NAN-H-71
Certificate
By Adekunle Williams and Solomon Asowata
Lagos, May 2,2017 (NAN) The International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Tuesday formally presented Air Peace with its Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) Certificate.
The certificate was presented to the airline’s Chairman, Mr Allen Onyema, by IATA’s Area Manager, South-West Africa, Dr Samson Fatokun, in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the IOSA programme is an internationally recognised and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline.
Created by IATA in 2003, IOSA uses internationally recognised quality audit principles and is designed to conduct audits in a standardised and consistent manner.
Successful companies are included in the IOSA registry for a period of two years following an audit carried out by an organisation accredited by IATA.
With the presentation, Air Peace has now joined Medview Airline, Arik Air, Aero Contractors, FirstNation Airways, Allied Air and Overland Airways as the IOSA certified airlines operating in Nigeria.
Speaking at the ceremony, Fatokun said the certification was in line with the Abuja Declaration of 2012 that all African airlines should complete their IOSA certification by December 2017 toward enhancing air safety in the continent.
He said that African airlines recorded zero accident in 2016, which he attributed to the mercies of God, proper safety regulations and diligence of airline operators.
Congratulating Air Peace for achieving the feat, Fatokun said many airlines, both in Nigeria and other African countries, which started the programme, could not complete it due to its rigorous nature.
“It is a thing of joy for any airline on this part of the globe to be on IOSA register.
“That means you are operating on the same level of safety with other globally known airlines on the IOSA register.
“It takes a lot of hard work to go through the process. So, we want to congratulate the Air Peace management and staff for achieving this IOSA certification,’’ he said.
Fatokun urged the airline not to relent on its oars because the register is reviewed by IATA every two years, but to work assiduously to remain in the register.
He urged them to strive to become formally registered with IATA in order to be able to play on a global level and be an example to other African airlines.
Responding, Onyema said it was remarkable that Air Peace achieved the feat within less than three years of operations.
Onyema thanked the staff of Air Peace and its customers for the support and patronage, promising that the airline would not relent in its quest to enhance safety.
He thanked the Federal Government for giving Air Peace six foreign destinations, adding that the airline was ready to fill the void created by the absence of a national carrier for the country.
The Air Peace boss said :”Receiving the certification is not an end to itself, but it will spur us to do more to make Nigeria proud.
“We are ready to go international and we have already purchased the aircraft required for the operations.
“Our pilots just completed training abroad and we are also planning to enter into code-share agreements with some foreign airlines to give our passengers the best flying experience offered by a Nigerian airline. ” (NAN)
WAC/ASO/SOA
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Edited by Oluwole Sogunle