QUITO AIRPORT CELEBRATES 2018 OPERATIONAL SAFETY WEEK
For purposes of promoting operational safety at the Quito International Airport, Corporacion Quiport – the city’s concessionaire of airport services – organized the seventh Operational Safety Week 2018 at the Mariscal Sucre International Airport.
The symposium was held from Wednesday, November 7, to Friday, November 9, at the Wyndham Quito Airport Hotel. More than 500 members of the Quito airport community attended the meeting to discuss transcendental issues in respect of operational safety and to reflect on best practices relating to every aspect of airport operations.
Important members of Ecuador’s aeronautical industry were present such as Carlos Alvarez-Mantilla, Director General of the Civil Aviation Directorate (“DGAC”), Octavio Perez, Tame’s General Manager, Javier Villalba, Safety Chief for LATAM Ecuador, Allan Padilla, Director of Operations for the Quito Airport, among others.
During his speech at the inauguration ceremony, Carlos Alvarez-Mantilla -the highest aeronautical authority- highlighted operational safety as the backbone of civil aviation, while Mr. Padilla stressed the importance that all companies, workers and institutions operating at the airport should participate in these learning processes, exchange best practices, and reflect about this subject matter.
The 2018 Operational Safety Week was successfully organized with ACI-LAC support (the Airport Council International – Latin America and the Caribbean), an organization that gathers 270 airports in the region.
Among the important activities that took place during the three days are “Lessons about Operational Safety” roundtable with a panel including representatives from the airlines that operate in Quito, ramp services operators, and airport suppliers. Experts in operational safety from the Mexican Pacific Airport Group were present in a video-conference on “Human Factors at Airports” and a speech about fatigue affecting workers and shift work delivered by a doctor who is a specialist in labor issues.
Aviation is one of the safest transportation means, in great measure thanks to the careful and responsible work on operational safety implemented by airport operators, suppliers of ancillary services, and the airports. Continued positive work at the Quito Mariscal Sucre Airport in these aspects is strengthened by events such as this, the interest shown by the airport community, and permanent application of best practices.
Given the importance and success of this initiative, ACI-LAC is planning to repeat this event in other affiliated airports in the region.