Qatar Airways honoured for high safety standards

Tony Tyler, right, director-general and CEO of Iata,  presenting a certificate of recognition to Ashish Jain at the Iata Ops Conference in Vienna.

Qatar Airways’ high safety standards across its operations have been recognised by the International Air Transport Association on the 10th anniversary of Iata’s Operational Safety Audit Programme (IOSA).

The safety audit is Iata’s stringent mandatory auditing programme, which assesses the operational management and control systems of member-airlines worldwide and is an internationally recognised and accepted evaluation system.

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar al-Baker said the airline became the first carrier worldwide to conform 100% to Iata’s safety audit when it was launched in 2003.

“Qatar Airways has taken part in Iata’s safety audit biennially over the past 10 years, conforming 100% on every occasion and demonstrating our extremely high safety standards and effective operating systems,” al-Baker said. “The safety and security of all our passengers and staff is our top priority and we are extremely proud of our safety record, setting a benchmark across the industry.”

Accepting the honour on behalf of the airline at the Iata Ops Conference held in Vienna recently, Qatar Airways senior vice-president (group safety and security) Ashish Jain said the benchmarks set by Iata’s Operational Safety Audit were paramount to the airline’s success.

“Qatar Airways’ participation in the audit enables continuous enhancements in aviation best practices, which is an area of constant focus for the airline,” said Jain. “Ten years ago, we became the first IOSA-registered operator in the world. We are delighted to have been recognised for the very important work that we continue to carry out.”