GUADALAJARA, Mexico, Nov. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP), in its third “Operational Safety Week, GAP Safety Week” promotes operational safety with members of the airport community in the airports they manage through training, outreach, and integration activities that allow us to share the importance all employees have in the prevention/mitigation of aviation incidents and accidents.
This year, the topic is “Observe, Identify, and Report,” alluding to the Event Notification System, or Voluntary Reporting System, which allows anyone from the airport community to report on potential dangers to be analyzed and, where appropriate, mitigated.
Between the 22nd and 26th of November, the corporate GAP and the twelve Mexican airports that it manages will actively participate in the event, in association with their airport communities: operational personnel, airlines, ground support service providers, air traffic service, authorities assigned to the airport, and contractors.
Webinars will be held, conducted by GAP, Volaris, Airports of the Southeast (ASUR), Airports and Auxiliary Services (ASA), the airports of Querétaro, Bogotá, and Quito (AIQ), among other organizations and airports, as well as the participation and support of the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC) and the Latin America & Caribbean region of Airports Council International (ACI-LAC).
This event is the only one of its kind at the national level, and it contributes to the promotion of operational safety at all levels of airport and aviation organizations, which strengthens and maintains commercial air transport as the safest in the world.
At the inauguration, Raúl Revuelta Musalem, General Director of GAP, emphasized the importance of working in a coordinated manner for the benefit of operational safety. “If we have learned anything during this pandemic, it is that only with close collaboration between authorities, airports, airlines, and organizations can we can successfully emerge from a crisis.”
He added, “Above all, collaboration in safety is essential. And this event is the ideal forum for the exchange of experiences, ideas, knowledge, and best practices, with a single objective: to improve the safety of airports and the industry.”
Safety is a pillar and strategic axis for GAP. In 2015, GAP managed to certify the first Mexican airport with the Operational Safety Management System (SMS). Currently, this system is certified in all of their airports, and a continuous effort is being made to improve it through the timely incorporation of new regulatory requirements and best practices in the industry.
More about GAP:
Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, S.A.B. de C.V. (GAP) is a Mexican company operating in the airport sector. GAP manages 12 international airports in Mexico and two in Jamaica with 35 airlines providing service to more than 330 destinations. Shares of GAP are listed on the Mexican and New York stock exchanges.
In 2020, GAP served 27.3 million passengers, with a 56% recovery rate compared to passengers served in 2019 (48.7 million passengers). The airports that GAP manages can be found in:
- Guadalajara and Tijuana, serving the main metropolitan areas,
- Mexicali, Hermosillo, Los Mochis, Aguascalientes, Guanajuato and Morelia, serving mid-sized developing cities.
- La Paz, Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo, and Montego Bay, serving some of the most important tourist destinations in the country and the Caribbean.
- On October 10, 2018, GAP signed a concession contract with the Government of Jamaica to manage, modernize, and expand Norman Manley International Airport (KIN) in the city of Kingston.
The airports managed by GAP in Mexico are owned by the Mexican government, allocated as a 50-year concession beginning in 1998 as part of a national initiative to privatize and improve the quality and safety of the country’s airport services.
In Jamaica, the Montego Bay airport is owned by the government, and the concession granted to manage it is for a period of 30 years, which will end in April 2033. Kingston airport was allocated as a concession for 25 years. GAP took control of its operations and administration in October 2019.
Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico believes in the value of each individual and seeks to unleash their potential through education. Mexicans who are better prepared will raise their quality of life and contribute to the development of the country. GAP, in line with its business model and through its Foundation, is committed to being a positive factor for change. We work on two strategic pillars: work with the community through GAP schools and training the airport community with community training centers.