International Airport Review’s Person of the Year Award winner is announced!

Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, CEO of Delhi International Airport Limited is Person of the Year 2021

International Airport Review would like to announce that the winner of Person of the Year is Videh Kumar Jaipuriar, CEO of Delhi International Airport Limited. A huge congratulations to Videh for winning the award!

The competition was incredibly tight with over 70 nominations for the award received, and with much deliberation the International Airport Review editorial team were tasked with whittling this number down to a final shortlist of 10 people. Voting on the final shortlist opened on 19 October and closed on 31 October. Over 4,000 people visited the International Airport Review website to cast their vote, but there was a clear winner with Mr Jaipuriar receiving over 50 per cent of the votes for his exemplary leadership of the airport during the pandemic.

Jaipuriar 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 made him the apt choice for the Person of the Year Award.

Speaking to International Airport Review, Jaipuriar said: “I am delighted to receive this prestigious International Airport Review ‘Person of the Year Award’. This award is the result of the untiring efforts and commendable work of the entire Delhi International Airport (DIAL) team. I thank the entire Delhi Airport team including our stakeholders, who made this achievement possible by working tirelessly to keep the Delhi airport operational even during the peak of COVID-19 pandemic.

“DIAL has continuously made efforts towards revival and growth of the whole aviation sector. During the first and second waves of the pandemic, Delhi Airport emerged as the hub airport for distribution of COVID medical supplies, aid and vaccines.

“Passenger safety and convenience are of utmost importance for DIAL. We introduced many new technologies which were developed internally by our team. This was recognised by many agencies. We were one of the first few airports to get ACI Health Accreditation and also the first airport in the country to set up a COVID-19 testing lab at the airport for passengers’ convenience.

“We have introduced several initiatives to keep the airport premises safe and hygienic for passengers, employees and stakeholders after commercial operations resumed following a two-month long lockdown in the country. To provide quality healthcare facility for DIAL airport employees, we have set up a Dedicated COVID Healthcare Centre (DCHC), recently. 

“Delhi Airport has proactively partnered with the government in implementing COVID-related policies for inbound and outbound passengers. DIAL, in collaboration with various ministries and state governments, hosted Air Suvidha portal for the convenience of India-bound passengers during the pandemic.

“We are happy to see our efforts bearing fruits and being recognised worldwide.”

Stay tuned for an exclusive video interview with Jaipuriar in the coming days. Jaipuriar will also be featured on the front cover of Issue 6 with a feature interview. Make sure you subscribe for free to the digital issue of the magazine. 

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