Montreal – 26 October 2020 – The International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) is honored to have the new International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) FlightPlan Stage 1 Programme for small operators nominated by the Aviation International News (AIN) magazine for its first annual Top Flight Award.

“We are proud to have this new program recognized for its Contribution to Safety by the AIN editorial staff and thank them for this nomination,” commented Bennet Walsh, IS-BAO Programme Director. ”This new programme is truly a result of listening to operators around the world and responding to the needs of single aircraft operations, fixed-wing and rotor. We are excited about FlightPlan Stage 1 and its ability to make IS-BAO more accessible and ultimately improving the safety culture of small operators,” added Walsh.

“IBAC has been encouraged by the community to facilitate uptake of IS-BAO by single-aircraft operators,” said Kurt Edwards, Director General of IBAC. “FlightPlan Stage 1 is an innovative approach to help small operators define and implement their own SMS. IBAC is honored by AIN’s Top Flight Award nomination recognizing the benefits of the programme.”

The new FlightPlan Stage 1 Programme defines a clear, stepped, and simple pathway to IS-BAO Stage 1 registration within 90-180 days of initiating the Stage 1 process. The key benefit to the programme is that it includes a highly credentialed and standardized progressive implementor that mentors and walks through the entire pre-audit process with the operator to streamline the experience. The FlightPlan package consists of the IS-BAO standard document suite and the IS-BAO General Company Operations Manual (GCOM) in the operator’s regulatory framework (e.g., NCC, FAR Part 91/135, etc.) in coordination with AviationManuals. Post-registration “On Course” validations will happen every six months during a 24-month period, all under one inclusive fee structure. More details are available at https://ibac.org/is-bao/fs1.

Media contact:

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

About IBAC: IBAC represents the interests of business aviation worldwide. IBAC is a non-profit, international trade association with permanent 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. www.ibac.org