Maldives Airports Company Ltd (MACL) held a small ceremony to celebrate the attainment of IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) certificate for Velana International Airport. At the ceremony the Safety, Security & Quality Section handed over the ISAGO certificate to the Managing Director of MACL.
MACLachieved the requirements of ISAGO certificationin January 2017 as the Ground Service Provider (GSP) at Velana International Airport at the end of an intensive audit byInternational Air Transport Association (IATA)in areas of Organization and Management (ORM), Load Control (LOD), Passenger & Baggage Handling (PAB), Aircraft Handling & Loading (HDL), Aircraft ground Movement (AGM), Cargo & Mail Handling (CGM).
ISAGO programme is an internationally recognized system for assessing the operational management and control systems of an organization that provides ground handling services for airlines. ISAGO is based on industry-proven quality audit principles and is structured to ensure a standardized audit with reliable results across aviation businesses. As the businesses of ground services providers are very diverse; ranging from airside passenger transport and baggage handling to load control and cargo handling, the ISAGO approach combines a framework of audit standards, suitable for all Ground Services Providers(GSPs) with specific standards for each individual activity. This enables the ISAGO audit to be utilized by ground handling companies of all sizes from a single station to multinational enterprises.
During the ISAGO certificationprocess, required manuals were developed for ground operations and regular internal audits were carried out. Velana International Airport has acquired benefits such as improved safety, better business reputation and more quality control.
The principle of ISAGO is to replace the multiplicity of airline audits with a single event ISAGO audit, thereby ensuring a safe operation for the airlines reducing redundant airline audits, saving the airlines auditing costs and the time spent by GSPs on being audited and responding to audit findings from each and every airline that they serve. The reluctance for the airlines to ‘let go’ is mostly due to the fact that regulators generally devolve responsibility for ground operations to the airlines and therefore the airlines are concerned about not being in compliance if they do not do their audits.
Velana International Airport attains ISAGO certificate from IATA
