Providing a platform

The campaign aims to enhance and add to the safety conversation by encouraging all staff and contractors working on an aerodrome to consider their obligations to provide a safe environment for all users.

Airport Safety Week will continue with the proven approach of providing participating organisations with a range of resources and tools via the dedicated website and daily enewsletters. These tools and resources help aerodrome operators engage with employees and contractors through the discussion of key safety messages and themes. Airport Safety Week provides a platform for industry to discuss the safety challenges and share best practice experience which deliver results at participating aerodromes.

2016 will build on the strong growth experienced during Airport Safety Week 2015 which saw a 63 per cent increase in participating organisations along with significant international support and participation in the campaign. Readership of the daily enewsletter grew to reach almost 27,000 views throughout the week which represented an increase of 26 per cent on 2014 figures and demonstrates the breadth of coverage that both the AAA and NZ Airports have of our respective markets.

The Airport Safety Awards are a key part of the Airport Safety Week campaign as they recognise the hard work and innovation of individuals, teams and projects to improve safety at airports across Australasia. In 2015 the categories were amended to provide aerodrome operators of all sizes with a better opportunity to nominate for an award. This change proved to be well received by industry with a total of 25 nominations received across all six Airport Safety Award categories.

Airport Safety Week in 2016 is focusing attention on key areas of importance for aerodrome operators. The daily themes for the 2016 campaign aim to draw employees’ and contractors’ attention to these critical areas of aerodrome safety to both improve awareness and support continual improvement.

As such the themes for 2016 are human factors, airside works, airside driving (including situational awareness), environmental considerations (eg heat stress) and finally fatigue. Each of these themes supports an area of aerodrome safety that is key to continued efficient and effective airport operations. For example, airside works and airside driving were selected as themes given that many airports across Australasia are undertaking significant redevelopments while continuing to manage the ever-increasing intensity of operations.

The daily themes will be supported by a range of resources, activities and events that will provide participating organisations with different prospects to engage with employees and contractors.

Once again the key activities for Airport Safety Week 2016 are focused on team gathering, the national FOD (foreign object debris) walk and the wear PPE (personal protective equipment) to work day. Each of these activities provide airport operators with scalable and adaptable opportunities to engage with their employees and contractors on a practical and meaningful level. The activities also aim to enhance the safety culture at the airport by engaging staff across the organisation in a genuine discussion on the importance of airport safety.

To further boost this focus on improving the safety culture at participating aerodromes the AAA is developing an Airport Safety Charter that we will ask all participants to endorse, not only during Airport Safety Week but throughout the year. The Airport Safety Charter aims to highlight airports as safety leaders among industry and clearly state our dedication to providing a safe environment for all airport users.

In another effort to further enhance and develop the Airport Safety Week campaign the AAA is excited to offer sponsorship opportunities to corporate members of the association. Sponsorship of Airport Safety Week will allow the AAA to expand the campaign providing more value to participating organisations while at the same time demonstrating our corporate members’ commitment to airport safety and the airport sector more broadly.

Airport Safety Week serves to highlight and complement the airport industry’s daily focus on safety and recognises that safety is at the heart of everything we do. The AAA is honoured to be able to support the industry to further develop the safety culture at our airports and we look forward to continued strong support from the industry.

The Airport Safety Charter aims to highlight airports as safety leaders.