IATA plans to launch a standardised audit for ground handling companies starting in mid-April 2008, reviewing ground operations at as many as 60 airports by year’s end.
Called the IATA safety audit for ground operations (ISAGO), the 2- to 3-day review will cover 11 categories, including air side management and safety, load control, passenger and baggage handling, aircraft fuelling, de-icing, anti-icing, and for the first time, a management review at each company’s headquarters.
Though airlines are already required to audit their ground handling companies, the efforts tend to overlap, each audit is different and there is no data-sharing between airlines or companies, said Mike O’Brien, IATA’s director of program implementation and auditing.
Once an ISAGO audit is performed for one ground handler’s operation at a particular airport, any airline working with that company will have access to the audit data, eliminating the need for redundant reviews.
Audits will initially be performed on an annual basis though the period could be lengthened based on the company’s performance and a risk assessment, says O’Brien.
Funding for the program will come from airlines paying salaries for their auditors and from ground handling companies through a registration fee.
IATA has completed 12 ISAGO pilot audits at airports ranging from Cairo to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Four more tests ¨C in Beirut, Vancouver, Nairobi and Mombasa ¨C are planned for completion by the end of January.
Audits were performed by airline auditors and observed by IATA specialists.