Australia’s CASA Gains Access to IATA Safety Audits

Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to gain access to the IATA safety audit reports, CASA announced. IATA has similar agreements with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the European Aviation Safety Agency and China, CASA said.

Graeme Crawford, acting CEO and director of CASA, said in announcing the MOU that CASA will use the information compiled through the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) program to “complement the existing oversight and surveillance of foreign airlines.” He said it also will be used as part of the assessment process for new foreign carriers seeking authority to operate to Australia. In addition, CASA expects to have access to IOSA information on Australian carriers, “which will be used to support our existing audit and surveillance work,” Crawford said.

IOSA is designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline, according to IATA. All IATA members are IOSA-registered and must remain registered to maintain membership in the airline trade organization. IATA says that sharing IOSA information with regulators reduces the burden and costs of safety oversight.

Terms of the MOU were not released.