The International Business Aviation Council recently held its 10th annual International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH) Standards Board meeting. In addition to reviewing and considering changes to the IS-BAH standard, it welcomed three new members to the IS-BAH Standards Board for 2024-2025; Troy Hyberger from Duncan Aviation, Rick Hooper from VistaJet and Jose Rubinho from United Aviation Services. The organisation also expressed its gratitude to the returning board members for their ongoing service.

The IS-BAH Standards Board is responsible for the content of the standard, as delegated by the IBAC Governing Board. Suggestions for improvements are gathered throughout the year from industry users and from changes identified by IBAC within the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practice. The updates to the IS-BAH 2024 standard will be released in July.

Since its inception in 2014, IS-BAH has registered more than 318 locations globally, aiming to enhance the safety and efficiency of business and general aviation ground handling service providers. As a voluntary programme, IS-BAH is the first industry standard to incorporate the SMS concept into ground handling, enabling handlers to conform to the ICAO SMS framework.

The IS-BAH Standards Board members comprise of ground handling professionals from around the world, representing the wide range and scope of service providers and aircraft operators.

The 2024-2025 IS-BAH Standards Board members include:

- Lou Sorrentino, AVMASSI (chair)

- Joseph Azzaz, Sky Valet Golf de St-Tropez airport

- Chris Barrow, Hong Kong Business Aviation Centre

- Phil Bartle, Signature Aviation

- Alain Champannois, Chapman Freeborn

- Kevin Donnelly, Jet Aviation US

- Benjamin Hammond, Pentastar Aviation

- Rick Hooper, VistaJet

- Troy Hyberger, Duncan Aviation

- Dawit Lemma, Krimson Aviation

- Allison Markey, 30W Aviation Consultants

- Jose Rubinho, United Aviation Services

- Jennifer Van Winkle, Sundt Air

Recognising that many organisations may have limited resources to begin the six-step process to IS-BAH, IBAC has established a group of accredited Programme Support Affiliates (PSA). These subject matter experts in IS-BAH offer fee-based assistance for implementation, providing a valuable resource to organisations.