Medview Bags International Safety Certification

Chinedu Eze

After a very rigorous process that lasted for almost two years, Nigerian major carrier Medview Airline was on Monday admitted by International Air Transport Association (IATA) into its global safety registry; after passing the International Operations Safety Audit (IOSA) certification.

The admission of Medview into the IOSA registry of the global airlines regulator, according to the carrier, was a confirmation that it has notched up its safety operational procedures to worldwide standards.

Speaking at a presentation ceremony of the IOSA certificate in Lagos, the Regional Director, West Africa, IATA, Mr. Samson Fatokun said Medview met the required safety standards set by the global body.

He said the safety endorsement has catapulted Medview into the league of global players in terms of operational safety and procedures required for global carriers.

According to Fatokun, the airline had fulfilled all the conditions and met all the requirements for it to be given IOSA certificate and with that safety endorsement, Medview has joined the league of other domestic carriers to be enlisted in the IOSA registry that include Aero Contractors, Arik Air, Overland Airways, First Nation Airways and Allied Air, a cargo airline.

He said IATA would continue to monitor the operational activities of Medview Airlines to prepare it for the validation of the certification in the next two years before pursuing the enhanced IOSA, which is an advancement in the safety status.

Fatokun said with the certification, Medview Airlines could negotiate code share and interline agreements with global carriers like Lufthansa, Delta Air Lines and others to enhance its operations.

Fatokun commended the carrier for meeting the stringent conditions for IOSA, stressing that it is good for all carriers in Nigeria to be IOSA certified.
He explained that IOSA became imperative for carrier after African leaders met and agreed that all carriers operating on the continent must be IOSA compliant by end of 2017.

“If you check IATA registry, you will find Medview Airlines there. They worked for it. It is good to be there and it is more difficult to maintain it. Very soon, you have to continue for renewal. We are moving to Enhanced IOSA, which is an expansion of the IOSA program and focuses in particular on the continuous quality assurance of operational procedures and processes, encompassing all IOSA disciplines.
 This is done through regular internal assessments and the preparation of a Conformance Report (CR). Qualified auditors and a standardized audit procedure are important prerequisites for this,” Fatokun said.

Speaking on the certification, the Managing Director of the airline, Alhaji Muneer Bankole said the airline’s qualification for the certification was as a result of teamwork and dedicated the certificate to the entire staff.

IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) audit indicates that the airline has complied with all safety regulations in accordance to the standard of the international body.

The IOSA programme is an internationally recognised and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline.
IOSA uses internationally recognised quality audit principles and is designed to conduct audits in a standardised and consistent manner.

It was created in 2003 by IATA to enhance safety standard of airlines under its registry and over time it has been affirmed that airlines with the certification have lower rate of air crashes throughout the world compared to others not under that registry.

The program is designed to assess the operational management, manuals and control systems of airlines.

IATA Projects 7.2 Billion Passengers by 2035

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said it expects 7.2 billion passengers to travel in 2035, a near doubling of the 3.8 billion air travelers in 2016.

IATA said the projection was based on a 3.7percent annual Compound Average Growth Rate (CAGR) noted in the release of the latest update to the association’s 20-Year Air Passenger Forecast.

“People want to fly. Demand for air travel over the next two decades is set to double. Enabling people and nations to trade, explore, and share the benefits of innovation and economic prosperity makes our world a better place,” said IATA’s director general and CEO Alexandre de Juniac,.

The forecast for passenger growth confirmed that the biggest driver of demand would be the Asia-Pacific region. It is expected to be the source of more than half the new passengers over the next 20 years.

IATA said China would displace the US as the world’s largest aviation market (defined by traffic to, from and within the country) around 2029. India would displace the UK for third place in 2026, while Indonesia enters the top ten at the expense of Italy. Growth would also increasingly be driven within developing markets and over the past decade the developing world’s share of total passenger traffic has risen from 24percent to nearly 40percent, and this trend is set to continue.

The international aviation body said the 20-year forecast puts forward three scenarios. The central scenario foresees a doubling of passengers with a 3.7percent annual CAGR. If trade liberalisation gathers pace, demand could triple the 2015 level. Conversely, if the current trend towards trade protectionism gathers strength, growth could cool to 2.5 percent annual CAGR, which would see passenger numbers reach 5.8 billion by 2035.

“Economic growth is the only durable solution for the world’s current economic woes. Yet we see governments raising barriers to trade rather than making it easier. If this continues in the long-term, it will mean slower growth and the world will be poorer for it. For aviation, the protectionist scenario could see growth slowing to as low as 2.5 percent annually. Not only will that mean fewer new aviation jobs, it will mean that instead of 7.2 billion travelers in 2035, we will have 5.8 billion. The economic impact of that will be broad and hard-felt,” said de Juniac.

IATA said whatever scenario is eventually realised, growth would put pressure on infrastructure that is already struggling to cope with demand.

“Runways, terminals, security and baggage systems, air traffic control, and a whole raft of other elements need to be expanded to be ready for the growing number of flyers. It cannot be done by the industry alone. Planning for change requires governments, communities and the industry working together in partnership,” said de Juniac.

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