What is IOSA, why is it important and who has it?

Today The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released the 2014 commercial aviation safety performance results. Apparent from these results is the importance of and adherance to IOSA (IATA* Operational Safety Audit) in preventing air accidents. AirlineRatings.com's unique seven star safety rating system allocates two of its seven available stars to airlines that have completed and passed the IOSA audit.

What is IOSA and why is it important?
The IOSA certification audit is an internationally recognised and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline. IOSA uses internationally recognised audit principles and is designed to conduct audits in a standardised and consistent manner. Airlines are re evaluated every two years. Registering for IOSA certification and auditing is not mandatory therefore an airline that does not have IOSA certification may have either failed the IOSA audit or alternatively chosen not to participate. Small regional airlines generally don't do the IOSA audit purely because of the cost to a)have the audit conducted and b) to implement the likely required changes.

Of course flying with an airline that is IOSA certified doesn't mean you "wont have a crash" nor does it mean that an airline without IOSA isn't safe, but a pasenger can have comfort knowing that an IOSA certiified airline does comply with the most stringent of rules and practices governing aviation safety. Todays results revealed that IOSA certified airlines had a crash rate three times less than those airlines not on the IOSA registry.

Below is the list of IOSA certified airlines . Alternatively you can search for specific airlines or view the list on the IOSA website.

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