The Airport Operators Association launched the fourth annual AOA UK Airports Safety Week.
Beginning Monday May 13, until Sunday May 19, airports across the UK are promoting all aspects of aviation and workplace safety, including well-being. This will be done through events for airport staff, staff of companies operating in and around the airport and the public to demonstrate and promote airports’ approach to safety and safety culture.
The AOA UK Airports Safety Week 2019 is a great way to inspire, engage and educate the public and staff at airports about our justly renowned UK safety culture and track-record. Our excellent safety culture depends on collaborating successfully across many different partners: our passengers’ safety and our workforce’s safety rely on everyone, landside and airside, putting safety first. That is why we promote the UK airport safety culture through events like the AOA UK Airports Safety Week, enabling us to shine a light on our success and find new ways to work together and spread learning.
The AOA UK Airports Safety Week 2019 will show that airport safety is an integral part of the communities that airports serve, both by providing a safe and enjoyable travel experience to passengers as well as by providing important employment opportunities, including through apprenticeships.
Airports across the UK are running multiple events every day. Examples of these activities are:
- Baggage truck driving, push back and dispatching experiences for staff at Manchester Airport
- Passenger Day at Edinburgh Airport, where passengers will hear about security, counterfeit goods, first aid and more.
- Emergency first aid demonstrations at George Best Belfast City Airport
- First aid demonstrations by the Airport Fire Service at Edinburgh Airport
- Fire-fighting demonstrations at Belfast International Airport
- Wildlife control information at Jersey Airport
- Dementia Awareness at George Best Belfast City Airport
- Airside driving workshops at Leeds Bradford Airport
- Improving mental and physical wellbeing at Manchester Airport, in partnership with MIND
Chief Executive of the AOA, Karen Dee said:
“Passengers, airport staff, airline crew, ground-handling employees and everyone else working in and around an airport are affected by aviation safety and have a role to play to ensure everyone’s safe. If we get it right, much of this hard work will go unnoticed by passengers and staff alike.
“AOA UK Airports Safety Week 2019 is an opportunity to bring all this behind-the-scenes work out into the open, and show to airport users, the public and staff the different aspects of safety and safety culture at UK airports.
“It promises to be another exciting AOA UK Airports Safety Week, with lots of learning opportunities as well as a chance to say thanks to the many thousands of workers who make UK aviation and airports one of the safest in the world. So, get involved at your local airport this week!”
AOA Operations and Safety Director, Tania Roca said:
“Safety runs through every minute of every day at an airport. Thanks to everyone working together and putting safety first, UK safety standards are amongst the best in the world.
“AOA UK Airports Safety Week 2019 will again promote best-practice sharing and learning between airports and across different functions within an airport. We are particularly pleased this year to have a number of European airports visiting UK airports to see how we do things in the UK and share with us how they do it at their airports.
“With record passenger numbers travelling through UK airports, the AOA UK Airports Safety Week is an opportunity to demonstrate how the sector is not only working for the safety of passengers and staff today but also developing for the future.”
