Baku, November 12, AZERTAC

A delegation led by Director Safety and Flight Operations for Europe at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Giancarlo Buono has visited Baku.

The purpose of the visit was to complete the joint project of AZANS and IATA on introduction of three-level safety management system in the airspace of Azerbaijan in accordance with ICAO’s requirements. A corresponding agreement was signed between Azerbaijan Airlines and the International Air Transport Association this summer.

Over the past few months, IATA has carried out extensive work on introducing high standards in the safety and risk management system of AZANS ATC, including staff training.

The delegation met with the President of AZAL Jahangir Asgarov as part of the visit.

“AZAL, being a full member of IATA, closely cooperates with this international organization in all spheres of aviation and, first of all, in the field of passenger transportation security. The use of modern technologies is a guarantee of success in this key issue,” Jahangir Asgarov said.

"Our joint work on introduction of flight safety management system makes Azerbaijani airspace safe for all airlines. We thank AZANS for close cooperation,", Giancarlo Buono noted.

The head of the IATA delegation also supported the initiative of Azerbaijan Airlines to integrate the ATC system with the unmanned aerial vehicle control systems (ATM/UTM Integration) and stressed the importance of this issue for flight safety, especially in the vicinity of airports.

Jahangir Asgarov noted that many countries are concerned about this situation. In particular, the UK passed a new bill "On the organization of airspace and unmanned aerial vehicles", which will help to counteract the illegal use of drones in airspace. The Ministry of Transport of Japan also ordered to take urgent measures to prevent such situations and is considering purchasing a sensor system to detect drones near airports.

"The appearance of drones in the immediate vicinity of airports is a very pressing problem all over the world. In this regard, we have made a decision to establish a center under the "Azeraeronavigation" Air Traffic Control for controlling the civilian unmanned aerial vehicles at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport," AZAL President said.

During the meeting, the parties noted that in 2020 Baku will become the venue of one of the most significant international conferences of IATA dedicated to the safety and efficiency of airline operations - Safety and Flight Ops Conference. It is expected that the capital of Azerbaijan will be visited by Fang Liu, Secretary General of the ICAO and Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General.

"Holding such an important event in Baku, where the problems of global civil aviation will be discussed, demonstrates Azerbaijan's great success in this industry," Jahangir Asgarov added.