Agreement addresses Russia’s poor air safety record

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has signed an agreement with the Russian aviation body, the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), designed to improve safety levels in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which are rated well below world norms. Signing the agreement with IAC chairman, Tatiana Anodina, the CEO of Iata, Giovanni Bisignani, said: “Safety is our top priority, and the performance of the CIS is far below the global average. All Iata airlines – including 15 in the CIS – are on our operational safety audits (Iosa) registry. I look forward to working closely with the IAC to help raise the bar on safety in this region by promoting Iosa and other Iata global standards.” However, Russia has already made tremendous progress in making air traffic more efficient, he added. “In 2008, a total of 13 routes were optimised. Work on a further 42 routes will take effect by the end of May.”