Vietnam’s newest carrier Bamboo Airways is scheduled to receive the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certificate at a ceremony in Hanoi on January 3.

Illustrative image (Source: VNA) 

IOSA Programme is an internationally recognised and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline. It uses internationally recognised auditing principles and is designed to conduct audits in a standardised and consistent manner.

Airlines are re-evaluated every two years with about 1,000 criteria. Only about 16 percent of airlines worldwide have won the certificate.

The IATA made its evaluations throughout Bamboo Airways’ operational departments, including operating and maintenance centres, safety, security and quality assurance board, flight crew, aircraft ground handling unit, and technical and maintenance department.

Dang Tat Thang, Vice President and General Director of Bamboo Airways, said the certification is one of the important and firm foundations for the airline to reach the targets of providing 5-star services, expanding its flight network and international cooperation in the years to come, and becoming an IATA member.

With its first commercial flights launched in January 2019, Bamboo Airways is now operating on 34 domestic and international routes. The carrier is expected to increase its fleet to 30 aircraft in the first quarter of 2020, including four wide-body Boeing 987-9 Dreamliner.

Bamboo Airways has carried more than two million passengers on nearly 20,000 flights by now.

By 2020, the airline aims to make up 30 percent of the domestic aviation market, and expand its operational network to 85 routes, including 25 international ones.