EVENTS: ASIA-PACIFIC CONFERENCE
“ It just shows what can be done if you don’ t always focus on the obvious and recognise that airports have a key role to play as the team leader in co-ordinating targeted strategies for the growth and development of air services.”
Next up, ACI World’ s senior manager, environmental protection, Xavier Oh, called sustainable development,“ aviation’ s permission to grow”, and warned airports not to forget the importance of communicating with local communities. Day two began with a lively and entertaining debate about driving organisational change. Dubai Airport’ s senior vice president, Jill Nealon, noting that her company’ s commitment to delivering integrity at the same time as coping with huge growth and expansion, was no easy task.
For Dubai Airports, said Nealon, the process included re-writing all of its strategic policies; introducing a new code of conduct; giving managers clear guidance notes( in six different languages as 37 different nationalities are employed at the airport); making leaders more accountable; fine-tuning its performance management system( PMS) and developing new training and educational programmes.
Nealon told delegates that Dubai Airports had also introduced an employee engagement survey that provides staff with the opportunity to give feedback on their bosses, and underpinned everything with“ communication, communication, communication”.
She cited a cleaner that recently found and handed in a bag containing passports, $ 10,000 in cash and jewellery as a fantastic example of honesty and integrity at Dubai Airports.
In other news, Eric Miart, environment activities account manager and consultant to ACI World on A-CDM, warned that airports failing to adopt collaborative decision making would“ continue their business as usual, miss a lot of opportunities and probably become a future second class airport”.
He said:“ However, with A-CDM, you will be in a better position to meet the coming challenges. You will remain a first class airport, you will improve your efficiency and get other benefits such as improved safety and environmental performance.”
And Bangkok’ s Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Mumbai – Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport and Hong Kong International Airport were congratulated for their efforts in managing and reducing their carbon emissions at the airports, under ACI’ s Airport Carbon Programme.
ACI Asia-Pacific’ s regional director, Patti Chau, said:“ Airport Carbon Accreditation was first extended to our region in November 2011 and eight airports have been accredited since then. I am especially delighted to welcome Hong Kong International Airport as the first airport in Asia-Pacific to achieve the Airport Carbon Accreditation‘ Optimisation’ level.”
The CEO and Leaders Forum featuring Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad Abdul Majid; Sydney Airport chairman, Max Moore-Wilton; Ghanem Al-Hajri, chairman of Sharjah International Airport; and Vince Scanlon, general manager airport operations for Adelaide Airport, provided an entertaining and sometimes humorous end to an enjoyable conference.
AW
AIRPORT WORLD / JUNE-JULY 2013
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