Served by Havaş and TAV Operation Services, airBaltic has Become a Leader in COVID-19 Safety

Jan. 14, 2021
During the COVID-19 safety rating audit, the London-based rating organization, focused on passenger and employee contact points and evaluated airBaltic's way of handling COVID-19 safety rules as well as TAV Operation Services and Havaş services.

airBaltic, Latvia's national flag carrier airline company and also the business partner of Havaş and TAV Operation Services at Riga Airport, has become the first airline to receive 5-star COVID-19 safety rating of Skytrax, the world’s most prestigious air transport rating organization. During the evaluation of the thorough audit to scale the efficiency of COVID-19 measures at passenger and employee contact points, however priority was given to airBaltic services and procedures followed by check-in, boarding, cabin disinfection services provided by Havaş and hygiene, food service standards at lounges operated by TAV Operation Services.

Havaş general manager Mete Erna stated, ‘’Through our subsidiary Havas Latvia, we have been providing full-fledged ground handling services to airBaltic at Riga Airport since 2010. I believe, during this long-term partnership, we have reached a harmonious synergy with airBaltic. We are delighted to support airBaltic in becoming the first airline to receive 5-star Skytrax COVID-19 safety rating. We are aware of our responsibility during the adaptation of all our business partners to the new normal and modified travel experience besides health and safety requirements. We will continue to be the reliable solution partner in all our airline collaborations by completely providing the health standards specified by the international aviation authorities that we have been meticulously implementing since day one of the COVID-19 pandemic’’.

TAV Operations Services Chief Executive Officer Güçlü Batkın stated, ”We are thrilled  to be a strong partner of airBaltic and appreciate their award of  being the  first airline to receive 5-star Skytrax COVID-19 safety rating. “As being a pioneering company in airport hospitality services, we are ambitious to sustain a high level of operational excellence. We have adapted our services to today's new normal in a fast and  flexible way  with our expertise in the industry and agile organizational structure. In this period, we have redesigned our health and hygiene measures together with more than 1000 employees at 34 airports in more than 19 countries to offer our guests a safe and comfortable travel experience. We closely follow the needs and requests of our guests and also use analytics to offer the best service. In our regular staff trainings, we always underline maximum sensitivity with hygiene rules. Again, thanks to our COVID-19 Precautions Regulation for our staff, we try to make the adaptation easier to rapidly changing conditions. We are thrilled to see all these efforts are regarded positively and encouraging us for continuous improvement. "

During the COVID-19 safety rating audit held in December 2020, Skytrax, a London-based rating organization, focused on passenger and employee contact points and evaluated airBaltic way of handling COVID-19 safety rules as well as TAV Operation Services and Havaş services, like lounge and food hygiene, check-in, luggage, transfer and pre-boarding processes. Havaş for airBaltic provides full-fledged passenger and operation services including passenger and baggage handling, ramp, aircraft cleaning, and de-icing.