Airports play an important role in protecting public health, maintaining operational continuity, and safeguarding passenger confidence in an increasingly complex global environment.
he Public Health & Safety Readiness Accreditation is the only global public health and safety accreditation designed specifically for airports. Developed by airport safety experts and aligned with ICAO and WHO guidelines, the program provides independent assessments and practical recommendations to help airports strengthen preparedness, build long-term resilience, and minimize short-term operational impacts of public health events.
Through peer collaboration and industry recognition, airports gain the tools and confidence to create safer, more resilient operations for passengers, staff, and local communities.
Useful links
Airport benefits
ACI World’s Public Health & Safety Readiness accreditation provides several benefits to airports of all sizes, in every region of the world:
Helps airports keep track and meet regulations / recommended practices – includes ACI, ICAO, and other industry best practices on public health for airports and their stakeholders
Protect people and reputation – showcases airports’ proactive approach to protecting their employees and passengers
Protect revenue – mitigating the risk of business disruption
Reduces costs – avoiding the wasting of resources due to the implementation of inefficient health measures
Provides additional assurance – assessment and recommendations are performed by independent subject matter experts
Provides access to resources for enhancing the public health and safety readiness journey – including newsletters, group meetings, and an extranet website.
Accreditation Scope
The accreditation covers the following areas:
- Restart plan
- PH&S Assurance Program in place
- Corporate oversight
- Management of operational hazards
- Customer Experience (health safety perception)
- Communication (to passenger, employees and stakeholders)
- Rightsizing cleaning activities & schedules
Coordination – escalation/de-escalation
Terminal facilities
Technology/equipment & material
Continuous improvement
Accreditation process
The accreditation includes the following steps:
Questionnaire
Airports complete and submit a questionnaire, together with the supporting material or documentation.
Online interview / assessment
Independent subject matter experts perform an online validation interview and evaluate the questionnaires, providing recommendations and/or approving the accreditation.
Certificate
Provided by ACI and valid for 3 years.
Continuous update
Tools and resources for constant self improvement during the validity period of the accreditation.
For questions about the Public Health & Safety Readiness accreditation, email assessments.accreditations@aci.aero.
Testimonials
"We take great pride in our achievement as the first airport in North America and the second in the world to secure ACI’s accreditation under its Accessibility Enhancement Accreditation (AEA) program. It signifies our dedication to ensuring that every traveller can experience the joys of air travel through a safe and welcoming airport experience. Thanks to ACI’s comprehensive process, we meticulously assessed, evaluated, and enhanced our accessibility programs and services. As the sole international accreditation program of its kind dedicated to airport accessibility, it allowed us to tailor our practices to meet the specific needs of Toronto Pearson's environment and align with global industry standards."
- Kurush Minocher (Executive Director, Customer Experience and Airline Relations), Greater Toronto Airports Authority
"In relentless pursuit of offering a world-class passenger experience, Houston Airports recognizes the crucial role of public health and safety readiness. The guidance provided by ACI World strengthens our long-term, sustainable action plans, which are designed to provide certainty in a post-pandemic era. The dedication, passion and work of our employees resulted in Houston Airports maintaining its PHSR Accreditation through 2026. This accreditation provides international recognition and reaffirms the commitment of Houston Airports in prioritizing and protecting all of our passengers and employees."
- Houston Airport System
"ACI's Public Health & Safety Readiness Accreditation Program has been instrumental to promoting and inculcating the health and safety culture within the Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru, operated by the Bangalore International Airport Limited. PHSR motivated BLR organizations and personnel to do more and more for customer delight and customer experience in the domain of pandemic and endemic preparedness, and continual improvements. BLR airport, having a deep-rooted Business Continuity and Risk Management culture and robust framework has always been proactive to the public health and safety requirements and we are sure ACI’s PHSA has been helping us in achieving our overall vision and mission. We appreciate and thank ACI for conceptualizing this program."
- Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru
"We decided to join the program to obtain this accreditation after comparing this new one with the AHA Accreditation. What we liked is that it took into account the business continuity aspects and the level of preparedness of airports if faced with another pandemic or health crisis. The other aspect that we appreciated was the duration of the accreditation. We are now recognized for 3 years instead of having to reapply every year.
The questionnaire required more research than the AHA Accreditation questionnaire, and we had to reach out to more people in the organization, but in the end the process was shorter and it helped bring all our relevant documentation together."
- Aéroport International Jean-Lesage de Québec
Participant Airports
Public Health & Safety
Readiness Accreditation Extranet
This extranet is only available for program participants.