Airlines for America (A4A), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and the Joint Inspection Group (JIG) signed a memorandum of understanding to promoted safety and quality assurance in aviation fueling activities.
The groups will work to eliminate regional variations in standards and best practices. They will also work to establish quality assurance inspection processes. By establishing processes, the industry will reduce the number of inspections while ensuring fuel is delivered per specifications, clean and dry.
“Maintaining the quality of the aviation fuel supply and the supporting infrastructure and operations is vital to safe and efficient functioning of the air transport industry,” Hemant Mistry, IATA director for global airport infrastructure and fuel, said. “This [memorandum of understanding], covering all airport fuel storage and handling, puts forward an industry-level program for application of standards and a single global reference for airline inspections. This is a great step forward in further promoting global safety and efficiency.”
IATA represents 265 airlines, 83 percent of the world’s traffic.
A4A said it was delighted to be working toward standardizing practices and that it is committed to safeguarded the safety of the fuel supply chain. A4A represents the largest airlines.
JIG represents the aviation-fuel industry and is positive about the partnership with IATA and A4A.
“JIG’s vision is to work with industry partners to establish and enhance standards for the safe handling and quality control of aviation fuels globally,” John Buxton, chairman of the JIG Council, said. “By partnering with IATA and A4A we will be able to more effectively support the industry by strengthening the implementation of our standards and providing a framework for the development of an industry Quality Assurance Scheme. This will form the foundation of a global inspection process that is supported by airlines.”