News — 2006
Recent air tragedies such as the Helios crash in Greece last summer, remind us that while air travel may be the safest form of transport, it is only as safe as the plane we are travelling on. Jacques Barrot, the European transport commissioner dismissed some aircraft as "flying coffins," which is sure to concern the millions of us who fly each year. We can however feel a little more secure in the safety of the air craft we fly on in future, at least within Europe, after the introduction of the EU legislation banning 92 “dangerous” airlines from flying within the region. The move was proposed last year after a summer when more than 500 people died in plane crashes worldwide, and was introduced last week. Quite often EU regulations come under fire for being too bureaucratic, a famous example of course being regulations on the shape of bananas. Yet, this is one case where they really could save lives. Aviation safety is of course of vital importance in the industry and one that the vast majority of airlines do comply with 100%. However, those that don’t are putting their passengers lives at risk due to greed or incompetence. Some unscrupulous airlines allow aircraft to fly that are not airworthy and do not comply with regulations. They fail to meet global standards and are not compliant with international regulations. This can be due to factors involving cost, yet some airlines seem to believe they do not have to comply with international regulations. The airlines banned from flying are all based out with the EU, with the majority located in Africa. Others banned included some based in Thailand, Bangladesh and Kazakhstan. They do not comply with current EU regulations regarding passenger and aircraft safety. However, the legislation has shown, it doesn’t matter how small your airline may be or where it is based, you are still not exempt from the regulations or responsibility of being a carrier. One way to ensure regulations are met and customer safety is paramount is to use an electronic Compliance Management system such as Q-Pulse. Air Astana, in Kazakhstan, is one airline that always puts their customers first. They are Q-Pulse users and customer safety is their number one priority. Malcolm McDonald of Air Astana airlines said: ‘We are of course a business at the end of the day but where safety is our paramount concern and a business that really cares about our customers well-being. As a result of this, we have invested in Q-Pulse to ensure we are meeting all EASA Part-145 and Kazakhstan CAC safety rules and regulations and exceeding them where possible.’ Q-Pulse is widely respected throughout the aviation industry and has a varied customer base that includes Emirates, TUI and Lufthansa. We even held a dedicated Aviation user group in Dubai in January in conjunction with Emirates Airlines. This gave those in the industry the chance to share tips and advice on how Q-Pulse can really help meet international standards. The easiest way for the banned airlines to be permitted to fly within the EU again would be to comply with industry recognised standards such as JAR-OPS and EASA Part-145 (and implement an electronic management system such as Q-Pulse). Until then, we can be thankful that EU regulations are concerned with more than just bananas. For further information please contact: |