6 December 2018 (Beirut) – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation of Lebanon (DGCA Lebanon) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together to enhance aviation safety in Lebanon and move towards achieving a single set of internationally-recognized audit standards across the Middle East.
Under the terms of the MoU DGCA will recognize IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit) and ISAGO (IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations) as an acceptable means of compliance with DGCA regulations to complement their safety oversight function. DGCA is the third regulator in the Middle East, after the Bahrain Civil Aviation Authority and Egypt Civil Aviation Authority to recognize IOSA while Bahrain and Lebanon recognize both IOSA and ISAGO.
“The DGCA Lebanon is committed to improving aviation safety. Recognizing IOSA and ISAGO as an acceptable means of compliance is an important step toward achieving a single international set of audit standards across the region that will make flying safer,” said Mr. Mohamad Chehabeddine, Director General of Civil Aviation DGCA.
“This MoU is a major step forward in harmonizing audit standards, paving the way towards the achievement of a common regional aviation institutional framework,” added Dr. Omar Kaddouha, Director Flight Safety.
IOSA is the global benchmark for airline operational safety management. In 2017 the all accident rate for airlines on the IOSA registry was nearly four times better than that of non-IOSA airlines (0.56 vs. 2.17 accidents per million flights). This trend carries through to the Middle East/North Africa region, where airlines on the IOSA registry experienced zero accidents in 2017, compared to a rate of 2.26 accidents per million flights for airlines not on the IOSA registry. ISAGO is the global benchmark for ground handling operating standards.
“Safety is the industry’s top priority. Global standards are the key. We congratulate the DGCA Lebanon for their leadership in helping promote a single set of global safety standards and hope that other regulators in the Middle East take similar actions,” said Muhammad Albakri, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa and Middle East.