The International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) has virtually conducted its annual International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) standards board meeting. It welcomed new board members for 2022, Chris Tran from the Australian Business Aviation Association and Tariq Alsaeed of the Middle East and North Africa Business Aviation Association, and will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the launch of the IS-BAO programme in 2002.

The board announced it was introducing the first IS-BAO standard revision since 2018 and established the 20th edition naming convention to align with the 20th anniversary of the IS-BAO standard. The new standard will be released in January 2022.

“We welcome Chris and Tariq to the standards board and thank the returning board members for their leadership. 2022 will mark 20 years since we first introduced IS-BAO, and we are proud of its wide adoption as an international safety standard,” says Daniel Devraignes, IBAC IS-BAO deputy director. “The 20th edition of the standard will include some revisions that have accumulated since 2018. We agreed to continue this more efficient revision method going forward. Most changes to the standards board include clarifications and simplification for improving readability. However there are a few substantial changes addressing specific safety concerns particularly in relation to rotary-wing operations.”

Kurt Edwards, IBAC director general adds: “Twenty years ago, the IBAC team was taking a giant leap forward for business aviation safety by establishing the global international IS-BAO programme, and we thank all of those involved in its development.”