14 ACI World Report – December 2014
ACI World Safety and Technical Committee meets in Melbourne, works on input to ACI and ICAO best practice handbooks By David Gamper, Director, Safety & Technical, ACI World The ACI World Safety and Technical Committee met from 21 to 23 October in Melbourne, hosted by Melbourne Airport, which has participated in the committee for many years. The meeting was attended by nineteen members, three World Business Partners, four ACI staff from regions and the World office, and eight guests. The meeting began with progress reports, then split into four working groups on the second day, and on the last day provided a comprehensive update on work with ICAO and IATA on safety and technical affairs, as well as a look forward to plan the committee’s future work. Subjects covered included the APEX in Safety programme (with proposals to increase committee support) and the ACI Recommended Practice on Safety KPIs, which was endorsed by the Executive Committee in May 2014. The next step—the data collection form—was agreed. The first edition of the Emergency Preparedness and Contingency Planning Handbook for airports was presented. A product of the committee, it was published on 1 October and sent to all members of ACI as well as committee members.
The four working groups undertook a review of ground handling policy and the Policy handbook; development of the ACI Apron Safety Handbook; the ACI Safety Management Systems Handbook; and ACI input to ICAO guidance material on Airport Collaborative Decision Making. Other subjects covered included ATM Modernization, Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control Systems (A-SMGCS), Obstacle Clearance and the Remote Tower concept. The committee held a round table of current hot issues at each airport, as well as reports from regions and lessons learned from recent safety-related incidents. The Australian Airports Association (AAA) made a presentation on its activities, including a review of Australia’s Aviation Safety Regulations and its planned events for enhancing safety, such as its annual Airport Safety Week. The meeting was followed by a visit to Melbourne airport, both terminal and airfield, and a briefing on the airport’s ambitious expansion plans, including two new runways.
The recent ACI World Safety and Technical Committee, held in Melbourne and hosted by Melbourne Airport