IATA wants to leave 'nothing to chance' on aviation safety

In India currently, Air India, Jet Airways and its subsidiary JetLite are members of the IOSA and conform to the safety standards set by IATA

Asking all global carriers to become part of its continuous safety monitoring system, IATA today claimed it has attained an "incredible achievement" with a major dip in air accidents across the world.

"There was not a single Western-built jet hull loss in 2012 for carriers on the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) registry," said Guenther Matschnigg, IATA's Senior Vice President, Safety, Operations and Infrastructure.

Speaking on the sidelines of IATA's three-day Annual General Meeting here, he said the total accident rate of all aircraft types for IOSA-registered airlines across the world was 4.3 times better than the rate for non-IOSA carriers.

"The incredible achievement builds on previous record years for aviation safety. But, to emphasise that safety will always be aviation's top priority, International Air Transport Association (IATA) is rolling out Enhanced IOSA," he said.

"For the airline industry nothing can and should be left to chance. The key message is that there is no complacency when it comes to safety," Matschnigg said.

"The industry has an incredible safety record, but we constantly strive for an even safer industry. Enhanced IOSA, through its internal continuous monitoring, will support this goal," he said.

In India currently, Air India, Jet Airways and its subsidiary JetLite are members of the IOSA and conform to the safety standards set by this audit on a regular basis.

With India close to setting up a Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to replace aviation regulator DGCA, IATA Director General and CEO Tony Tyler recently said the CAA should take full advantage of the IOSA and the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) to enhance capacity building and skill development.