Airports Council International (ACI) today, September 4, launched a new guidance handbook on business continuity management to help airport operators maintain the flow of passengers and goods in the event of an emergency or other disruption.
The new Airport Business Continuity Management Handbook provides best practices, and a summary of actions that airport operators can undertake to create a robust business continuity plan that will help them mitigate against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from, possible events that may interrupt normal business operations.
“The potential for events to disrupt normal business operations at airports is relevant to all regions and underlines the need for robust business continuity management plans,” said ACI world director general Angela Gittens. “This can never be an ‘off-the-shelf’ exercise, however, and plans and the approach to business continuity should be fully tailored to the circumstances of events and the individual airport.”
The handbook is designed to help airport operators conduct risk assessments, develop and implement business continuity plans, address incident management including communication with airport stakeholders, and cultivate an airport culture that values business continuity management planning. It provides several case studies and best practices.
“Effective business continuity strategies can safeguard passengers and the airport community, enable the delivery of services to customers, sustain commercial revenue streams, and protect infrastructure,” Angela Gittens said.
“This handbook will help our members to produce better and more appropriate plans that take account of a wide range of potential events, enable the airport operator to prepare and cope with challenges or incidents, and help them to maintain or return to normal operations as soon as possible.”