LMM Airport lands certification for health measures to prevent COVID-19
The Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport has invested about $1 million since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March to develop and implement health practices and protocols that have now landed it the Airport Health Accreditation from Airports Council International.
The 12-month accreditation is granted in recognition of the prevention plan that the airport’s operator, Aerostar Airport Holdings, LLC, established and makes the Puerto Rico airport the third in a U.S. jurisdiction to receive this distinction, airport officials said.
The ACI is an organization made up of 1,957 airports in 176 countries, which so far has only granted this accreditation to 15 facilities in the Northern Hemisphere, which includes the United States, Mexico, Canada and now Puerto Rico.
According to the ACI, Aerostar has complied with the health and safety measures recommended by the ICAO Council Aviation Restart Task Force and aligned with the ACI Aviation Business Restart and Recovery guidelines, as well as the best practices of the industry, which makes the island’s main airport worthy of recognition.
The ACI Airport Health Accreditation program is designed to give travelers the confidence that certified airports have implemented security protocols and maintain proper precautions to reduce the risks of contagion and protect the health of their visitors.
Luis Felipe de Oliveira, general director of the ACI, said the LMM Airport has shown “it provides a safe experience to all passengers, which is aligned with the health measures established by the accrediting organization and other organizations of the aviation industry.”
“This accreditation helps to position Puerto Rico as a safe and cutting-edge destination in the field of health, which provides certainty to our visitors and inspires a climate of trust among potential investors,” said Jorge Hernández, CEO of Aerostar Puerto Rico.
Since mid-March, Aerostar has made investments in a health and safety prevention plan that addresses all areas of the facility, he said.
Some of the measures and protocols that Aerostar adopted are the sweeping signs system throughout the facility, the installation of hundreds of sanitizer stations, the implementation of protocols that step up cleaning routines. The crediting entity also considered the degree of effectiveness of the products used for the bathrooms and common areas, the disinfection of the boarding bridges with the fogging system, and the signage on the floors and on the bridges to promote social distancing, he said.
The LMM Airport was also the first U.S.-based facility to establish a temperature-taking system through infrared thermal cameras. The airport’s management also installed security cameras with temperature measurement and implemented the verification of the use of masks for employees and installed of acrylic barriers on all airline counters, among other preventive actions.
The most recent of the measures Aerostar adopted is the design and construction of a system of dividers made up of some 700 acrylic panels to guarantee the spacing of the passenger lines at the terminal security checkpoints. Aerostar invested more than $250,000 for this initiative.
