Spanair renews its IOSA registration for the second time

Palma de Mallorca, 25th May 2009. Spanair has officially renewed its registration as an IOSA carrier (IATA Operational Safety Audit) until the 13th of May 2011, having passed on the total of 900 requirements and recommended practices included in the operational safety audit, which was performed at the beginning of the year by the German Company Aviation Quality Services (AQS) and officially closed on the 27th of April.

Spanair was the first Spanish airline to register as an IOSA carrier in 2003, adding its name to those of over 150 prestigious international airlines in possession of this certificate, the most thorough and widely accepted verification of civil aviation operational safety. It successfully renewed its certificate for the first time in May 2007.

The IOSA programme was launched by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in 2003, and recognises the importance of quality and safety assurance in air operations by means of a series of elements, practices and principles common to the different regions, legal systems and competent authorities worldwide.

The IOSA audit verifies the processes and procedures of all organizational and operational areas that directly or indirectly affect safety in flight operation: corporate organization and management, flight dispacht, flight operation, aircraft engineering and maintenance, on-board operations, airport operations and the safety and transportation of goods.

Furthermore, the IOSA was designed to conform to the international civil aviation organisation (ICAO ) requirements, as well as some of the European (EASA/JAA) and North America (FAA) aeronautical authorities.

“Since the beginning our operations, safety has beeen SPANAIR’s top priority in all its activities (ground, technical and flight operations) and is essential in any corporate decision. We are very proud to have had this IOSA certificate renewed as it recognises the operational integrity of the whole company”, has said Marcus Hedblom, Spanair’s CEO.

Spanair

Spanair, the Spanish carrier specialized in the business traveller, was founded in 1986. It is since 2003 a member of Star Alliance, the largest and the world’s most prestigious alliance.
Spanair is the second largest airline in Spain. It has a share of 23% of Spanish domestic market: 10,2 million passengers in 2008. It has a very significant position in the El Prat Barcelona airport - where it was the leading airline in 2008 both in number of passengers (1.7 million) and number of flights (18,916 operations) -, Barajas Madrid and Son Sant Joan Palma de Mallorca. Currently, Spanair operates over 200 daily flights: 87 % as a scheduled carrier (67 domestic routes and 13 routes across Europe and Africa) and a 13% as a charter, primarily during the summer.
Spanair revenues in 2008 were over 1,000 million EUR. The company has 3,161 employees and a fleet of 48 aircrafts.