SURAKARTA - Angkasa Pura Airports today officially opened the series of the program for Airport Excellence (APEX) in Environment at Adi Soemarmo Solo International Airport, Central Java which will last for 5 days until Friday, August 31, 2018.
The program featuring environmental management-held for the first time in Asia-is a joint event in collaboration with the International Airports Council (ACI). This program aims to review the aspects of environmental management of airports, especially at the Adi Soemarmo Solo International Airport.
A number of practitioners from the airport and international aviation industry were involved in this event such as Danny Boutin, Senior Manager of APEX Programs of the Airport Council International based in Montreal, Canada; Ken Lau, Senior Manager of Technical Affairs at ACI Asia Pacific; Andrew Masci, Environment and Sustainability Advisor at Brisbane International Airport in Australia and Mike Kilburn, Assistant General Manager of Hong Kong International Airport Sustainability.
In this occasion, the General Manager of Adi Soemarmo International Airport, Abdullah Usman, representing the President Director of Angkasa Pura Airports explained: "As an airport operator company, Angkasa Pura Airports carrystrategic missions and values that aims to be an environmentally friendly airport." He said.
"The collaboration between all stakeholders is very important and therefore it is also essential for us to participate in the Airport Excellence in Environment program," he continued.
Adi Soemarmo International Airportwas chosen as the host venue for the event, since it is an important alternative airport for Adisucipto International Airport in Jogjakarta, which is the neighboring city of Solo, only two hours away by land.
In its development, the air traffic of Adi Soemarmo International Airport has also shown positive growth which currently serves seven airlines that operate nine domestic routes and one international route. The farthest route served from this airportis the Solo-Jeddah flight (direct one-stop) and it has even become the main embarkation center for the Umrah and Hajj pilgrims from Central Java.
Solo and Yogyakarta airports are also connected by a railroad system, and therefore they provide adequate connectivity which in turn can help boost the economic growth and development of the region.
One of the recent achievements of Adi Soemarmo International Airport is its recognition as one of the ten best airports in the world for the category of 5-15 million passengers per year based on the latest survey conducted by ACI in 2017.
"Adi Soemarmo International Airport also won the 2016 National Healthy Environment Airport and Port Award from the Ministry of Health and the Most Popular Public Service Unit in the Transportation Sector by the Ministry of Transportation in 2016," explained Usman.
The achievement is hoped to motivate and strengthen the passion to always ensure the four basic aspects of airport services: 3S & 1C (Safety, Security, Service and Compliance) are upheld in every service, including the environmental aspects that must never be overlooked let alone neglected.
The assessment area of the APEX in Environment Program included almost all aspects ranging from organizations, facilities, Human Resources, environmental management procedures, environmental quality management, to wildlife monitoring. Whereas for environmental aspects the elements that are considered include various issues ranging from noise and land use, waste, environmental emergencies, and so forth. The results obtained from the assessment can later help to develop an action plan, provide assistance in making the assessment, prepare risk mitigation measures, and ensure quality management systems to keep up with international standards by consulting an international network of experts.
"This Airport Excellence Program (APEX) in Environment is expected to promote the improvement of the quality of environmental management aspects of the airports, especially at Adi Soemarmo International Airport to target for international accreditation in environmental management," he added. [DR]
