Mexican airports the first in North America to receive COVID-19 Ratings

Mexico City International Airport and Cancun International Airport have both been Certified with the 3-Star COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating

The COVID-19 Safety audits at Mexico City International Airport and Cancun International Airport were completed in December 2020, with these two airports becoming the first in North America to be Certified with the 3-Star COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating.

Whilst a raft of measures have been introduced at both airports in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, the audits found that the consistency of application and control of some procedures were in need of improvement to meet higher standards being achieved by airports elsewhere in the world.

“As a global pandemic, we are auditing all airports on the basis of applying international standards and benchmarks, and whether an airport is for example in North America, the Middle East or Europe, we are applying evaluations that use this global standard,” said Edward Plaisted of Skytrax.

Cancun International Airport achieves 3-Star COVID-19 Safety Rating

The audits highlighted mixed standards of cleaning procedures, and whilst processes have been upgraded in reaction to COVID-19 at both Mexico City International Airport and Cancun International Airport, there were noted areas of weakness that included poor washroom cleanliness maintenance, and insufficient hygiene procedures for some food and beverage outlets.

Hygiene standards for security processing at Mexico City Int’l Airport in need of improvement

Social distancing signage is provided, but not to the same standard as some other airports, and the audits noted that there is little to no control of customer social distancing which is an important part of an airport’s responsibility. Face mask usage by customers is quite well adhered to, and some of the weaknesses in this category were noted to be more prevalent amongst some staff inside the airports.

» Cancun International Airport COVID-19 Rating summary
» Mexico City International Airport COVID-19 Rating summary

About the COVID-19 Airport Safety Ratings

The COVID-19 Airport Safety Ratings are based on an amalgam of procedural efficiency checks, visual observation analysis and ATP sampling tests, with consistency being a key determinant in the final rating applied. To ensure transparency, accuracy and consistency, COVID-19 Airport Safety Ratings are based on scientific study and analysis 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, provided with an in-depth experience of specialist airport auditing.