Furthering its commitment to help business aircraft operators and companies take action on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, EBAA has launched two working groups tasked with defining guidelines for the sector's bold initiative STARS or Standards and Training for Aviation Responsibility and Sustainability.

Originally conceived by a group of young business aviation professionals across Europe, and wholly supported by IBAC, the STARS programme is a three-tiered set of standards and resources, which permits even the smallest of business aircraft operators and companies to receive accreditation for complying with progressive social and environmental best practices.

“The road to recovery from COVID-19 can and should happen in a sustainable way across all industries,” says EBAA secretary general Athar Husain Khan. “For business aviation, STARS aims to provide the guidance and resources to do so. We anticipate having the standards and the accompanying label ready to launch in early 2021.”

“Business aviation has always been a forward-thinking, self-regulating industry. It has long established global, voluntary safety standards to ensure safe operations in the air and on the ground,” adds Kurt Edwards, IBAC secretary general. “The social and environmental guidance from STARS will give operators, FBOs, ground handlers, maintenance providers, brokers and the other businesses along the value chain a clear path towards further contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”

The two EBAA working groups comprise individuals from major business aviation companies. They will develop the environmental and social standards, respectively. Once finalised, the standards will be integrated in the existing International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) and the International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH). They will also be available standalone for organisations that do not operate aircraft or provide ground services as part of their activities.