Menzies Aviation receives global safety recognition

The global safety recognition follows a rigorous audit by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents 84% of air operators, currently comprising 240 airlines.

The ISAGO programme is an international audit system intended to provide quality management in order to improve the risk profiles of ground services providers, and reduce possible aircraft damage during ground operations as well as personnel injuries. It is regarded as the benchmark of global quality standards for handling services at all airports.

An onerous audit

Forsyth Black, Menzies senior vice president for Africa, Middle East and India, says the company stands apart as the only operator in the SA market to have passed the stringent audit requirements, which proves it to be a safe, secure and reliable ground handling organisation.

"It is an onerous audit process but Menzies prides ourself on our high safety standards. We believe our ISAGO endorsement gives our clients and potential clients added peace of mind and confidence in our ability to perform at the highest level of compliance.

"The registration is done every two years. We chose to subject ourselves to the auditor's scrutiny because we believe it is a clear proof point of Menzies' commitment to the highest standards of safety and service quality. It is a clear differentiator for Menzies in the SA marketplace to be the only ISAGO registered operator and it shows we conform to worldwide industry standards."

The audit process

A team of auditors conducted inspections at Menzies' on-site operations. The auditing process, which consists of 315 individual standards, covered the following areas: organisational and management; load control; passenger handling; baggage handling; aircraft handling and loading; aircraft ground movement operations; and cargo and mail handling.

Black says that before accepting that a company has conformed to a particular standard, the auditor assesses that the standard is both successfully documented and implemented.