New friendships and a better understanding of the global aviation industry were the two primary lessons learned by participants in the most recent Airports Council International (ACI) training seminar, held for the first time in Houston at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) this month.

The weeklong seminar hosted a group of airport executives from four different continents – North and South America, Africa and Europe – in Houston for five days.

Scheduled curriculum topics included safety management, airside safety and operations, emergency planning and crisis management. Participants, however, touted the human element as the most important factor in their learning experience.

“Well it’s a great experience for two reasons. On one hand, you have what you’ve learned from the instructors, who are all well diverse and very experienced in the subjects they are teaching us,” says Gustavo Morales, from Jorge Chavez Airport in Peru.

“On the other hand, we learn from the feedback and the other interaction from the course participants, where you are able to learn how things are done differently all over the world.”

Airports Council International is the leading international trade group of the world’s commercial aviation industry, based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Their airport management professional accreditation program is the first of its kind in the aviation industry, and prepares airport executives for an International Airport Professional designation.

Founded in 1991, ACI represents over 1,600 airports in 175 different countries around the world.

The seminar is specifically designed to meet the needs of airside operations and safety managers in developing, implementing, and operating effective safety management systems at their airports.