Saba Abashawl, Chief External Affairs Officer at Houston Airports, participated in the 42nd meeting of the ACI World Facilitation and Services Standing Committee (WFSSC) in Montreal June 8-9, 2022. ACI, Airports Council International, advances the interests of airports and airport systems worldwide and promotes professional excellence in airport management and operations.
Abashawl, the WFSSC Chair for the past two years, explains airport facilitation consists of the efficient management of the flow of passengers, baggage, cargo, and mail through the airport facilities, ensuring that services are delivered in a healthy, safe, and secure environment, and meeting and exceeding, when possible, the needs and expectations of customers. WFSSC also focuses its efforts on the needs of all types of passengers, quality of services, and the scourge of drug and human trafficking and other illicit trade.
Cross-industry collaboration on implementing innovations in airport operations such as biometrics and virtual queueing solutions as well as teaming up with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), International Air Transport Association (IATA) and other industry bodies on topics related to health and accessibility that would apply to all States was on top of the agenda.
The committee also looked at identifying a general theme to tackle long-term sustainability and resilience of the aviation industry. “ACI truly is the voice of the world’s airports and does a great job in fostering aviation excellence around the globe,” Abashawl said.
Presentations were given that detailed the continued fight against human trafficking (a main focus for Houston Airports under Abashawl’s leadership). ACI and ICAO agree a collaborative approach in the fight against human trafficking is required and a comprehensive strategy is being developed to include policies and protocols for responding to incidents caused by this societal menace.
The meeting ended with a chair handover as Abashawl will step down from her leadership position in August and pass her seat to Jan Metsovitis, Hamad International Airport (Doha, Qatar) as the new Chair for a two-year term.
ACI includes 1,950 airports and 185 countries across the world.