Dubai: The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) of the UAE launched an air safety incident-reporting programme, the Reporting of Safety Incident (ROSI) Programme, on January 1 as part of its new mandate to centralise aviation safety incident reporting across the UAE.
"We recognise the need to constantly improve processes and systems for managing risks effectively; a centralised reporting will ensure effective communication and coordination necessary for higher records of successful incident management," said Esmail Mohammad Al Balooshi, Dir-ector of Aviation Safety at the GCAA.
With the unprecedented growth of the country's aviation industry, the new programme underlines the GCAA's commitment to delivering both safety and quality processes of world-class standards.
In recent years, several key initiatives and programmes have been introduced by the GCAA to ensure safety of air transportation both in the UAE and throughout the region.
Milestone
However, experts in aviation safety programmes believe the new centralised reporting programme (ROSI) is a milestone achievement in raising air safety standards across a region that is set to record further rapid growth in coming years.
The programme includes reporting of safety incidents through the GCAA website using a ROSI form. The GCAA introduced the role of duty inspector on 24 hour/seven days a week availability to act as a focal point to receive information about critical or high profile accidents/incidents by telephone.
The launch of this position coincides with the introduction of the ROSI programme to facilitate its effectiveness and a centralised air safety reporting system.
Challenges
Al Balooshi added: "Along with high levels of growth and expansion comes increased challenges that require effective regulatory responses.
The introduction of a centralised air safety incident reporting programme will contribute to our efforts in maintaining a successful aviation transport safety record as a country, it will also allow us to monitor trends in the reports which will help in identifying possible risks to the safety of aviation in the UAE "
To introduce the centralised reporting of safety incidents (ROSI), Captain Saeed Rahman, ROSI Development Team Leader at GCAA, presented a session about the ROSI programme on December 28 at the Emirates Aviation College Auditorium.
The session was attended by about 75 representatives of the aviation industry who are involved in safety incident reporting.
