Press Release
Issued by Harrods Aviation - The Knightsbridge.
December 11, 2013
Harrods Aviation is the first independent dedicated business aviation FBO in the world to be accredited with ISAGO status, having successfully passed the IATA audit procedures. Harrods Aviation is now one of only 237 ISAGO registered organisations around the world.
ISAGO aims to improve operational safety in the airport ground operations environment, to reduce damage to aircraft and equipment, and to improve efficiency by reducing the number of redundant audits. Customers at Harrods Aviation's London Luton and London Stansted facilities can be confident in the knowledge that internationally recognised standards for ground handling providers have been met.
Kerry Besgrove, Harrods Aviation's operations director said, 'We are extremely proud to be the first independent FBO to be awarded the ISAGO accreditation. Our staff have worked tirelessly on this project, and the dedication and input from all has been rewarded and internationally recognised with this accreditation. We will continue to provide our extensive expertise to the wide body business jet industry. Business aviation ground handling must evolve, taking into account regulatory advances and I am very pleased that Harrods Aviation can now offer our customers the piece of mind that comes with such accreditation.'
Drawing on the success of the IATA Operational Safety Audit Programme (IOSA), IATA has brought together ground service providers, regulators, airports and other industry organisations to address ground incidents and accidents, and to implement a global safety audit programme. As a result, ISAGO aims to bring improvements in safety and efficiency for ground handling providers such as Harrods Aviation.
An IATA spokesperson said, “It gives us great pleasure to announce that Harrods Aviation has successfully completed and passed the ISAGO audit at both Luton and Stansted. IATA has, with the ISAGO audit process and the IGOM manual, been placing considerable emphasis on improved safety, efficiency, and damage reduction on the ground handling industry. While our efforts have been focused more on the traditional airlines and their ground service providers, it is rewarding to note that they have flowed into the business aviation sector as well. This spread of a culture of best practice ground handling throughout the industry is vitally important for improving ground handling processes and standards globally. For this reason we would like to especially commend Harrods Aviation for taking the initiative and becoming the first dedicated business aircraft handling company to pass the exacting ISAGO audit requirements.”
