IDAHO FALLS – The Idaho Falls Regional Airport (IDA) has been awarded accreditation by the Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) as a GBAC STAR facility, signifying IDA’s commitment to a clean, safe and healthy environment for passengers and employees.
The GBAC STAR is a performance-based accreditation program for facilities such as stadiums, arenas, convention centers, hotels, restaurants, medical facilities and others to help ensure proper cleaning, disinfection and infectious disease prevention systems are in place to protect the public.
GBAC is a division of the International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA), the leading trade association for the global cleaning industry. IDA is the first airport in the four-state region of Idaho, Utah, Montana or Wyoming to receive the designation.
“This is just one more measure we are taking to help ensure the safest, cleanest experience possible for air travelers,” said IDA Executive Director Rick Cloutier. “When you consider all of the safety measures that have been put in place by the airlines, and all of the protocols and protections we’ve implemented, there has never been a safer, cleaner time to fly. This accreditation demonstrates our ongoing commitment to continuing those health and safety measures.”
Application for accreditation is based on IDA’s commitment to complying with 20 key elements of health and safety. Those elements include maintaining sound risk and mitigation strategies, inventory control and management of cleaning and disinfection chemicals, use of personal protective equipment (PPEs), staff training, effective infectious disease mitigation practices and emergency preparedness and response.
Cloutier emphasized that airlines have already implemented additional cleaning and sanitization protocols onboard aircraft, including state-of –the-art cabin ionization disinfection processes after each flight and continued, repeated cabin air cleaning and regular outside air exchange in flight.
“Those types of measures, coupled with efforts already going on at the airport itself help make for a very clean, sanitary environment for all our passengers and staff,” said Cloutier. “IDA has already implemented social distancing requirements, Plexiglas shields at all counters, increased sanitation stations and an increased cleaning schedule to include all commonly touched surfaces. We take our customers health very seriously and this will only help further improve those safety levels.”
For more information on the social distancing and health requirements at IDA, click here or visit www.idahofallsidaho.gov/181/airport. For specifics on the individual air carriers policies, please visit their respective websites.