Gulf Air, the national carrier of Bahrain, has once again renewed its place on the Iata Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) Registry until 2013 after completing the International Air Transport Association’s (Iata) safety audit requirements.

“Registering and renewing a place in the IOSA registry is of great importance for an airline as well as travelling passengers as it has become a benchmark for global aviation safety standards,” said Samer Majali, chief executive officer of Gulf Air.

“As an airline, this certifies that we follow and practice the highest safety standards set by Iata while continuously updating our safety standards to conform to international regulatory revisions and best practices within the industry.”

“For our customers, the IOSA certification reassures them they are flying with an airline that conforms to strict international safety standards. Passenger safety is top priority for Gulf Air and the IOSA registration is a testament to our commitment that we fly our aircraft to the highest level of operational safety,” he added.

“For the airline, the IOSA certification has the added benefit of cost savings as it eliminates the need for multiple audit reports” concluded Majali.

The IOSA, established in 2003, is an internationally recognised and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational safety management and control systems of an airline.

Gulf Air received its first IOSA registration in 2005 and has been successfully renewing its place in the registry every two years.

In order to renew its current registration, Gulf Air has to satisfy more than 900 standards in eight operational areas, including flight operations, operational control and flight dispatch, aircraft engineering and maintenance, cabin operations, ground handling, cargo operations and operational security.

"The IOSA standards exceed the already stringent regulatory requirements that we have to meet.  Our continued conformity with IOSA requirements is a clear message to our customers that operational safety and quality are our primary concern,” said Captain Donald D Broadfoot, Gulf Air senior manager operations Quality Assurance.

“Five IOSA auditors spent five days reviewing Gulf Air’s operational and maintenance practices, ensuring that we continue to meet all of the requirements of this comprehensive standard.”

The IOSA programme aims to standardize and promote air safety practices, and includes coordination with the International Civil Aviation Organization (Icao), the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and many other aviation authorities around the world. – TradeArabia News Service