Etihad has been given Diamond status in the first Airline Passenger Experience Association (Apex) healthy and safety ratings.
Etihad has been given Diamond status in the first Airline Passenger Experience Association (Apex) healthy and safety ratings.
Etihad has been given Diamond status in the first Airline Passenger Experience Association (Apex) healthy and safety ratings.
Etihad has been given Diamond status in the first Airline Passenger Experience Association (Apex) healthy and safety ratings.

Etihad rates as one of the world’s safest airlines for hygiene standards


Hayley Skirka
  • English
  • Arabic

Etihad Airways has been recognised for its health and safety measures implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The national airline of the UAE has been awarded Diamond status in the first Airline Passenger Experience Association (Apex) Health Safety ratings.

The Abu Dhabi airline is considered one of the world’s safest when it comes to hygiene standards, having achieved the highest standard available in the independently verified 58-point assessment.

Etihad has been recognised as having hospital-grade cleanliness standards by Apex.
Etihad has been recognised as having hospital-grade cleanliness standards by Apex.

Etihad is one of only nine airlines in the world to achieve Diamond status in the safety rating by one of the world's largest international airline associations.

Other recipients include Saudia, Qatar Airways, United, Alaska, Singapore Airlines, Air Canada, Virgin Atlantic and Turkish Airlines.

To achieve the highest status, airlines must prove to Apex that they fulfil several critical points during a traveller’s journey. These are divided into categories and assess check-in procedures, testing and tracing, airport facilities, security, lounge facilities, boarding procedures, in-flight and arrival measures and sanitisation partnerships.

"Etihad Airways has raised the bar for health safety standards in the industry by initiatives such as Wellness Ambassadors, free PCR Covid-19 tests and using AI to identify high-risk passengers at its hub in Abu Dhabi. Taking such hospital-grade measures in ensuring health safety goes a long way in bolstering trust among travellers," said Shashank Nigam, chief executive of SimpliFlying, which audits the airlines' standards.

The rating aims to be a new global health standard for airlines that can self-register for their assessment. The Apex Health Safety provides a rating, rather than a ranking, as the airline association does not want health and safety to be a way for airlines to compete with one another.

100 per cent negative testing policy

Etihad provides travellers with complimentary hygiene kits and face masks are compulsory on all flights.
Etihad provides travellers with complimentary hygiene kits and face masks are compulsory on all flights.

"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," said Terry Daly, executive director of guest experience, brand and marketing at Etihad Aviation Group.

"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 per cent of our guests have tested negative before they fly," said Daly.

Etihad's Diamond status follows the airline's Five Star Apex rating. The Abu Dhabi airline was given this rating in December. Based on passenger feedback from nearly one million flights across more than 600 airlines, the Apex Official Airline Ratings are independently certified by a professional external auditing company.

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Rasmi Ragy is a senior counsel at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.

Experience: Prosecutor in Egypt with more than 40 years experience across the GCC.

Education: Ain Shams University, Egypt, in 1978.

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Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.

Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.

Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.

Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.

Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.

Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia

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