Indonesia AirAsia passes major safety audit

Indonesia AirAsia, just successfully passed a major international safety audit, IOSA, that covers more than 1060 separate parameters. The Operational Safety Audit is conducted by the International Air Transport Association and airlines that have completed the audit have a safety record almost four times better than those that have not. The first airline to complete the audit, when it was introduced 15 years ago, was Qatar Airways. READ: I have changed my mind, I would now fly AirAsia.  Now 425 airlines have completed the audit, which is renewed every two years. The completion of the audit elevates the airline from four stars to six stars out of a possible seven-star safety rating with AirlineRatings.com. AirAsia X already is IOSA accredited and other airlines in the AirAsia Group are in the final process of completing the audit. Indonesia AirAsia is based in Jakarta and has 18 Airbus A320s and flies to 13 destinations. Typically it operates four flights a day between Bali and Perth. The awarding of the IOSA accreditation is expected to be a major boost for the airline, particularly with Australian passengers. The IOSA certification audit is an internationally recognized and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline. The audit covers eight functional and operational areas: organisation and management system, flight operations, operational control and flight dispatch, aircraft engineering and maintenance, cabin operations, ground handling operations, cargo operations and security management. AirAsia Indonesia CEO Dendy Kurniawan said, “We are committed to continuously improving our safety standards. This IOSA registration gives assurance that AirAsia Indonesia complies with a globally recognized safety benchmark and we couldn’t be more proud that the audit has confirmed our operational safety and security integrity. Our Allstars have been preparing for the IOSA audit for the past two years, and this accomplishment would not have been possible without their hard work and support.” AirAsia Indonesia is the second airline within the AirAsia Group to be registered with IOSA, following the success of AirAsia X Malaysia in obtaining the certification in 2014, which was renewed earlier this year. IOSA audits are conducted biannually. IOSA was introduced to stem the increasing number of crashes in the late 1990s and into the beginning of the last decade.   The AirAsia Group airlines now fly to 165 destinations in 25 countries. It has just ordered or reconfirmed orders for 100 A330s for its AirAsia X operation.