|
Maharaja fails to meet IATA safety standards
New Delhi February 27 : This is the last thing Air India would have wanted to hear during the ongoing air travel boom. The governing body for global airlines, International Air Transport Association, has cancelled its operations safety certificate for failing to meet audit standards.
IATA sources said the Indian flag carrier has failed to meet International Operations Safety Audit (IOSA). They added that the cancellation of AI’s certificate, however, doesn’t make its aircraft unsafe for flying.
AI is confident of getting the certificate reissued by the first week of March. “The certificate was revoked for procedural reasons, relating to submitting some documents,’’ an AI spokesman said. Two years ago, when AI had joined hands with Lufthansa, it had procured this safety audit certificate.
“AI was among the first 10 airlines in the world to acquire this certification. Now that we are expanding our operations and adding to our fleet, IATA wanted us to comply with additional training modules. It relates to documentation and we have informed IATA that AI will comply with the requirements by March,’’ the spokesman added.
IATA, meanwhile, decided to revoke the certification, but assured the airline that the certificate would be restored once AI meets requirements, he added.
Sources said the audit is conducted for various sections of the airline. “If within the next few months, it is able to rectify the shortfall then the IOSA certification will be reissued,’’ a source added.
The audit is considered as a benchmark for global safety management. By 2007, all IATA members will need to have successfully undergone the audit in order to achieve or maintain the association’s membership.
The audit is an internationally recognised and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline.
|
| Source: Time NewsNetwork |
|
|
