The Role of an Airport in Aviation Safety and the Establishment of an Aviation Safety Management System

摘要

As the pressure on several states for better budgetary management increases, governments in the world have turned to private entities for the financing and management of existing or new major international airports. Eleftherios Venizelos airport is Greece's successful attempt to shift the function of airport operator from government to a private entity, namely Athens International Airport (AIA). The management of AIA is called upon to provide the best and safest possible services to its stakeholders while maximizing profits for its shareholders. It therefore has a vested interest in moving to the forefront of aviation safety by implementing an airport safety management system (ASMS) that identifies hazards, assesses the associated risks, and defines and audits the implementation of the relevant safety requirements. Due to the potential extent of the ASMS, the management of AIA adopts a unique concept where the airport operator not only monitors the safety of its own operations, but also provides to all interested parties a common platform in order to ensure that all safety issues are identified and resolved in a properly established framework. The ultimate goal of the ASMS is to focus on the airport operational environment, where the majority of aircraft incidents and accidents occur, and to establish a functioning mishap prevention program by coordinating the efforts of all involved entities (airlines, ground-handlers, ATC and others). The following presentation describes the case of Eleftherios Venizelos airport and presents Athens International Airport's implementation of the airport safety management system from the first phase of operation.