Angkasa Pura

The Health Protocol for the Prevention of COVID-19 at Soekarno-Hatta Airport is Again Recognized by the World

Received Airport Health Accreditation from ACI & Highest Score Safe Travel Barometer, completing COVID-19 Airport Excellence Awards from Skytrax

Jakarta - The implementation of the Soekarno-Hatta Airport health protocol in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic has again received recognition from two global institutions, namely the Airport Council International (ACI) and the Safe Travel Barometer.

ACI awarded the Airport Health Accreditation certificate for two consecutive years, where the first certificate was awarded in November 2020 and the second certificate was awarded in November 2021.

President Director of AP II Muhammad Awaluddin said the award from ACI and the Safe Travel Barometer was due to the hard work and close coordination of all stakeholders at Soekarno-Hatta Airport in an effort to maintain health aspects for travelers, visitors and airport workers in the midst of a pandemic.

"This award from ACI for the second year in a row and the highest score in ASEAN from the Safe Travel Barometer also indicates that Soekarno-Hatta Airport since the beginning of the pandemic has been ready to implement health protocols according to domestic regulations and global best practices to maintain health and realize a safe environment for travelers," explained Muhammad Awaluddin.

"Soekarno-Hatta Airport is the largest airport in Indonesia, and in the midst of this pandemic it has become the main entry point for international flights as well as the anchor for domestic routes. It is important to ensure that this airport operates 24 hours a day by always complying with domestic regulations, as well as global guidelines in the air transportation sector provided by ACI and ICAO, to maintain health and security aspects in the midst of a pandemic."

ACI in its letter to AP II stated that Soekarno-Hatta Airport has shown continuous efforts in realizing a safe airport for travelers.

“After conducting a review through the evaluation process, your airport has demonstrated an impressive sustainability effort to provide safe airport security for travelers in line with the health programs recommended in the ICAO Council Aviation Restart Task Force (ICART) and ACI Aviation Business Restart and Recovery. ,” the ACI wrote in its letter.

Meanwhile, the Safe Travel Barometer in November 2021 gave a Safe Travel Score of 4.3 or the highest in ASEAN (similar to that achieved by Changi Airport), and seventh in Asia Pacific in line with the assessment on aspects of Travel Experience, Travel Convenience and COVID-19 Safety Protocols.

The standards of these three aspects can be maintained by Soekarno-Hatta Airport through a number of initiatives, including various contactless services, health screening facilities, periodic disinfection at various points, as well as the availability of COVID-19 test facilities.

Biosafety and Biosecurity Management
Soekarno-Hatta Airport Executive General Manager Agus Haryadi said the implementation of health protocols at Soekarno-Hatta Airport was strengthened by Biosafety Management and Biosecurity Management.

"Biosecurity Management is carried out to protect the public from the dangers of COVID-19, while Biosafety Management is to keep the environment healthy," explained Agus Haryadi.

Soekarno-Hatta Airport is also equipped with an Airport Health Center as a COVID-19 test facility, and is strengthened by the presence of a Level 2 Biosafety Lab (BSL-2) laboratory.

Built with an area of ​​158 square meters in Terminal 3, BSL-2 is equipped with a number of rooms including an extraction room and a mixing room with various equipment such as a BioSafety Cabinet.

The BSL-2 is operated by professional medical personnel, including certified Medical Laboratory Technology Experts (ATLM), biosafety officers, and pathologists.

BSL-2 in Terminal 3 has a sample inspection capacity of up to 1,216 samples per hour or about 29,184 per day, where its presence is able to provide RT-PCR test results about 3 hours after the sample is taken at the Airport Health Center at Soekarno-Hatta Airport.

Airport Health Center Soekarno-Hatta Airport also has a COVID-19 test service with the molecular rapid test (TCM) method whose results can be known in about 1 hour.

"We are grateful for the support of the Ministry of Health and the Banten Provincial Health Office who have supported the existence of BSL-2 as a facility at Soekarno-Hatta Airport to strengthen health protocols in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Muhammad Awaluddin.

These various programs and facilities make Soekarno-Hatta Airport able to implement strict health protocols. Meanwhile, Soekarno-Hatta Airport was previously awarded the COVID-19 Airport Excellence Awards from Skytrax for being able to implement high standards in health protocols in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.