Vietnamese airlines apply international standards for safety as global aviation industry expands
Vietnamese airlines apply international standards for safety as global aviation industry expands
Advertorial – Safety is the most crucial factor for every airline. At a time when the aviation industry is growing rapidly all around the world, passengers need reassurance that they will enjoy a safe and comfortable journey.
Airlines in Southeast Asia and all across the globe are expanding their fleets and widening their destination networks on an annual basis. More people are traveling by air than ever before and passengers now have a wider variety of carriers to travel with. However, many would-be air travelers have also been discouraged by recent aviation accidents.
Obtaining an internationally recognized safety certificate is a must for arguably every carrier.
One of the most highly regarded safety certificates is the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), granted by the International Air Transportation Association (IATA).
A benchmark for global safety management in airlines, the IOSA was created in 2001 with an aim to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline. IOSA uses internationally recognized quality audit principles and is designed to conduct audits in a standardized and consistent manner.
To receive IOSA certification is a confirmation of an airline’s commitment to operating with maximum safety, which involves “a great deal of hard work and requires the significant commitment of people, time and resources,” according to Blair Cowles, IATA’s Asia-Pacific regional director for safety and flight operations.
Obtaining the IOSA is a must for any airline that wishes to become a member of the IATA, a trade association of the world’s airlines with 260 members, primarily major carriers.
Among airlines in Vietnam, new-age Vietjet has quickly emerged as a leading player by managing to obtain the IOSA in just over three years of operations.
Vietjet’s managing director Luu Duc Khanh acknowledges that the aviation industry has been growing faster and faster across the Asia region and all around the world in terms of fleet expansion, flight network development, and rising passenger and cargo transportation capacity over recent years, so ensuring safety is essential for all airlines.
Vietjet boasts an impressive technical reliability ratio of 99.49 percent and the airline announced earlier this month that it had received the internationally recognized safety certificate from IATA.
Vietjet said such an accomplishment marked a new leap in its development path and was a hugely significant achievement for passengers on both domestic and international flights.
“The IOSA certification proves that Vietjet’s top priority is flight safety,” Khanh said. “With our commitment to complying with world-class safety and security standards, we expect to bring our clients safe, comfortable, joyful and friendly flights.”
Besides granting the IOSA, the IATA also works to ensure that the aviation infrastructure and the administrative and operational systems of countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Vietnam, are capable of meeting demand for investment and development of airlines, according to Cowles from IATA.
Cowles said Vietjet currently possesses a fleet of modern aircraft so Vietnam’s aviation infrastructure must also be upgraded to ensure the most effective use of these planes.
A top Vietnamese transport official has also encouraged Vietjet to invest in aviation infrastructure development, and is confident that it can do so effectively.
The Vietnamese Ministry of Transport has recently submitted a proposal to the government calling for the mobilization of investment from the private sector to upgrade the country’s aviation infrastructure, according to Deputy Minister Nguyen Nhat.
“Vietjet has good experience in business administration, so it will surely make good use of the aviation infrastructure when joining the ministry’s program,” the deputy minister said at a ceremony where Vietjet was granted the IOSA certification earlier August.
“Vietjet should consider investing in aviation infrastructure to create a complete chain of services to better serve its passengers.”
