IATA's number #1 priority
Every day, approximately 100,000 flights take to the sky and land without incident.
Flying continues to be of tremendous importance to modern life and getting on an aircraft is among the safest activities that one can do.
Safely connecting people and businesses is our top priority. We work with airlines and industry partners to raise standards and implement best practices.
Safety during COVID-19
A safety risk assessment is a vital tool to help manage the risks posed by changes to operations during Covid-19. Please see the following guidance materials which include operational safety risk assessments to help airlines manage safety during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis:
- IATA and IFALPA Joint safety statement - Managing crew fatigue during recovery from pandemic (pdf)
- Guidance for managing crew fatigue during a crisis (pdf)
- Guidance for cabin operations during and post pandemic (pdf) Spanish version (pdf)
- Guidance for managing aircraft airworthiness during and post pandemic (pdf)
- Guidance for flight operations during and post pandemic (pdf)
- Guidance for the transport of cargo and mail on aircraft configured for the carriage of passengers (pdf)
The situation evolves daily and this guidance is updated as new information becomes available. Please always ensure you refer to the current version published on our site.
The Six Point Safety Strategy is a comprehensive approach to identify organizational, operational and emerging safety issues. It has been established in close cooperation with the member airlines and Strategic Partners through the IATA Safety Group (SG) and the Safety, Flight and Ground Operations Advisory Council (SFGOAC).
The Strategy focuses on the following six key areas:
Reduce operational risk
Operational risks are the primary concern of any airline. IATA works with the industry to implement safety programs that revolve around identifying and controlling these safety elements.
IATA’s data-driven assessments and analyses, together with safety experts from member airlines, identify key safety issues. The following are among some of the issues currently being addressed to improve safety in aviation:
- Cabin Safety
- Loss of Control In-flight (LOC-I)
- Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT)
- Runway Safety
- Fatigue
- Mid-air Collision
- Aircraft Handling and Manual Flying Skills Report (pdf)
Enhance quality and compliance
Another cornerstone of the approach to enhancing aviation safety is the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), an internationally recognized program that is implemented consistently throughout the industry. The revised Six-Point Safety Strategy also covers Oversight of Third Party Service Providers in conformance with ICAO Safety Management System (SMS) framework requirements.
IMX (Integrated Management Solutions) is a tool that provides an efficient and cost-effective solution to manage the collection and processing of your Quality and Safety data and information as part of your SDCPS (Safety Data Collection & Processing System).
IATA does not consider airline safety ratings or rankings to be a valid measure of an individual organization’s safety performance. Find out more about IATA's position on Airline Safety Rankings (pdf).
Advocate for improved aviation infrastructure
IATA continuously promote improved ATM infrastructure related to:
- Phasing out Non-Directional Beacon (NDB) / VHF Omnidirectional Range (VOR) approaches and accelerating the implementation of approaches with vertical guidance (APV)
- Airport (runway & ramp infrastructure)
- Air Navigation harmonization and standardization
Support consistent implementation of safety management system
Industry has been implementing the Safety Management System (SMS) framework elements for a number of years. IATA supports consistent implementation of SMS in:
- Safety performance monitoring
- Analysis and dissemination of information
- Safety promotion and facilitation
Support effective recruitment and training
Our support for industry career development and recruitment include:
- IATA Training and Licensing
- Air Traffic Control (ATC) Next Generation of Aviation Professionals (NGAP)
- Ground Handling Agents (GHA)
- Classroom and in-company training courses
Identify and address emerging safety issues
The Strategy comprises identifying and addressing safety issues related to:
- Lithium Battery regulations
- Passenger awareness of Portable Electronic Devices
- Safe Integration of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS)
- GNSS signal interference (pdf) - GNSS jamming and Space weather
- Laser attacks
The IATA Global Aviation Data Management (GADM) program is used to help identify and monitor emerging safety issues. The program provides our members and other eligible industry organizations with a wealth of information and acts as a gateway to the world of aircraft operations.
Our GADM program now includes information from over 470 different organizations and over 90% of IATA members are contributing to at least one GADM database.
