ACI Jet has promoted Aaron Colt to the newly established role of FBO safety manager. Previously serving as the aircraft ground support (AGS) supervisor at ACI Jet's John Wayne airport FBO in Santa Ana, California, Colt brings a wealth of hands-on operational experience and a proven track record in safety leadership to this critical network-wide position.

In his new role, Colt will report directly to the executive team and ACI Jet's vice president of FBOs and facilities. He is tasked with overseeing and advancing the company's FBO safety quality management system (SQMS) across all its locations, ensuring that safety protocols are not only standardised but continue to exceed industry benchmarks. His immediate priorities include the creation of a specialised audit toolkit to be tested at ACI Jet's San Luis County Regional airport headquarters in San Luis Obispo and performing gap analyses of all existing safety manuals and materials.

“Aaron was the clear choice for this role because he understands the day-to-day realities of our line service crews,” remarks Andrew Robillard, ACI Jet's vice president of FBOs and facilities. “He has a unique ability to connect with people on a personal level while maintaining an authoritative position on safety compliance. His experience in helping implement IS-BAH Stage 2 certification and developing our current training systems makes him the ideal leader to scale our safety culture as we expand our network.”

Colt's promotion signifies ACI Jet's commitment to internal career mobility and the value of front-line expertise. Having started on the ramp, Colt holds a deep understanding of the ‘downstream effects’ of safety policies, allowing him to collaborate on creative solutions for operational challenges across different FBO tiers.

“My goal is to bridge the gap between executive-level policy and the daily operations on each FBO ramp,” he states. “By refining our SQMS and optimising our reporting systems, we are building a safety framework that is fully scalable for both ACI Jet and our sister network through Freeman Holdings Group.”

As FBO safety manager, Colt will also serve as the primary Subject Matter Expert (SME) for regulatory compliance, auditing FBOs against FAA, IS-BAH, ATA, OSHA, EPA and NFPA standards. His leadership will ensure that as ACI Jet's services scale and diversify, the company's commitment to passenger and aircraft safety remains unparalleled.