The Managing Director of Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc (SAHCO), Mr. Basil Agboarumi, says the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) has standardised ground handling operations in Africa.
A statement signed by Mrs Vanessa Uansohia, General Manager, Corporate Communications, SAHCO, on Wednesday in Lagos , said Agboarumi made the assertion at the GSE & RAMP-OPS Africa event in Casablanca, Morocco.
He said ISAGO had been playing critical roles aimed at ensuring aviation safety across the world.
Agboarumi, who spoke on the topic ‘Effectiveness of ISAGO in Managing Ground Handling Services for Airlines Benefits for Africa’, said it had eliminated Multiple Audits per Ground Service Provider (GSP) and Individual Airline Auditing Systems.
According to him, this has increased safety in aviation by ensuring standards, which has led to reduction in air accidents; unlike what was obtainable before the existence of ISAGO.
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He said that the introduction of ISAGO audit had given room for audit sharing, thereby driving down the number of redundant audits and improving operational safety.
Agboarumi said: ‘’Apart from ensuring safety in aviation, ISAGO has a lot of other benefits, some of which include promotion of efficiency and quality service delivery through innovations and technology.
“It also lowers operational cost by eliminating multiple audit which enables ground operators and airlines to focus their resources on operations, to ensure implementation of Safety Management System (SMS) in operations.”
Also, Mr. Paul Drever, Chairman of the GSE AND RAMP-OPS conference, said it was organised to bring together the buyers, users and manufacturers of GSE to explore how to drive the sector forward.
He also highlighted the operational challenges in airside operations in Africa, how GSE is used in the continent and how it can be improved. (NAN)
