Day: May 17, 2023

Abu Dhabi – The International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) has been advancing aviation safety for the last 15 years. ISAGO is an industry program for the global oversight of ground handling service providers (GHSPs). It is based on the IATA’s Ground Operations Manual (IGOM) standards. Since its launch in May 2008, over 3,000 audits have been conducted worldwide, making it the industry global standard for ground handling service providers (GHSPs).

“Over the past 15 years, ISAGO has matured and evolved to become a center of excellence for safety auditing in ground handling. With 195 organizations onboard it is now the driving force in improving ramp safety, reducing ground damage and enabling standardized and sustainable operations. It also plays a role in mitigating the billions of dollars of damage to aircraft and equipment that happens each year and helps airlines to allocate resources efficiently. More and more governments and airports now recognize ISAGO as part of their safety oversight programs,” said Monika Mejstrikova, IATA’s Director of Ground Operations.

ISAGO Registry 

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) and dnata Dubai were the world’s first ISAGO-accredited ground handling service providers and have maintained their ISAGO registration for 15 years. Both companies acknowledge the positive impact of ISAGO in their operations.

“ISAGO plays a vital role in enhancing aviation safety levels – in particular, by standardizing many different safety standards and recommended practices and minimizing the potential risks in ground handling around the world. It is an invaluable resource and significant safety driver for all parties,” said Wilson Kwong, Hactl’s Chief Executive.

The ISAGO Registry now includes 195 GHSPs that provide services at 324 accredited stations in 206 airports around the world. Over 100 ISAGO airline members have instant access to the ISAGO Registry, where they can access nearly 500 different ISAGO audit reports and drive more efficient oversight of outsourced ground handling services including risk, cost and audit reduction.

“ISAGO has been an integral part of our journey towards continuous improvement, and we are proud to have achieved this significant milestone. The positive impact that ISAGO has brought to our operations cannot be overstated, and we remain fully committed to upholding its rigorous standards,” said Jaffar Dawood, dnata Senior Vice President Airport Operations UAE, Middle East, and Africa.

Future Proofing ISAGO

ISAGO is constantly evolving to reduce duplicate audits and drive greater standardization of ground handling processes worldwide. And to drive further simplification of audit processes and to ensure GHSPs’ readiness for the ISAGO audit, IATA launched the free Operational Portal to help GHSPs and airlines to perform a gap analysis between their ground operational procedures and IGOM. The tool helps to identify operational variations with the intention to reduce them and standardize procedures according to IGOM. In addition, a new checklist is being developed that mirrors IGOM and Airport Handling manual requirements, allowing for remote documentation validation through the Operational Portal. “We remain committed to evolving ISAGO,” said Mejstrikova.

May 15, 2023 by Payload Asia

For the first time in 13 years JAL will operate its own freighter.

Japan Airlines wants to further grow its cargo and mail business and has announced that it will introduce three Boeing 767-300ER freighters for dedicated cargo operations by the end of this year.

JAL has been securing revenues reliably and efficiently in the air cargo business by using cargo space on passenger flights and chartering other companies’ freighters in response to demand.

With the introduction of the freighter, the airline will operate under a new business model that will capture stable demand, improve aircraft utilization ratio and ensure profitability.

“To capture domestic and international e-commerce, parcel delivery, and other high growth cargo, we will build alliances with logistics partners and operate routes that ensure stable demand,” the airline said.

“We will ensure that domestic air transportation plays a growing role in response to the ‘2024 issue’ and limit business risks caused by fluctuations in demand and market conditions.

The ‘2024 issue’ refers to the foreseen shortage of truck drivers in Japan as new restrictions regarding overtime come into effect in Japan next year.

JAL said it will begin operating international flights mainly to East Asia from the end of this year. It will also operate domestic flights in the future to improve aircraft utilization and maximize cargo loading ratio, whilst flexibly offering charter and non-scheduled flights.

Other Topics: Air Cargo Network, Air Express, Air Freight Services, Air Logistics, Asia Pacific Air Cargo, Asia Pacific Air Freight, Asia Pacific Air Logistics, Asia Pacific Shipments, Cargo Flights, E-Commerce Logistics, Express Delivery, Express Logistics, International Air Shipments, International Express Delivery, Transpacific Air Cargo, Transpacific Air Freight