Operational Guidance to Help Airports Amid COVID-19 Crisis 

27 May 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing significant impacts to airport operations. In response, the Regional Office formed the ACI Asia-Pacific COVID-19 Task Force in late March 2020 to facilitate the timely exchange of operational knowledge between airport operators and suppliers during this time of crisis. 37 representatives from airports and World Business Partners in the region have joined the Task Force. In a short space of time, the Task Force has already produced two reports.

Operational measures documented 

The first report Common Measures Implemented at Airports in Asia-Pacific to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 focused on documenting and compiling common measures implemented by and at airports in the Asia-Pacific region to prevent the spread of COVID-19. 

The report highlighted over 50 practical common measures implemented at airports grouped into eight categories:

Health screening
Operational measures
Hygienic measures
Social distancing measures
Security screening measures
HR measures
Communication
Emergency responses.

Impact assessment 

The second report developed by the Task Force, Impact Assessment on airport operations in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East due to COVID-19 pandemic” was published in late April. The report provided useful references for policy makers and airport operators as they formulate policies to help the industry recover and resume operations when the pandemic subsides. The report analysed the impact on the following six operational measures taken by airports in response to the traffic drop: 