IATA Ousts 21 Carriers Due To IOSA
By Adrian Schofield 
IATA yesterday terminated the membership of one airline — Aeropostal de Venezuela — for not passing a required safety audit by a March 31 deadline, bringing the total that have left IATA for not completing the audit to 21.
All of the group’s members were required to complete the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) by the end of 2008, but IATA was still processing about 20 audits this year. Of these, Aeropostal was the only one that had its membership terminated, said Mike O’Brien, IATA’s director of auditing.
However, a further eight airlines resigned their memberships last year because it was obvious they would not be able to rectify audit findings in time. The remaining nine carriers were terminated in 2006 or 2007 because they essentially did not begin audits, and this was also the case for three that resigned in 2007. Some of those terminated are no longer in operation.
Aeropostal completed its audit, but did not address its findings. Airlines have one year to resolve all issues raised by the audit before it lapses, requiring them to start again. Aeropostal has a lot of questions about its future, and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez intends to nationalize the carrier after some of its owners were linked to drug trafficking.
The eight airlines resigning last year were Air Botswana, Air Malawi, Air Tanzania, TAAG, Rwandair Express, Tassili Airlines, Varig Log and Zambian Airways. Ariana Afghan Airlines, Solomon Airlines and Palestinian Airlines resigned in 2007. Those terminated in 2006 and 2007 were Aero Asia, Aero California, Air Marshall Islands, AVIATECA, Samara Airlines, Turkmenistan Airlines, Albanian Airways, Iraqi Airways and Lloyd Aero Boliviano.
O’Brien said the carriers that resigned in 2008 had a “substantial number of findings” to address, but while they “made a real effort to close them out, it was not possible to complete them all in 12 months.” He notes that “the willingness is there,” but they admitted they “needed a bit of breathing space” to resolve audit findings. The three that resigned in 2007 were either restructuring or their countries were dealing with political instability.
These airlines can still regain IATA membership by successfully completing an audit, and many have said they will restart the IOSA process. A couple have already scheduled an audit, O’Brien said. However, if they begin the process in the middle of this year, they would probably not finish until mid-2010. Carriers on average have 30-50 findings to address.
The IOSA program uses eight certified auditing companies, but is managed by IATA. To stay on the IOSA register, airlines must complete an audit every two years. Some carriers are approaching their fourth audit. Non-IATA members can also be on the register if they are successfully audited. The register currently includes 308 airlines, of which 224 are IATA members. O’Brien expects IOSA activity to hit a peak this year of 240-250 audits.
Photo: IATA
