PORTUGAL. Amsterdam Schiphol, Antalya, Edinburgh and Bournemouth airports were the big winners at last night’s ACI Europe Best Airport Awards. The event was held at the 21st ACI Europe Annual Congress hosted by ANA Aeroportos de Portugal in Lisbon, attended by around 400 delegates.
In addition, a special award was made to Gebr Heinemann’s Harry Diehl in recognition of his service to the industry.
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Harry Diehl: Recognised for his influence on the European airports business |
The ACI Europe Best Airport Awards covered four categories of airport and aim to recognise achievement in core activities such as customer service, retail, security and environmental awareness.
The first award, recognising airports in the “˜1-5 million passenger’ category, went to Bournemouth Airport (owned by Manchester Airport Group). The judges awarded the prize to the airport for its “dynamic business approach in recent years, its commercial renaissance and exemplary care for passengers with reduced mobility”.
The winner of the “˜5-10 million passenger’ category was Edinburgh Airport (owned by BAA). This airport excelled in all the key areas of operations but the judges singled it out for the dedication of its management and staff.
This year’s award in the “˜10-25 million passenger’ category went to ICF Antalya Airport. ACI Europe said: “In the past decade the airport has been transformed both physically and commercially, facing fast growth with the best answers in terms of efficiency, quality and environmental awareness.”
And in the final category, for airports with “˜over 25 million passengers’, this year’s award went to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. A previous winner in 2009, this year the judges deemed that the airport was “a model in terms of efficiency, facilities offered, continuous infrastructure development and attention to the environment.”
This year’s Eco-Innovation Award, which is awarded by the independent Advisory Board of Airport Carbon Accreditation, went to Zürich Airport for its comprehensive and systematic approach to environmental management. It also became the first airport to implement an emissions-related charge, thereby “creating a wave of change throughout the industry” – resulting in its home carrier, as well as other airlines, reconsidering their choice of engines in favour of the most advanced environmentally-beneficial options.
As noted above, the WBP Recognition Award was presented to Harry Diehl, the retired Managing Director of Gebr Heinemann. This was “in recognition of his leadership in advancing airport retail and developing increased cooperation between airports and their commercial partners through his involvement in ACI’s World Business Partner programme,” said ACI Europe.
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Declan Collier: Named President of ACI Europe at the Lisbon Annual Congress |
This year’s judging panel was drawn from a group of independent experts including ACI World, Eurocontrol, ECAC and the Disabled People’s Association (Denmark).
The awards were presented to the winning airports by Angela Gittens, Director General ACI World, António Mendonça, Portugal’s Minister of Public Works, Transport and Communications, Carolyn McCall, CEO of easyJet, David McMillan, Director General Eurocontrol, Olivier Jankovec, Director General ACI Europe and Max Moore-Wilton, Chairman of Airports Council International and Chairman of Sydney Airport.
In other news, Dublin Airport Authority CEO Declan Collier has been named President of ACI Europe. Collier said “I am honoured to take on this role. Recent years have shown our industry still faces plenty of challenges and that we need a strong representation with policy makers and regulators at European level. More than ever, decisions taken in Brussels affect our business, and that trend is only set to continue.
“I will work closely with our office and staff in Brussels, and will seek to engage the Board and the membership at large in actively supporting our advocacy efforts. Alongside the strong presence and efficiency of our association, my priority at all times will be on ensuring that we defend the collective interests of all our members – regardless of size, location or business model. This includes members of ACI Europe’s World Business Partners programme as they are an essential component of our association.
“Beyond our membership, I will strive to reinforce industry cooperation with airlines, ANSPs and other stakeholders – experience has shown that we are far more effective when we work in harmony with other stakeholders in the industry. However, this to me, has to be compatible with airports being treated and recognised as commercial businesses in their own right.”
The 22nd ACI EUROPE Annual Assembly, Congress & Exhibition will be hosted by AENA and will take place in Madrid in mid-June 2012.
