Doha, QATAR – Qatar Airways hosted a key aviation safety event for the first time in Qatar on 13 & 14 October. This was attended by industry partners and international aviation safety experts. The focus was to promote safety in the Gulf and the wider aviation community. Speakers included Qatar Airways, Doha International Airport and Boeing. The event was held at Doha’s newest 5-star hotel, the Oryx Rotana. Previous meetings have been held in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Bahrain.

On Day One, the Gulf Flight Safety Committee (GFSC) discussed safety topics specific to the Gulf region and exchange best practices. The all-day forum was attended by representatives from airlines, manufacturers, regulators, air traffic service providers, business jet operators and cargo freight forwarders.

On Day Two, the Top Level Safety Team (TLST) meeting focused on the Middle East Aviation Safety Roadmap. The roadmap is a hands-on, active working strategy which promotes higher aviation safety initiatives, and is part of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) umbrella. Senior aviation delegates from across the Middle East discussed matters related to establishing uniform measures to aviation safety procedures.

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker commented: “I am pleased that Qatar Airways is hosting this very important forum in the home state of our national carrier. Safety is paramount in our airline, and we relentlessly ensure that it is at the back-bone of all of our operations. A testament to this is our highest-ranked safety rating. We were the first airline in the world to earn the International Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) in 2003, and most recently, we successfully renewed it with 100% compliance in 2009.”

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the TLST, the Chairman of Qatar Civil Aviation Authority H.E Mr. Abdul Aziz Al Noaimi said “Safety must remain a high priority for the aviation business particularly in our region where rapid expansion is taking place. I believe the TLST should play a key role for all of us to learn valuable lessons from incidents experienced by others and to build on industry best practices.”

Chairman of the Middle East Aviation Safety Roadmap, H.E Mr. Saif Al Suwaidi Director General of the GCAA, said “It is essential for the states of our region to commit to sharing information regarding the performance of their respective safety oversight systems. This should help identify deficiencies more quickly and efficiently, and to correct them. Our role is to improve safety. In many cases, individual states do not possess the resources or the expertise to act alone in resolving safety concerns. Therefore, this regional body is best suited to coordinate and align multiple safety initiatives by strategically leveraging expertise and resources of states concerned.”