ISAGO - IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations

Facts and figures:

• 17% of all accidents in 2008 were related to ground damage
• Ground accidents/incidents are estimated to cost the airline industry US$4 billion every year
• ISAGO improves ground safety and reduces accidents/incidents
• ISAGO also provides cost savings for both airlines and Ground Service Providers (GSPs) by decreasing the number of redundant audits

Background

• Project development started in October 2006
• Program launched in February 2008 to audit GSPs under a common and harmonized set of international standards
• ISAGO has also gained the support of several Civil Aviation Authorities (CAAs) and airports:
• CAAs: FAA, Transport Canada, UK CAA, France DGAC, Austria, Belgium, Lebanon, Netherlands, Nigeria, Russia, Chile, Ethiopia, Jordan, Macau, Hong Kong
• Airports: Amsterdam, Venice, Seattle, Montreal, Calgary, El Salvador, Honduras, Montego Bay, Lima , Guayaquil, Bogota, Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, Malé, Beijing, Chengdu, Hong Kong
• First audits were conducted in May 2008
• Audits are conducted both at HQ level and at airport (station) level every two years
• HQ audits are conducted by independent audit organizations accredited by IATA
• Station audits are conducted by qualified auditors from member airlines working in a pool managed by IATA

To join ISAGO

• Any airline wishing to join the ISAGO Audit Pool must be an IATA member
• To complete registration in ISAGO a GSP must have successfully completed the headquarter (HQ) audit and at least one station audit

Achievements update

• Established an audit pool with 40 member airlines, consisting of 195 ISAGO qualified auditors
• Conducted 10 free information seminars in all regions of the world
• Trained 280 auditors from 90 different airlines
• Performed 150 audits worldwide to date
  • 40% of HQ audits
• By end of February 2010, 31 providers are already on the ISAGO Registry at 33 different locations, from Bogota to Dubai to Hong Kong.

ISAGO 2010 objectives

• Board's target of 80 audits for 2009 was exceeded by over 35% 
• ISAGO's target for 2010 is 120 audits

Updated: March 2010