Safi Airways, the leading international airline of Afghanistan, has passed the Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) of the International Air transport Association (Iata).

The IOSA programme is recognised worldwide and accepted as the main evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline.

The audit itself determines the level of conformity that an airline has with IOSA standards, and permits an airline that meets all standards to become registered with Iata as an IOSA Operator.

The Iata Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) is the benchmark for safety management in all airlines globally, and being compliant with the audit is a pre-requisite of Iata membership.

The audit was conducted in February 2012 and the airline will remain on the IOSA registry until February 2014, when a further audit will be required to retain membership of Iata.

Hamid Safi, chief executive officer of Safi Airways, said: “This is a significant achievement for the airline, which has been in operation since 2006. We are extremely pleased and terribly proud that our efforts to be fully compliant with these international safety standards have been recognised.”

“Passenger safety is, of course, a top priority for Safi Airways. Being placed on the IOSA registry allows Safi Airways to work closely with other major carriers in the region and elsewhere on codeshare and bilateral agreements to further extend the reach of the airline,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service