IATA urges African governments to make IOSA mandatory for all airlines

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged African governments to keep their commitments to making the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) Certificate mandatory for all airlines operating in the continent.

This is contained in statement issued by IATA's Director General, Mr Tony Tyler on Monday in Lagos.

The statement said IATA was determined to improve aviation safety globally, adding that airlines must operate in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards.

``IOSA proves that global standards can drive important safety improvements in Africa. The fatal accident rate for sub-Saharan carriers on the IOSA registry now aligns with the global average.

 

``The Abuja Declaration aims to achieve world-class safety in Africa. The continent’s governments must keep their commitments to make IOSA mandatory and implement fully ICAO standards and recommended practices," it added.

 

NAN reports that the IOSA programme is an internationally-recognised and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline.

 

Created by IATA in 2003, IOSA uses internationally-recognised quality audit principles and is designed to conduct audits in a standardised and consistent manner.

 

Successful companies are included in the IOSA registry for a period of 2 years following an audit carried out by an organisation accredited by IATA.

 

Three airlines- FirstNation Airways, Arik Air and Aero Contractors - are the only IOSA certified airlines operating in Nigeria out of the over 400 airlines registered with IOSA globally.