New international regulations are putting pressure on the aviation sector in the Middle East to improve safety management systems at airports, according to a top aviation expert.

'The Middle East is one of the most dynamic aviation markets in the world which is continuing to expand as other parts of the world slip into recession,' said Roel Berendsen, an aviation division vice president of ESR Technology, a leading engineering, safety and risk management consultancy with operations in the UK and the Middle East.

'Failure is not an option in aviation. The industry here in the Middle East is under pressure to achieve ever-improving levels of safety in a rapidly expanding and fiercely competitive market while operating in increasingly congested airspace and under continuous pressure for greater efficiency,' he noted.

'It is, therefore, reassuring to find that regional regulators realise the critical importance of airports and regulators themselves carrying out comprehensive programmes to achieve the levels of safety required by standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO),' he added.

Stringent international rules requiring airport operators to carry out extensive safety audits approved by national regulators are one of the factors behind the recently announced one-year delay in the opening of Dubai's new Al Maktoum International, he pointed out.

The General Civil Aviation Authority, which oversees all aviation related activity in the UAE, has established a development programme to assist airport operators achieve the international safety levels expected for licensing.

Under strengthened ICAO regulations introduced this year, member states are required to establish a safety programme at government level and oversee audited safety management systems for airport operators, aircraft operators, maintenance organisations and service providers.

According to Berendsen, all Arabian Gulf countries are signatories to ICAO. “The aviation industry in the region has been well aware of the new ICAO requirement and has been gradually introducing the new safety management system for several years,” he noted.

'Nevertheless, it is our experience that the traditional  compliance-based safety assurance is slow to be complemented by pro-active risk based safety assurance of changes to aviation infrastructure,' he added.

'We have been involved in several new and upgraded airports projects in the region and have found a reluctance to carry out integrated safety assurance; instead relying on a tapestry of prescriptive standards and regulations that are often open for interpretation by the many different subcontractors in projects.'

'As independent consultants we help industry make sense of the integral approach to safety assurance taking account of the rapid changes in the Middle East aviation industry. We work closely with airports, air traffic management organisations, airlines, engineering contractors, original equipment manufacturers and regulators,' he noted.

'As a result, our clients achieve higher levels of safety assurance, improved operations, efficiently implemented regulatory standards and are ensured that their new infrastructure and operations meet regulatory compliance,' Berendsen said.

ESR Technology is an associate member of the UK Airport Operator Association, the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation, the Farnborough Aerospace Consortium and a member of the Society of British Aerospace Companies.

ESR Technology's aviation consultancy contracts include a helicopter operations study for Shell in Nigeria; business contingency planning for Bermuda International Airport; corporate risk management review for Aer Lingus; and third party risk assessment for London City Airport.-TradeArabia News Service