As the clock ticks toward the November compliance date for ICAO’s Annex 6 Part II, which contains standards and recommended practices for international operators of large aircraft and business jets, many aviation safety auditors are noting an increase in audit inquiries and bookings for certification to the International Business Aviation Council’s (IBAC) International Standards for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO).
While the FAA has not formally accepted Annex 6 Part II and is likely to file differences with ICAO, many European nations through the EASA are about to embrace the safety operations protocols intended for aircraft weighing more than 12,500 pounds and all jet-powered airplanes, and it will be up to each individual state to decide what operating standards it will accept. “We’ve been working with different governments around the world, and they are looking at
the IS-BAO program and saying that they are accepting it as a means of complying with their rules or recognizing that it meets the ICAO standards,” said IBAC standards manager Kathy Perfetti, who has seen the IS-BAO certification rates rise significantly as the ICAO compliance deadline draws nearer. “From when I started three years ago [at IBAC] we’ve gone from 75 to more than three times that; we’re now at over 200 companies,” she said.
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