IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO)

About the Program

The ISAGO program started in 2008 in response to an industry request to address the safety risks and incident costs of ground operations. Therefore the primary objective of ISAGO is to improve the safety of ground operations through the oversight of the implementation of management system within a GHSP and driving adoption of standardized operational procedures. ISAGO is also a cost-effective alternative to the audits conducted by airlines, airports, and regulators of ground operations, reducing duplication and cost of oversight.

Compliance with highest ground handling standards

ISAGO is an accreditation  scheme, validating that GHSPs comply with industry ground operations standards such as IGOM and AHM. ISAGO also provides independent assessment of compliance with  ICAO Annex 19 Safety Management System.

How it works

An ISAGO registration is based on the audit of the GHSP as an organization, at its corporate headquarters. It covers the management systems that control the ground operations. A least one Station Accreditation is required, achieved by the audit of the ground operations implemented at the station.

An ISAGO Registration or a Station Accreditation is granted when all findings are closed. It is valid for a period of 24 months. Full details are in the  ISAGO Program manual - GOPM Ed4 (pdf)

The ISAGO audits are performed against standards and recommended practices (GOSARPs) published in the ISAGO Standards Manual. 

Interested in gaining ISAGO registration/Station accreditation?

• If you are a Ground Handling Service Provider, please submit an application for an initial Headquarters Audit and initial Station Audit for Station Accreditation. 
• If you are already an ISAGO-registered GHSP or accredited Station, you do not need to apply for a renewal audit. You will be automatically included in the annual audit allocation. 

For further details contact isago@iata.org

ISAGO Registry

ISAGO Registry is now available on ONE Source. 

• There are 220+ ISAGO registered GHSPs globally
• There are 380+ ISAGO-accredited stations at 220+ airports worldwide

Access to ISAGO audit reports is restricted to ISAGO member airlines only. 

If you are ISAGO GHSP and your customer airline is on the list of ISAGO member airlines, please contact them directly to find out how to reduce the cost/time of the oversight activities.

ISAGO for Airports/Regulators

Are you an Airport or Regulator interested in the benefits from ISAGO?

Airport ramp is a challenging work place. Any incident impacts not only operations, causing delays and  costs, but ramp incidents can also impact the safety of people, airplanes, airport’s equipment and facilities.

What can ISAGO offer you?

 

• Complementary data about GHSP performance/compliance and benchmark opportunities
• Compliance with ICAO Doc 10121 Manual on Ground Handling and ICAO Annex 19
• Reduction of scope/frequency/ cost of  your own oversight activities
• AMC (An Acceptable Means of Compliance) to your regulatory/airport  requirements
• Harmonization everyone operates according to the same standard (some variations may apply)
• Strengthening the licensing scheme for GHSPs at the airports

Contact us at isago@iata.org to sign Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC).

Standards and Audit methods changes

Description of change

 

• ISAGO checklists will be mirroring AHM/IGOM/ICHM requirements and ISAGO will be assessing conformity with industry standards as published in various IATA’s industry manuals.
• Documentation assessment will be done remotely via Operational (OPS) Portal.
• GHSP will be requested to submit a gap analysis/self-assessment defining their adoption of applicable IGOM and AHM requirements as per scope of their operations
• GHSP will be able to submit one gap analysis/self-assessment and clone it within their station network - including the possibility to modify it locally where needed to reflect variations. 
• The gap analysis/self-assessment will be remotely validated by the auditor. 

For more information refer to the recordings from:

• GHSP Webinar 1 (AM) (Recording)
• GHSP Webinar 1 (PM) (Recording)
• GHSP Webinar 1 Slides (pdf)
• GHSP Webinar 2 (AM) (Recording)
• GHSP Webinar 2 (PM) (Recording)
• GHSP Webinar 2 Slides (pdf)

Questions and answers can be found in:

• Webinar 1 Questions (pdf)
• Webinar 2 Questions (pdf)

As of April 2025	Need to know more
Standards applicable to ISAGO audits will be as follows: ORM: AHM 600 TRN: AHM 1110 PAX – IGOM 1 BAG – IGOM 2 RMP – IGOM 3 & 4 LOD – IGOM 5 CGM – GOSM Ed10 Rev1 (ICHM)	The new ISAGO checklists (headings only) are published as part of the AHM and IGOM Toolbox/ISAGO. The first edition of the  detailed ISAGO Checklist includes standards from IGOM Edition 13, AHM Edition 45 and the ISAGO Standards Manual (GOSM) Edition 10 (CGM). The ISAGO Checklist will be effective from April 2025 to December 2025. According to the ISAGO standards management change, the standards from the IATA Cargo Handling Manual (ICHM) will replace the CGM module effective January 2026. Access to the ISAGO Checklist in XLS and CSV is provided at a discounted rate to ISAGO member airline. For further details please contact isago@iata.org. ISAGO GHSP will be provided with the ISAGO XLS and CSV Checklist once they sign the revamped audit contract.
GHSP is required to adopt AHM, IGOM, ICHM Prior to each audit, the GHSP is required to submit or update a gap analysis/self-assessment with industry standards using an online tool (OPS Portal) Gap analysis/self-assessment can be done by MHQ or STN – it’s a decision of each GHSP. Gap analysis/self-assessment can be modified or cloned to save time / manpower. Gap analysis/self-assessment requires recording a GHSP’s documentary references and its accuracy will be validated remotely by the auditors (sampling method will apply) Completed and validated gap analysis/self-assessment will be equivalent to the documentation assessment.  The revamped ISAGO checklists will be used in the audit software for an implementation assessment.	Join OPS Portal today and do your gap analysis with IGOM Ed13. Align with IGOM where feasible or declare a variation.   Use the excel files available in AHM and IGOM Toolbox to perform the gap analysis with AHM 600, 1100 and CGM. Align where feasible. OPS portal will include AHM and CGM audit standards as of February, 2025. At that point of time, you will be able to transfer the excel gap analysis data to the OPS portal. ICHM checklist will replace GOSM/CGM in 2025 and will be effective as of January 2026. MHQ (Headquarters) audits will cover ORM and TRN and GHSP will have the option to undergo MHQ audit remotely. An accuracy of the documentation self-assessment as submitted by the GHSP through the OPS portal, will be sampled by the auditor. STN (Station) audit will be even more dedicated to an implementation assessment.

Audit program management simplification

Description of change

 

Various program enhancements are in progress or under consideration to improve the customer experience with the program’s management.

To name a few:

• Contract and payment process simplification 
• Implementation of online account management for GHSPs
• Introduction of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool to address GHSPs’ inquiries.
• Mobile audit software application
• Interactive data ISAGO audit report to be shared with GHSPs.
• GOPM revamp to better serve for its purpose.

Benefits

 

• Simplification of the program
• Improved customer experience 
• Better value for GHSPs 
• Clear understanding of program’s provisions

Today	Future	Timeline
Contracts and invoicing are done via e-mail. Multiple different files and tools need to be maintained and updated to manage the program. All communication with GHSPs is done via e-mail, there is no tracking system for inquiries and FAQ. Auditors make assessments on-site and once on Wi-Fi and on their laptops then they can enter the assessment into the audit software. Audit report in pdf form is shared via e-mail.	GHSP should be able to purchase an ISAGO audit through the IATA online store, using a credit card. Audit agreement would be replaced by confirming Terms and Conditions. Invoicing should go through SIS. The account management online tool should be in place as the platform for information exchange with GHSPs.  It will facilitate tracking and monitoring of inquires (CRM) as well as following the audit process flow and status. Auditors should be able to use a mobile application when doing on-site assessment. Audit data should be available to GHSPs and airlines through PowerBI analytics.	2024 -2025 All activities are in progress and under development. Launch is anticipated for 1st of April, 2025