will increase dramatically and because of the enormous size of…
8 August 2011 | By Sanjay Varkey, Chief Executive Officer of Shell MRPL Aviation Fuels and Services Private Limited (SMA)
As the Indian aviation market continues its growth, the involvement of Shell Aviation Fuels has had much influence. International Airport Review spoke to CEO Sanjay Varkey to find out why the Indian market will continue to flourish. IAR: Shell Aviation first began its operations in India back in 2008 at…
8 August 2011 | By Brodie Clark, Head of the UK Border Force at the UK Border Agency
More than 100 million passengers and billions of pounds worth of freight enter the UK through airports each year. Airports are the largest entry point for traffic into the UK and the UK Border Agency is the first point of contact through the border force. Formed in 2008, the UK…
8 August 2011 | By Kim T. Olsen, Assistant Fire Chief at Copenhagen Airport
Copenhagen Airport was opened on 20 April 1925 as one of the world’s first airports exclusively for civil traffic. Today the airport is one of the most modern in the world and has been awarded numerous awards for efficiency and customer satisfaction. Copenhagen is Scandinavia’s largest airport and is also…
8 August 2011 | By Michael Eggenschwiler, CEO of Flughafen Hamburg GmbH
A hundred years ago, on the site that is today home to one of Europe’s most modern airports, there stood a single, two-door airship hangar. By the end of the 1920s, a modern terminal building was already making its mark on the city of Hamburg. Today, Hamburg Airport greets arriving…
8 August 2011 | By Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus, Secretary General of the European Association of Airlines
The Single European Sky programme, to rationalise the airspace above the Single Market, has been hailed as Europe’s single biggest environmental programme, and by EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas as the most important project in his portfolio. It promises a huge efficiency improvement over the current patchwork of national airspaces,…
Chief Executive Officer
Delhi International Airport Limited
Videh Kumar Jaipuriar has been nominated for his exemplary leadership in managing and navigating Delhi International Airport (DEL) during the COVID-19 pandemic. He led multiple initiatives to ensure business continuity at DEL, which included passenger safety and convenience, stakeholder management, cash conservation, adoption of new technologies, and care for environment and employee safety.
He proactively engaged with the government stakeholders and supported them in safeguarding aviation through strong confidence building measures for travellers, such as developing several indigenous technology solutions like air circulation with six changes per hour and a combination of UV and plasma disinfection systems to provide safest journey experience to their passengers. Under his leadership, DEL has been forefront of implementing safety measures which was later adopted across the country.
Despite lockdown, Jaipuriar ensured that DEL was operational for rescue missions, medical evacuations, and transporting medical essentials to various parts of the country. He further led the Vande Bharat Mission flights of Government of India (a rescue mission to get Indians back to India), as well as rescue flights by other international governments. His outstanding leadership across all areas across the stakeholders in the aviation ecosystem and going beyond the call of duty in managing and navigating this crisis for a national capital airport having national importance makes him the apt choice for the Person of the Year Award.
CEO
Hajj and Umrah Airport – Jeddah – KSA
Adnan Saggaf continues to demonstrate strong leadership skills throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and brought out of the box ideas in attracting traffic and to support his team during this difficult time. With new innovative ideas in balancing cash flow, the facilities were kept maintained and the personal were kept employed.
Saggaf has protected the financial stability of his staff income, ensured valuable cost cutting management, shown excellent performance of crisis management, and exceptional negotiation skills shown with authority regarding agreement restructuring and receivable payments.
To handle the loss of Umrah traffic to the airport, Saggaf chose to attract new airlines, mainly LCCs, to use the terminal with attractive offers and more reliable services. He built a new strategy by diversifying the airport offers. He prepared the facilities by deploying new technology and working on enhancing passenger experience. Saggaf also initiated a capacity building programme for the airside team by drafting SOPS, training and coaching, as well as initiating dedicated workshops to discuss ideas and to deploy new initiatives.
Leaders show strength in difficult times, and this is exactly what Saggaf showed and why he deserves to be awarded as the Person of the year 2021.
Chief Operating Officer
Sangster International Airport Jamaica
Peter has been with the Sangster International Airport for over 25 years.
He has experience in customer service, operations and now oversees the security function and is also the Chief Operations Officer.
Peter has been instrumental in co-ordinating the preparation and implementation of a COVID-19 response plan for not just MBJ, but to guide the operation of all agencies operating on airport. The aim of this plan was to ensure a safe environment for staff and the travelling public; therefore, this plan was instrumental to establish consumer/travellers/public confidence and provided information and guidelines on the new protocols implemented at the airport.
Peter is well known for his expertise in investigation and aviation security. His co-operation with law enforcement stakeholders has been unrelenting in assuring the security of the airport and stakeholders alike.
While Peter is known as a firm individual that displays the outmost professionalism and integrity, he operates on the basis of equity and fairness in all matters relating to staff, clients, passengers and the general public.
Head of Operations, Safety and Emergency
Belo Horizonte International Airport
Robson Freitas has developed and led the BH Airport plan for the resumption of airport operations post-COVID-19, as well as being responsible for leading the group of Directors and Managers at the airport, defining the three main pillars of recovery: Health and Safety of People, Institutional and Integrated Communication and Institutional Partners. These central pillars include ensuring hygiene and health and social distances measures for passengers, users, and the airport community, in addition to participating in strategic committees involving the public sectors to comply with regulatory rules. Freitas developed the COVID guardians programme, who were responsible in monitoring and following up on the measures already implemented for COVID-19 and advising users, employees and other people on compliance with distancing, hygiene and health measures recommended by health authorities. He also developed a COVID booklet with information and guidance for the airport community regarding good hygiene and health practices and led the beginning of the publication of a monthly newsletter with passenger curve information, allowing the planning of reopening and rehiring by commercial stores. Freitas also supported the reduction of OPEX by planning the temporary closure of areas, toilets and equipment in common use and internalising some activities.
Chief Strategy Development Officer
Bangalore International Airport Limited
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Raghunath worked closely with all the aero concessionaires and cargo operators to minimise disruption and provide financial relief to them. The airline marketing team helped launch a historic first route to the U.S. West Coast and the cargo team at BIAL also achieved record numbers over this period, with the airport becoming India’s leading airport for the export of perishables. Despite the impact of COVID-19, Raghunath has led a digital transformation and expansion at BIAL airport, with new initiatives and the deployment of the fully biometric-based self-boarding solution for seamless passenger flow and travel experiences and a process automation and analytics platform. These initiatives amongst many others, meant that the airport won ACI World’s ‘Voice of the Customer’ initiative, which recognised BIAL airports efforts to prioritise their customers during COVID-19. Raghunath has remained a staunch and resilient leader during such an uncertain time and is very much appreciated by his team.
Head of Operations
Cairns Airport
As Head of Operations, Alicia Prince has played a critical role in leading and navigating Cairns Airport through the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, Prince implemented a functional plan to ensure business continuity and staff welfare, segregating front-line operational staff into work teams to avoid interaction between groups, as well as strict sanitisation processes. She ensured that the $55 million domestic Terminal upgrade continued safely despite the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis.
She also deployed the COVIDSafe Operation Plan for Cairns Airport, which was endorsed and later commended by Queensland Chief Health Officer. As part of this plan Alicia developed an airport layout to provide physical separation of low risk and high-risk arrivals and initiated increased hygiene and sanitisation protocols. The health and safety of the airport community was paramount to maintaining operations, and in response to this Alicia initiated a COVIDSafe training program for the entire airport community and worked closely with her team to deliver.
As a result of the great work Prince has done to ensure COVID-19 best practices, Cairns Airport was one of the first Australian Airports to be awarded an ACI Global Health Accreditation.
Alicia also led the terminal optimisation project, which assessed and implemented terminal downscales due to the crisis. Significant savings (both financial and environmental) were achieved by reducing the operational footprint of the airport.
Whilst maintaining operations throughout the pandemic was a priority, Alicia ensured her team were kept well informed and engaged. Cairns Airport has a team of 33 volunteers which form part of Alicia’s wider team. To ensure they remained connected and cared for, Alicia and her team created care packages including home-made cakes and personally delivered to each of the volunteers’ houses in a COVIDSafe manner. Alicia demonstrated great leadership throughout the pandemic and continues to do so today. Her clear and transparent communication and collaboration with other Australian Airports and key agencies to ensure best practice and alignment contributed greatly to business continuity. Furthermore, all the above was managed whilst working remotely and juggling home schooling with her two young boys.
Airport General Manager
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Balram Bheodari leads Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as North America’s most efficient airport, due to his vast knowledge of and astute attention to efficiency in aviation, which has allowed the airport to thrive in the most difficult of markets. Bheodari combines operational expertise, integrity, and selflessness to provide a quality of leadership throughout Atlanta Airport. He oversees all facets of airport governance, including operations and a multi-billion-dollar capital improvement programme, ATLNext, designed to pave the way for Atlanta’s growth over the next 20 years. During COVID-19, Bheodari developed a comprehensive resumption of operations playbook that served to support ATL’s recovery efforts. With guidance from the Federal Aviation Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) amid evolving health and safety guidelines, Bheodari steadfastly encouraged collaboration among stakeholders, team-building among aviation employees, and adaptability in uncertain times. Throughout the pandemic, he participated in daily calls with Airports Council International and other large-hub airports to share best practices as well as information from Washington, D.C. federal offices and the CDC.
He aimed to restore customer confidence and ensure the airport was a healthy facility using COVID-19 safe protocols. Since, the airport achieved Airport of the Year by the Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC).
During the height of the pandemic, Bheodari was the most ardent supporter of our mission-critical employees. Having worked his way up through the ranks, he fully appreciates the oftentimes thankless jobs these employees perform that keep the Airport safe and running optimally at all times. Morale never flagged because Bheodari made sure those employees felt valued through hazard pay, special meals, social media posts, intranet spotlight features, and other incentives.
His actions and his directives all reflect his commitment to the three key focus areas of our organisation’s strategic plan: people, purpose and performance.
CEO
Swedavia Airports
Jonas Abrahamsson has shown the strength to steer the company towards its long-term sustainable goals, despite the challenges of COVID-19. Abrahamsson has ensured that Swedavia achieved its net zero target for all ten of the airports in 2020 and has continued to support strategic development and innovation to further the cause of sustainable air travel. During 2020, when passenger numbers where down over 90 per cent and a lot of investments were paused, he decided that investments in the company’s net zero target should proceed, allowing Swedavia to become the first net zero airport group by the end of 2020.
Chief Executive Officer
Budapest Airport
Chris Dinsdale has worked at Budapest Airport since 2015, originally as CFO until March 2021, where he was nominated for the position as CEO. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dinsdale, as CFO of the airport at the time, fought relentlessly to make sure that the company survived the crisis and worked with great commitment to secure the funding of the airport. For example, a voluntary salary cut for the executives and the founding of the Budapest Airport Foundation, which supports blue collar workers who lost their job during the COVID-19 pandemic.
After being nominated to CEO position in March 2021, Dinsdale continues to work closely with the executive team to create a clear COVID-19 recovery strategy for Budapest Airport. This will also mean that we come out stronger of the pandemic and have a clear focus. Dinsdale is an inspiring true leader who helped us all to cope with the very difficult times of the pandemic and I am convinced that he truly deserves this award.
