Dar es Salaam the first airport in Africa to receive COVID-19 Safety Rating
By Peter Miller, Skytrax – London, UK
Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam has become the first airport in Africa to be certified with a COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating, by international air transport rating agency Skytrax. The airport is awarded a 3-Star Rating after detailed appraisal of the cleaning and disinfection procedures, social distancing policies and control, face mask usage, sanitiser availability, standard and use of PPE by staff in the airport, and other hygiene applications being used.
The audit evaluated how well COVID-19 procedures are being implemented at Julius Nyerere International Airport to reduce the spread of coronavirus and provide a proper level of assurance of health and safety standards to airport customers and staff.
The COVID-19 audit was conducted in December 2020 and is based on a combination of procedural efficiency checks, visual observation analysis and cleanliness checks using ATP sampling tests, with the consistency of standards being a key determinant in the final rating applied.
Julius Nyerere International Airport during COVID-19 (December 2020)
Dar es Salaam Airport has introduced some basic, internationally recognised COVID-19 safety measures including signage to guide customers on hand hygiene, social distancing, and coughing and sneezing etiquette.
Passengers will find some additional hand sanitiser facilities in areas of the terminal, physical distancing markers at some queuing points, and protection screens at most frontline service counters – but this is not at the extent one would expect during a global pandemic. Customer temperatures are checked on arrival, and some airlines are conducting temperature monitoring for departure.
Under government guidance, life is beginning to return to normal in Tanzania, and therefore there is really no enforcement of core COVID-19 safety measures for distancing, and face mask use is not required or enforced in the terminal. Most immigration, security and commercial staff do not wear masks – however, mask use is commonly adhered to by airline staff and international passengers.
Julius Nyerere International Airport during COVID-19 (December 2020)
A positive point was the overall cleanliness and presentation of the public areas of the terminal which was newly opened in 2019. The ATP testing confirmed a high level of sanitisation for key contact points, and this is an area where the airport has made genuine quality gains over the last 12-months.
COVID-19 safety rating places high importance on the implementation of face mask regulations and monitoring of social distance adherence amongst staff and customers, and how an airport applies these measures.
Julius Nyerere International Airport during COVID-19 (December 2020)
» About the COVID-19 Airport Safety Ratings
To provide transparency, accuracy and consistency, COVID-19 Airport Safety Ratings are based on scientific study, analysis and appraisal by Skytrax Airport Audit teams, and involve no element of self-testing or evaluation by an airport. To be credible, COVID-19 airport ratings and accreditation require actual testing, analysis and evaluation, integrating an in-depth experience of specialist airport auditing.
