20 Airports Authority of India officers get the 'International Airport Professional' status

Twenty officers of Airports Authority of India (AAI) have been granted the status of International Airport Professional (IAP), which would enable them to participate in and influence airport-related policies, activities and laws at the global level.

The IAP status, recognised by United Nations body International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), was granted to the officers at the annual assembly of the Airports Council International (ACI) in Seoul recently, an AAI statement said in New Delhi. 

AAI now has in its fold as much as 18 per cent of IAP's issued globally since 2007, enabling the officers, dealing with a variety of technical services, to contribute in almost all fora and committees of the global airports' body ACI and other multilateral organisations. With this designation, the Indian officers can influence global and national legislation, rules, policies, standards and practices and maximise cooperation and mutual assistance among airports, the statement said.

The ACI in partnership with ICAO and other professional bodies has been running the Global ACI-ICAO Airport Management Professional Accreditation Programme (AMPAP) since 2007, which seeks to develop airport leaders in all functional areas of airport business after they earn the IAP designation, it added.