InMarch 2017 MeridianAirCompanybecame the first Russian business jet operator to receive the top Stage III certificate of conformity with the International Standard of Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO). With this achievement, the air operator will strengthen its presence in both domestic and international markets.
TheIS-BAOstandardwasdevelopedbytheInternational Business Aviation Council (IBAC) with its headquarters located in Montreal. The IBAC auditors examined the Safety Management System and the Quality Management System of Meridian Air Company in detail and concluded that the level of both systems was in full compliance with the top international regulations.
“DuringtheauditforIS-BAOStageIIIcertification,flight safety is evaluated not only in terms of documentation, but also by interviewing the personnel. The auditor may come to any employee and ask any question, for instance, when was the last time the employee reported to the management about his errors voluntarily, when he attended a flight safety meeting and so on. Thegoalofsuchinterviewistoassureif flightsafetyispart of each and every employee`s work. If you expect your personnel to be ready for such examination, you cannot train them to memorize correct answers to those questions; what you require is a systematic approach to training, regular internal audits and inspections. Thesedays,ourteamconsistsofhighlyresponsibleemployeeswhoareentirelyreliable, andthisisaresultofyears-long and deliberate personnel management”, said Mr. Vladimir Lapinskiy, CEO of Meridian Air Company.
DuringtheaudittheIBACauditorsevaluatedthelevelofrisk management in Meridian Air Company and carried out full examination of corporate documentation, e.g. meeting minutes, records, checklists; they also studied the results of audits conducted by state authorities and performed aircraft inspections.
“When we started preparing for our first IBAC audit and implementinginternational standards five years ago, we improved efficiency of all corporate processes in our company. Duringtheseyears, wehaveintegratedthe following toolsintoourdailybusiness: RiskManagementSystem, VoluntaryReportingSystem, ChangeManagement;wehave created continuous flight safety training for the personnel and receive effective feedback from every employee in the airline. Wetrulyhopethatour recognitionreceived fromtheInternationalBusinessAviationCouncilwillgiveanimpulsetoimproving service quality of Russian air operators and will contribute to developing the whole aviation industry in the country”, said Mr. Yury Larchenkov, Deputy CEO of Meridian Air Company.
