IATA and ASA strengthen cooperation
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Airport Services Association (ASA) are enhancing their partnership to improve “safety and efficiency” in ground handling across the aviation industry.
By strengthening their collaboration, the two organisations aim to foster better standardisation, promote the sharing of safety data, and explore innovative strategies to increase sector resilience, they said.
Key areas of the partnership include safety data sharing, with IATA and ASA planning to jointly leverage ASA’s Safety Incident Database and IATA’s Incident Data Exchange, which is part of IATA’s Global Aviation Data Management (GADM) programme.
By pooling safety data, the two organisations aim to analyse trends and proactively address ground and cargo handling safety risks.
They will also develop industry standards, specifically in ground and cargo handling. This includes refining key industry documents like the IATA Ground Operations Manual (IGOM) and the IATA Airport Handling Manual (AHM), ensuring wider adoption across the sector and minimising inconsistencies in handling practices.
“Global standards make aviation safer, and ASA and its members have been pivotal in helping develop the IATA ground handling standards we rely on today. By sharing data, we will be able to support this vital activity with data-driven insights and decisions. Maximizing the impact of data relies on broad contributions. We encourage ground handler participation to strengthen our collective insights,” said Nick Careen, SVP operations, safety and security at IATA.
“This partnership is a significant milestone that leverages the expertise of both IATA and ASA. By coordinating our approach, we will ensure more robust support for ground and cargo handling professionals worldwide. Our goal is to ensure that standards and best practices are in place that the entire industry can rely on,” said Fabio Gamba, ASA’s director general.
