annual report 2009 - Aer Lingus

Corporate Social Responsibility Statement Aer Lingus Group Plc – Annual Report 200919Pictured: Captain Davina Pratt, Chief Pilot/Head of FlightOperations, Aer Lingus is awarded Best Overall Performanceand the award for Best UK and Éire airline at theManchester Airport Skyliners’ Awards.The Group places great emphasis onproactive and predictive systems to managesafety. The SMS involves the ongoing routinecollection and analysis of safety data duringthe ordinary course of business, whichenables proactive management. Thisincludes a Flight Data MonitoringProgramme, a Confidential Air SafetyReporting System and a specific HazardIdentification and Risk Analysis (HIRA)programme. During 2009 Aer Lingusintroduced enhancements to its air safetyreporting systems as part of an ongoingstrategy to maintain industry-leadingprocesses in safety management.In 2009 Aer Lingus received confirmationof its successful compliance with its IATAOperational Safety Audit (IOSA). Aer Lingusis now registered as an IOSA Operator underthe IATA Operational Safety Audit Programme.The IOSA programme is an internationallyrecognised and accepted evaluationsystem designed to assess the operationalmanagement and control systems of anairline.The principles of air safety managementare integral to all Aer Lingus’ trainingprogrammes. Courses are designed aroundthe prevention of accidents and cover allaspects of flight operations, including thehandling of dangerous goods, aviationsecurity and emergency response planning.Staff training in all operational departmentsis mandatory. Training records and processesare regularly subject to external review andaudit. Aer Lingus is subject to regular safetyreviews, in particular, from the Irish AviationAuthority (IAA) and other airlines.Aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaulare critical to the safety and comfort ofAer Lingus’ passengers, the efficient use ofits aircraft and the optimisation of its fleetutilisation. The Aer Lingus maintenancesystem is subject to repeated auditinspections by the IAA.There is a programme of continual review toensure ongoing compliance with the Safety,Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, asupdated by General Applications Regulations2007 and with all relevant safety regulations.Information and advice for customers on airtravel and health is available on the Group’swebsite, www.aerlingus.com, in the in-flightmagazine, Cara, and through on-boardannouncements and videos.Board Safety CommitteeThe Board has a Safety Committee,which assists the Board in dischargingits responsibility for safety, includingensuring that adequate safety regulationsand procedures are in place across theGroup, that such regulations and proceduresare complied with and reviewed from timeto time, and also ensuring that appropriateprocedures are in place so that any crisisor accident can be properly managed.In this role they meet at least quarterlywith the Chief Executive Officer, the SafetyAdvisor, representatives from the Air SafetyOffice and the Health and Safety Manager,to be appraised of safety performance anddevelopments with in the organisation.See page 34 for further details.