At the second day of the Airport Operators Association (AOA) Annual Conference, which is being held in London today [Tuesday 22 November], the AOA is pleased to announce that the second UK Airport Safety Week will be held 8-14 May 2017.
During the inaugural UK Airports Safety Week, held from 19-25 September 2016, airports across the country demonstrated their commitment to a safety culture by participating enthusiastically in the AOA- and CAA-sponsored Airport Safety Week.
AOA Operations & Safety Director Roger Koukkoullis described the event as a resounding success story which had exceeded expectations, with over 3,000 people taking part in events across the UK’s airports.
He said that commitment by the most senior airport personnel had helped to ensure that the goals of raising awareness, educating and developing knowledge and enthusiasm for safety were achieved and airports had demonstrated beyond doubt that safety is their top priority.
Key to success was the involvement of the broadest range of people from airport staff across the organisation to airlines, air traffic controllers, ground handling service providers, emergency services, the Civil Aviation Authority, local schools and members of the public.
The diverse range of activities involved encompassed practising resuscitation, runway inspections on foot, weighing foreign object debris, awareness of drink and drugs and discharging water from fire trucks.
Among many examples, Aberdeen put the focus on the environmental impact of spillages, Cardiff used a simulator to show how to land an aircraft, Liverpool examined the hazards of refuelling aircraft, Newcastle featured a terminal awareness programme on lithium batteries and Newquay had over 60 people involved in a foreign object debris clearing exercise.
Themes and activities included safety poster competitions with local schools, school visits, safety quizzes and competitions, maintaining optimal health around shift work, first aid training, runway incursion awareness, runway walks, rescue and fire-fighting service open days and air traffic control safety briefings.
Reviewing the sheer scale of activity, Koukkoullis said: “Perhaps the greatest achievement was just how much everybody achieved in the short window between concept and delivery. We captured the imagination of so many people and set the bar high for next year’s event”.
Chief Executive of the AOA, Darren Caplan added:
“UK Airport Safety Week 2017 will be a much anticipated event across the UK airport and aviation sectors. It will demonstrate not only the commitment that airports, the companies working at airports, and their staff have to safety but also the opportunities for gaining skills and new ways of working to ensure passengers and staff work and travel in the safest environment possible.
“With so many people from airports and aviation generally represented at the AOA Annual Conference, we will be discussing and planning already today on how next year’s event will capture the imagination of people across the UK in 2017.”
Notes to Editors:
- Pictures of events at UK airports during UK Airport Safety Week can be found here.
