The Aviation Day Azerbaijan event was attended by senior management of AZAL and IATA, and also by the heads of airlines and the tourism industry, representatives of the diplomatic corps and mass media.
AZAL President Jahangir Asgarov and IATA’s Regional Vice-President for Europe Rafael Schvartzman made welcoming speeches. Further, the presentations were made by the Vice-President of AZAL Eldar Hajiyev, Coordinator for Member Relations at World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Beka Jakeli, the General Manager of Turkish Airlines Bilal Ekshi and CEO of Tourism Board of Azerbaijan Florian Sengstschmid.
“AZAL has been a full member of IATA for 26 years. During all those years we have closely worked on flights safety, personnel trainings and application of innovations. Thanks to the constant attention and support of President of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev, in recent years the security of flights is a prior issue to dynamically developing civil aviation of Azerbaijan. Today the most up-to-date technologies and innovations available at all airports of our country create comprehensive security for flights,”- said Jahangir Asgarov.
“IATA fully supports Aviation Day Azerbaijan and is appreciative of AZAL for co-hosting this important event for air transport in Azerbaijan. Air connectivity is on the rise here, there were 4.7 million air passengers last year, up 11% from just a year ago. And airlines connect Azerbaijan with non-stop flights to 29 different countries. This is good news for the Azerbaijani economy and people that all benefit from these strong air links,” - said Rafael Schvartzman, IATA’s Regional Vice-President for Europe.
“Azerbaijan’s commitment to building a stronger, more robust and safer air transport network is apparent in the support of the Montreal Protocol 2014 (MP14), the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), IATA's Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) and the Global Aviation Data Management (GADM) program,” Schvartzman added.
During the event, Jahangir Asgarov and Rafael Schwartzman signed two agreements on cooperation in the field of flight safety. The documents provide for a wider implementation of audit programs like IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit), ISAGO (IATA's Safety Audit for Ground Operations) and GADM (Global Aviation Data Management) and the introduction of the latest standards for the control of flights safety in air navigation.
At the Aviation Day Azerbaijan forum it was also announced that in 2020 one of the most significant IATA international conferences dedicated to flight safety - Safety and Flight Ops Conference will be held in Baku.
