The International Air Transport Association, IATA, last weekend, presented its International Operational Safety Audit, IOSA, certificate to indigenous carrier, FirstNation Airways.
The certificate was presented to the airline’s Director of Flight Operations, Chimara Imediegwu by IATA’s Area Manager, South West Africa, Samson Fatokun in Lagos.
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,” Imediegwu said.
Imediegwu noted that with the presentation, FirstNation Airways has now joined Arik Air and Aero Contractors as the only IOSA certified airlines operating in Nigeria.
Imediegwu said the process of certification began in January 2014 when the airline received a request to enroll for the programme.
He said this was in line with the Abuja Declaration of 2012 that all African airlines should complete their IOSA certification by December 2015 towards enhancing air safety in the continent.
