AirAsia hosts First EU-Malaysia Civil Aviation Safety Conference

AirAsia is hosting the inaugural EU- Malaysia Civil Aviation Safety conference in Kuala Lumpur. The week long conference held at the AirAsia Training Academy, received overwhelming participations from the various air operators in Malaysia, including AirAsia, Malaysian Airlines, Transmile, Flight Training Colleges, Department of Civil Aviation of Malaysia (DCA), Malaysian Helicopter Services and the Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology.

The EU-Malaysia Civil Aviation Safety seminar entails a specialized civil aviation training course on Aviation Safety Management Systems within the framework of the EU-South East Asia Civil Aviation Program to promote closer ties between the European and Asian Aerospace industry and regulatory authorities, and to improve aviation safety in South East Asia.

Throughout the seminar, experts and professionals from Airbus and the French Civil Aviation Authority will conduct discussions and develop processes for the implementation of a Safety Management System (SMS) with the Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia and the Airline Operators based in Malaysia.

Mr. Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, Director of Airworthiness and Operations from the Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia (DCA) said, “We welcomed more joint industry and regulatory activities such as the EU-Malaysia Civil Aviation Safety Conference, to promote the exchange of expertise and experiences between air operators. Ultimately we hope that Malaysia can pave the way for air operators in the region to open and share communication links between European counterparts in the interest of safety practices for the aviation industry.”

Meanwhile, AirAsia’s Group CEO Dato Tony Fernandes said, “The need to facilitate an open forum was crucial to develop a common safety benchmark which crosses borders, alliances and business models. As the region’s leading low fare airline, we are delighted to host the first EU- Malaysia Civil Aviation seminar to establish strong and effective standards in developing safety management systems that can mutually benefit airline operators of the world.”

Mr. Sheel Shukla, Project Manager – EU-Southeast Asia representing the European partners, highlighted that the successful partnership between the European Commission and the South East Asian Countries is essential to facilitate trade and growth.

The EU-South East Asia Civil Aviation Program is a three year Project that started in September 2003 and will last until August 2006. The aim of this program is to promote closer ties between the European and Asian Aerospace industry and regulatory authorities, and to improve aviation safety in South East Asia. The program is implemented by the European Aerospace and Defence Industries Association headquartered in Brussels, in cooperation with the Department of Civil Aviation, Malaysia.

Malaysia will host numerous other activities involving technical staff from Malaysia and other South East Asian Countries who will be invited to participate in these trainings in Malaysia. Several activities will also take place in Europe bringing Asian and European Experts together to build a common understanding on subjects of key interest ranging from regulations to practices across the civil aviation sector.

In South East Asia, the project involves the civil aviation authorities and industry from 9 South East Asian States. The subjects covered by the Project include Air Traffic Management, Maintenance and Support, Flight Operations, Air Law and Airports.

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