ALTA Congratulates Insel Air for IOSA Certification
ALTA, the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association, applauds Curacao-based airline Insel Air on successfully reaching the industry’s highest standard in safety, the IOSA certification. The IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) program is an internationally recognized and accepted evaluation structure designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline.
It is particularly noteworthy that Insel Air is the very first airline to graduate from ALTA’s IOSA Fulfillment Plan (IFP), a program created by this organization in 2009. The cornerstone of IFP consists of technical assistance for former and potential new members interested in pursuing IOSA certification, which is mandatory for all ALTA member carriers. “IOSA certification is a key requirement for membership at the association” said Alex de Gunten, Executive Director of ALTA. “ALTA has made it a priority to participate and support RASG-PA, LACAC and other ICAO initiatives to harmonize efforts, minimize disparities and ensure the highest standards of safety. Our goal is to curtail safety risks and to match or surpass the safety record of the U.S. by 2014. We are thrilled with Insel Air’s accomplishment, and gladly welcome them back as an ALTA member. We look forward to helping other carriers achieve this certification.”
“Congratulations to Insel Air for completing its IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA). The IOSA program is a key element of the IATA Six-point Safety Strategy, and has been implemented to achieve two fundamental goals – improve airline operational safety, and enhance efficiency by reducing the number of redundant audits,” said IATA’s Senior VP Safety, Operations & Infrastructure Guenther Matschnigg. “Since the program launch in late 2003, IOSA has achieved its goals with more than 1,270 airline audits completed and more than 2,000 audits avoided. During 2010 Latin American IOSA Registered operators performed 40% better than those who were not on the registry.”
“The IOSA certification is a great step forward in the execution of our mission statement, in which we focus on creating greater connectivity within the Pan-American region and greater collaboration with partnering airlines,” according to Albert Kluyver, Chief Executive Officer of Insel Air. “We operate 16 international destinations, connecting North and South America and the Caribbean, while focusing on safety, on-time performance and customer service. The achievement of the IOSA certification and ALTA membership is a stable substructure for Insel Air and the more than 1 million passengers we expect to welcome in 2012.”
ALTA´s foremost objective is to take the necessary measures to enhance operational safety in the region. IFP is part of an ALTA initiative to implement harmonized safety standards for those Latin American and Caribbean airlines that are or would like to become ALTA members, but which are not IOSA registered. The implementation of an incentive policy such as the IFP, demonstrates ALTA´s commitment to promote the highest safety standards in Latin America and the Caribbean.
ALTA takes an active role in securing safer skies in the region. Safety will be an important focus of this year’s Forum, as high-level industry executives explore ways to work together to improve harmonization of standards and curtail the region’s most critical concerns, such as runway excursions. For more information, visit www.alta.aero.
