Istanbul Airport was deemed worthy of the “Europe’s Best Airport” and “Accessible Airport” awards at the “17th ACI Europe Awards” organized by the Airports Council International (ACI). The measures taken by Istanbul Airport for the pandemic that inspired the sector, the steps it took for accessibility, and its efforts that contributed to sustainability were appreciated.

As one of the best airports in the world, Istanbul Airport has been awarded consecutive awards by reputable institutions, with the proactive measures it took when the whole world was going through a big test with the Covid-19 pandemic, being the largest airport in Europe in terms of passengers and its institutional resilience, which it proved by continuing its investments without slowing down. won two more of the most prestigious awards in the industry.

Within the scope of the “17th ACI Europe Awards”, the Airports Council International (ACI) awarded Istanbul Airport the “Europe’s Best Airport” and “Accessible Airport” awards in the category of over 40 million passengers.

This year’s benchmarks: Stamina and Inspiration

ACI, which also started the “Net Zero 2050” movement with the aim of taking action and decarbonizing airports against the climate problem in the past period, added “Resilience and Inspiration” to its standard award criteria this year to choose “Europe’s Best Airport” and added “Resilience and Inspiration” in its evaluations. 19 announced that it focuses on improvements and inspiring work in the field of sustainability. Establishing its business model in the new order on durability, Istanbul Airport has distinguished itself by operating decision-making mechanisms to minimize the margin of error, thanks to its agility.

While the aviation sector was one of the sectors where the negative effects were felt the most in the Covid-19 pandemic, which the world gave a huge test, Istanbul Airport gained appreciation for successfully managing the crisis process and ensuring that transportation and trade continue at the optimum level possible.

Success in accessibility has also been registered

Istanbul Airport was also entitled to receive the “Accessible Airport” award of the International Airports Council, with the culture of accessibility and barrier-free airport concept it has created since the design stage. It drew attention with its different services such as Private passenger service points, video call center, Sesli Steps, adult changing rooms, which it created both on the land and air sides of the terminal. Istanbul Airport, which meets all accessibility standards with its priority transit points, Accessible Elevator and Vehicle parking points, Accessible Route, Very Special Guest Card and Sunflower Name Badge projects, is an example in the sector with the special services it offers beyond the standards, and with the awareness it creates, adopting the principle of everyone’s right to travel. was also appreciated.

The awards were presented to Kadri Samsunlu, CEO of İGA Airport Operations, with a ceremony held on October 26 as part of the ACI Europe Annual Congress & General Assembly held in Geneva, Switzerland.

İGA CEO Kadri Samsunlu Elected to ACI Europe Board of Directors

At the ACI Europe annual general assembly, Samsunlu was elected as a member of the Board of Directors within the scope of the quota reserved for the 10 largest airports in Europe. Being the first and only board member from Turkey among 10 airports, Samsunlu stated that they took firm steps forward without deviating from their sustainability targets during the epidemic period. Stating that they are planning net zero emissions in all operations until 2050, Samsunlu said, During his duty; He stated that strengthening ACI’s relationship with the Turkish aviation industry at all levels and easing travel restrictions are among its primary goals.