Aviation experts to propose modern safety strategies

Dubai / Emirates Business

International aviation specialists will convene this April in Dubai at the 4th edition of the World Aviation Safety Summit, to propose new procedures for enhancing a culture of safety across the industry.
Global experts will analyse how the sector can ensure that safety is standardised and best practice is implemented worldwide, particularly as airlines in emerging markets grow in size and routes open to airports in new destinations.
Latest figures released by IATA show January international passenger traffic rose 7.3 percent compared to the year-ago period. Capacity rose 5.9 percent and load factor rose 1.0 percentage point to 78.8 percent. All global regions recorded year-over-year increases in demand.
Safety thought-leaders attending the Summit, which will be held from April 25-26, will look at how airlines and airports can measure their own performance, and implement effective predictive measures and pressure checks to prevent and pre-empt incidents.
High on the agenda will also be debates on how regulators can effectively work with airlines to improve safety and how governments can harmonise national laws and regulations with those of industry leading states. As conflicts around the world continue to effect air transport travel, industry frontrunners will deliberate on how best to deal with armed conflicts and work together to ensure operations continue to run smoothly and ensure the safety and security of all passengers.
Mohammed A. Ahli, Director General at Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, said, “As the aviation industry continues to grow and become more complex it is important that we reinforce an effective, transparent and honest safety culture. The Summit will give us the opportunity to look at the best practice examples of working with large multicultural workforces and how we can overcome common industry challenges.”
The International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) most recent Operational Safety Audit showed a moderate climb in safety world-wide. The 2015 global jet accident rate (measured in hull losses per 1 million flights) was 0.32, which was the equivalent of one major accident for every 3.1 million flights. This was an unambiguous improvement compared to the previous five-year rate (2010-2014) of 0.46 hull loss accidents per million jet flights.
IATA has proposed a Six Point Safety Strategy to identify organisational, operational and emerging safety issues. The strategy includes focusing on reducing operational risk such as loss of control in-flight, runway events and controlled flight into terrain. It also advocates for improved aviation infrastructure such as implementation of performance-based navigation approaches and supporting effective recruitment and training to enhance quality and compliance through programs such as the IATA Training Qualification and Initiative. Another key element of the strategy is about identifying and addressing emerging safety issues, such as lithium batteries and integrating remotely-piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) into airspace.
Ben Alcott, International Director at the UK CAA who will be leading the session said, “Performance-Based Regulation (PBR) is the UK CAA’s answer to a continuous search for safety improvement. We have made a significant journey to PBR over the past few years, and the benefits to our efficiency and effectiveness are already encouraging.”