Corpus Christi International Airport Earns GBAC STAR™ Facility Accreditation
Achievement is the Gold Standard of Cleanliness and Readiness
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX – Corpus Christi International Airport (CCIA) has achieved Global Biorisk Advisory CouncilTM (GBAC) STAR™ accreditation, the gold standard for prepared facilities. Under the guidance of GBAC, a Division of ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association, CCIA has implemented the most stringent protocols for cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention. CCIA worked in collaboration with Visit Corpus Christi and other local facilities in achieving this designation; American Bank Center, Art Museum of South Texas, USS Lexington Museum on the Bay, and several bars and restaurants. Multiple other businesses and hotels are currently undergoing the comprehensive process of accreditation.
“We are extremely grateful to CCIA for taking this extra step with us and congratulate them on receiving this accreditation,” Visit Corpus Christi President and CEO Brett Oetting said. “Tourism is Corpus Christi’s second-largest industry, and it is crucial that we do everything we can to ensure the safety of our visitors and our local community.”
As the cleaning industry’s only outbreak prevention, response, and recovery accreditation, GBAC STAR™ helps organizations establish protocols and procedures, offers expert-led training, and assesses a facility’s readiness for biorisk situations. The program verifies that CCIA 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, CCIA 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, CCIA 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. Learn more about GBAC STAR accreditation at www.gbac.org.
About CCIA
CCIA is served by three of the four major US-based carriers: American, Southwest, and United Airlines. CCIA is the airport of choice for nearly 700,000 travelers during a normal year. While the pandemic slowed air travel to a crawl in April of 2020, CCIA has rebounded faster than many other airports in the nation. In June of this year, traffic was just 6% shy of 2019 levels, which is phenomenal when considering that business travel here and across the nation is still way down. With safety and security always at the forefront, CCIA never closed for a minute due to the pandemic. Instead, the staff embraced new ways to clean and sanitize so that when travelers were ready to fly again, the airport was ready to provide a safe and healthy environment for everyone. Read more at www.corpuschristiairport.com.
About GBAC, a Division of ISSA
Composed of international leaders in the field of microbial-pathogenic threat analysis, mitigation, response, and recovery, the Global Biorisk Advisory Council™ (GBAC), a Division of ISSA, provides training, guidance, accreditation, certification, crisis management assistance, and leadership to government, commercial, and private entities looking to mitigate, quickly address, and/or recover from biological threats and real-time crises. The organization’s services include biorisk management program assessment and training, infectious disease and biological material response and remediation, the GBAC STAR™ Facility and Service Accreditation Programs, training and certification of individuals, and consulting for building owners and facility managers. For more information, visit www.gbac.org.
About ISSA
With more than 10,500 members—including distributors, manufacturers, manufacturer representatives, wholesalers, building service contractors, in-house service providers, residential cleaners, and associated service members—ISSA is the world’s leading trade association for the cleaning industry. The association is committed to changing the way the world views cleaning by providing its members with the business tools they need to promote cleaning as an investment in human health, the environment, and an improved bottom line. Headquartered in Rosemont, Ill., USA, the association has regional offices in Milan, Italy; Whitby, Canada; Parramatta, Australia; Seoul, South Korea; and Shanghai, China. For more information about ISSA, visit www.issa.com or call 800-225-4772 (North America) or 847-982-0800.