Etihad Airways has been awarded the Diamond status in the inaugural ‘APEX Health Safety, powered by SimpliFlying’ audit, for efforts in ensuring the highest standards of cleanliness and sanitisation. T

he award aims to help re-build confidence in air travel by creating a global standard for health and safety measures. The judges took into consideration the implementation of COVID-prevention measures across the customer journey.

Terry Daly, executive director guest experience, brand & marketing, Etihad Aviation Group, said of the award: “2020 brought tremendous challenges to the aviation industry, and the Diamond status is testament to the strength of Etihad’s health and safety credentials and response to the pandemic. Etihad has demonstrated its resilience and designed industry-leading measures to combat COVID-19, including the Etihad Wellness programme. As part of its efforts, Etihad is the only airline in the world to make COVID-19 testing mandatory before every flight, and since August 2020, 100% of our guests have tested negative before they fly.”