Vietnam Airlines Hosts Inaugural IATA World Safety & Operations Conference

Today, IATA has launched its inaugural World Safety and Operations Conference in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Last week, Simple Flying attended a CAPA Centre for Aviation Airline Summit in Brisbane, and almost every presentation included the phrase “safety is our number one priority,” be it from an airline CEO, ground handler, airport manager, pilot, or cabin crew member.

Photo: Airbus

Vietnam Airlines is the host carrier for the WSOC, and its President and CEO, Le Hong Ha, is participating on the CEO panel with Philippines Airlines President and COO Stanley K. Ng and IATA’s SVP Operations, Safety and Security Nick Careen. IATA Director General Willie Walsh also stressed that safety is aviation’s highest priority, adding:

“This is reflected in the high levels of government participation and the fact that over 550 safety professionals from approximately 100 airlines, aviation regulators, aircraft manufacturers and other safety stakeholders are in attendance. With its location in the heart of Asia and strong economic growth, Vietnam provides an ideal venue for the WSOC.”

In pre-pandemic 2019, aviation, including the spending of foreign tourists arriving by air, contributed $11.7 billion to Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP). In total, 2.5 million jobs, including tourism jobs, were supported by aviation, representing 5% of the nation’s total GDP.

First signatories for the Safety Leadership Charter

At the conference, IATA will launch its Safety Leadership Charter, developed in consultation with its members and the wider aviation community, to support executives in growing a positive safety culture within their organizations. The charter highlights that having a positive safety culture is critical for developing continuous improvement in safety performance within an organization. It has a set of eight Guiding Principles, including these four:

• Regularly assess and improve organizational Safety Culture.
• Create an environment where all employees feel responsibility for safety.
• Guide the integration of safety into business strategies, processes, and performance measures.
• Create an atmosphere of trust where employees are encouraged and confident to report safety-related information.

Today, IATA announced the first signatories to the Safety Leadership Charter, and the list is a whos who of the world’s airline fraternity. From Asia-Pacific, it includes Vietnam Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Hainan Airlines, Japan Airlines, EVA Airways, Philippine Airlines, Garuda Indonesia Airlines, ANA, and Air India.

Middle Eastern carriers include Emirates and Qatar Airways, while United Airlines, Air Canada, and Delta Air Lines are the North American presence. The balance includes British Airways, Carpatair, Air Serbia, Ethiopian Airlines, Pegasus Airlines, and TAROM.

Another critical discussion will be on IATA’s plans to transition the Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) towards a risk-based model rather than the one-size-fits-all approach it has taken for 20 years. IATA said that risk-based IOSA delivers an audit scope tailored for each airline and introduces a maturity assessment of the airlines’ safety-critical systems and programs.

The audits will maintain a baseline of safety but focus on each airline’s pertinent safety risks, which IATA believes will increase the audit’s effectiveness and contribute more to reducing actual accident rates. The WSOC agenda includes some more practical sessions on runway safety, unruly passengers, cabin crew health and wellbeing, and pilot training.

Source: Simple Flying