MONTREAL – 27 October 2021 – The International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) conducted virtually its annual International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO™) Standards Board meeting last week, welcoming new 2022 board members, Chris Tran, Australia Business Aviation Association (ABAA), and Tariq Alsaeed, Middle East and North Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) and will commemorate the launch of the IS-BAO Programme in 2002.

In addition, the board announced it would introduce the first IS-BAO Standard revision since 2018 and established the 20th edition naming convention to align with the 20th anniversary of the IS-BAO Standard. The new Standard will be released in January 2022.

Daniel Devraignes, IBAC IS-BAO Deputy Director, said, “We welcome Chis and Tariq to the Standards Board and thank the returning board members for their leadership. 2022 will mark twenty years since we first introduced IS-BAO, and we are proud of its wide adoption as an international safety standard. The 20th edition of the standard will include some revisions that have accumulated since 2018. We agreed to continue this more efficient revision method going forward. Most changes to the Standard include clarifications and simplification for improving readability. However there are a few substantial changes addressing specific safety concerns particularly in relation to rotary-wing operations.”

Kurt Edwards, IBAC Director General commented, “Twenty years ago, the IBAC team was taking a giant leap forward for business aviation safety by establishing the global international IS-BAO Programme, and we thank all of those involved in its development. In addition, we also want to welcome the new IS-BAO Director, Mr. Andrew Karas, to the team as he officially joined us last week. We look forward to working with him to advance and grow the IS-BAO Programme.”

The 2022 IS-BAO Standards Board members and nominating organizations include:

Chairman: Stan MedVed, EBAA

Vice Chairman: Len Beauchemin, NBAA

Chris Tran, ABAA

Joanne Wong, AsBAA

Kent Wong, AsBAA

Randy Horsley, CBAA

Juergen Wiese, EBAA

Jens Henning, GAMA

James Viola, HAI

Kurt Edwards, IBAC

Tariq Alsaeed, MEBAA

Doug Carr, NBAA

Keith Washington, NBAA

Pat Dunn, NBAA

Dan Boedigheimer, NBAA

Mike Ott, NBAA

Jad Donaldson, NBAA

About IBAC

IBAC represents the interests of business aviation worldwide. IBAC is a non-profit, international trade association with official observer status at the International Civil Aviation Organization, the UN Specialized Agency for aviation matters, in Montreal, Canada. IBAC promotes and manages the industry-leading standards for best safety practices through its International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAOTM); International Standard for Business Aviation Handling (IS-BAHTM); Safety Management Tool Kit; SMS eLearning training; and Aircrew Identification Card.

Recently introduced in partnership with CTX, the IBAC Carbon Credit Exchange provides the business aviation community a reliable resource for real-time offsetting to reduce its carbon footprint. www.ibac.org

Media contact:

Marj Rose, IBAC Communications Consultant, comms@ibac.org