The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has outlined four strategic priorities to strengthen global ground handling operations: embedding safety into every aspect of the process, driving global standardisation, enhancing baggage operations and building a sustainable and inclusive future.“Ground handling is essential for aviation. It ensures safety and enables efficiency,” said Monika Mejstrikova, Iata’s director of ground operations.Emphasising the need for industry-wide collaboration, Mejstrikova reiterated that safety remained aviation’s top priority. Iata believes that improved data utilisation can significantly enhance safety outcomes.“For the first time, we’ve included ground-related fatalities involving aircraft in our global safety taxonomy. This provides a clearer understanding of the risks and equips us with actionable insights,” she noted. “Data from Iata’s Incident Data Exchange (IDX) and Accident Data Exchange (ADX) programmes have already led to targeted updates in the Ground Operations Manual. The message is clear: the more data we share, the safer we become.”LV
