When the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) program came on line 10 years ago, government and airline industry attention primarily focused on its introduction of a common audit standard for international code-sharing agreements and its commitment to restrict IATA membership to IOSA-registered airlines. By most accounts during a recent symposium held by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the program has become the agenda-setter for safety specialists within the world’s airlines while earning endorsements from civil aviation authorities.
As a proprietary program, however, IOSA also has elicited questions from the NTSB about the potential for influence — that is, as a force parallel to government oversight — that could inhibit official awareness of safety issues by limiting release of information solely to current or prospective airline code-share partners. NTSB questioners asked whether IATA leaders have any similar co…
