Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) received (ISAGO) certification – the Safety Audit for Ground Operations by International Air Transport Aviation (IATA) for the third consecutive time. At the special ceremony the Safety, Security and Quality Section of MACL handed over the ISAGO certificate to the Managing Director of MACL.
As a Ground Service Provider of Velana International Airport (VIA), MACL achieved the certification in 2016, 2018 and 2020, respectively.
MACL accomplished the requirements of ISAGO certification after an intensive audit carried out by IATA in areas of Organization and Management (ORM), Load Control (LOD), Passenger & Baggage Handling (PAB), Aircraft Handling & Loading (HDL), Aircraft ground Movement (AGM), Cargo & Mail Handling (CGM).
IATA’s ISAGO program is an internationally recognised system for assessing the operational management and control systems of an organisation that provides ground handling services for airlines. ISAGO is based on industry-proven quality audit principles and is structured to ensure a standardized audit with reliable results across aviation businesses. As the businesses of ground services providers are very diverse; ranging from airside passenger transport and baggage handling to load control and cargo handling, the ISAGO approach combines a framework of audit standards, suitable for all Ground Services Providers (GSPs) with specific standards for each individual activity. This enables the ISAGO audit to be utilized by ground handling companies of all sizes from a single station to multinational enterprises.
During the ISAGO certification process, required manuals were developed for ground operations and regular internal audits were carried out. Velana International Airport has acquired benefits such as improved safety, better business reputation and more quality control.
The principle of ISAGO is to replace the multiplicity of airline audits with a single event ISAGO audit, thereby ensuring a safe operation for the airlines reducing redundant airline audits, saving the airlines auditing costs and the time spent by GSPs on being audited and responding to audit findings from each and every airline that they serve. The reluctance for the airlines to ‘let go’ is mostly due to the fact that regulators generally devolve responsibility for ground operations to the airlines and therefore the airlines are concerned about not being in compliance if they do not do their audits.
