Hamad International Airport Certified by BSI for Excellence in Business Continuity Management

22 June 2020

Hamad International Airport is One of the First to receive an ISO 22301:2012 certification for Business Continuity Management during COVID-19

DOHA, Qatar – Hamad International Airport (HIA) is proud to announce that it is one of the first airports in the world to be awarded ISO 22301:2012 Business Continuity Management System Certification by British Standards Institution (BSI). The certification is a testament to HIA’s commitment to operational excellence and resilience, in the face of an unprecedented crisis like the Covid-19.

On receiving the certification, HIA’s Chief Operation Officer, Engr. Badr Mohammed Al-Meer said, “The ISO 22301:2012 certification has arrived at a time when the world’s gravest pandemic is upon us. We are honoured to be recognised for our commitment to provide exceptional and consistently high-quality services to passengers and stakeholders. The certification reflects our capability in responding efficiently in the event of business interruption, while maintaining HIA’s position as a leading airport in the world”.

ISO certifications are an international benchmark that highlight strong Business Continuity Management System parameters to deal with disruptive incidents, in order to continue operating essential functions. It is one of the most rigorous and well-regarded standards in the world and ISO 22301:2012 standard specifies the requirements for a management system to reduce the likelihood of disruptions, ensuring that a business recovers from disruptive incidents. The scope of the certification covers essential departments of HIA namely Strategy & Commercial Development Facilities Management, Human Resources, Airport Operations, Information Technology, Security, Marketing & Communications.

Pietro FOSCHI, Group Director Assurance Services, BSI, added: “We congratulate HIA for achieving the ISO 22301:2012 certification for Business Continuity Management. During our audit, we found HIA well prepared with a robust business continuity plan, developed to maintain critical operations at an acceptable level of service to its customers, in the event of any major disruption to its usual working practices. HIA demonstrated the ability to keep critical operations up and running during times of crises. The adoption and certification to this good practice standard embraced by its management team is another element contributing to the resilience of this critical infrastructure.”

Mr. Ioannis Metsovitis, Senior Vice President, Operations further added, “HIA has always been at the forefront of development and crisis preparedness. Before the onset of the global crisis, HIA had planned and executed pandemic scenarios as a part of its business continuity programme. This was done to ensure operations continue as effectively and efficiently in case of an unexpected business disruption. We are especially pleased to receive the ISO certification during this time, as it recognizes the efforts of HIA’s team and motivates us to achieve greater feats in the future.”
HIA has also been prioritising its services to the world, such as repatriation flights to ensure passengers reach home safely and essential medical supplies are continuously supplied, both locally and internationally.

Hamad International Airport is amongst the first airports in the world from the pool of top 5 best airport category as per SKYTRAX, to achieve ISO 22301:2012 certification from BSI. It is also the first airport to have received the ISO 55001-2014 Asset Management System and ISO/IEC 20000-1 Information Technology Service Continuity Management System from BSI.

The airport’s primary objective is to reduce the risk of potential business disruptions that could adversely impact the airport’s vision to be the leading airport in the world. Qatar’s airport will continue to ensure that its processes and systems are adapted to an ever changing customer landscape, and improved to deliver exceptional customer experience.

HIA has recently been ranked the “Third Best Airport in the World”, among 550 airports worldwide, by the SKYTRAX World Airport Awards 2020, which also classified it as a five-star airport in 2017, making it one among only five other airports in the world and the only one in the Middle East to achieve this prestigious status. In addition, HIA has been voted the ‘Best Airport in the Middle East’ for the sixth year in a row and ‘Best Staff Service in the Middle East’ for the fifth year in a row.