Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport (VPS) has been awarded the Global Biorisk Advisory Council® (GBAC) STAR™ accreditation, the gold standard for prepared facilities.
Under the guidance of GBAC, the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport has implemented the “most stringent protocols for cleaning, disinfection and infectious disease prevention in its airport,” according to a press release.
GBAC STAR™ helps organizations establish protocols and procedures, offers expert-led training and assesses a facility’s readiness for bio-risk situations. The program verifies that the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport implements best practices to prepare for, respond to and recover from outbreaks and pandemics.
“GBAC STAR accreditation empowers facility owners and managers to assure workers, customers and key stakeholders that they have proven systems in place to maintain clean and healthy environments,” said GBAC Executive Director Patricia Olinger. “By taking this important step to pursue GBAC STAR, the Destin – Fort Walton Beach Airport has received third-party validation that it follows strict protocols for biorisk situations, thereby demonstrating its preparedness and commitment to operating safely.”
To achieve GBAC STAR™ accreditation, the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport was required to demonstrate compliance with the program’s 20 core elements, which range from standard operating procedures and risk assessment strategies to personal protective equipment and emergency preparedness and response measures.
“With this growth, even in a pandemic, comes the high responsibility to provide the best in clean and safe environments for our travelers, tenants and employees,” said Tracy Stage, Okaloosa County Airports Director. “It is the goal, routinely achieved on many fronts, of VPS to lead by example in our industry. The GBAC STAR Accreditation is a seal of approval on yet another goal achieved by the outstanding team at the Okaloosa County Airports.”
“I am extremely proud of the attention to detail provided by the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport personnel that provides the safest environment for our visitors, which resulted in this achievement of the GBAC STAR Accreditation,” said Chairman Carolyn Ketchel of the Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners.
