The Clay Lacy Aviation FBO at Seattle’s Boeing Field/King County International Airport (BFI) has earned the first North American Stage II registration under ICAO’s International Standard for Business Aviation Handling (IS-BAH). The location passed a rigorous independent audit performed in June, which found that its systems, processes and procedures assessed at Stage I of the voluntary SMS-based set of standards are maturing and that the facility continued to improve its ground handling safety performance and activities.
“Safety is the foundation of our culture,” said Chuck Kegley, the location’s general manager. “The IS-BAH standards were developed using ‘best practices’ used widely in the international business aviation community and, as such, reflect the high level of operational safety that we continuously work to achieve.”
IS-BAH was launched in 2014 and the first Stage 1 registrations were granted a year later. The program coordinators mandated a length of time (two years) between achieving Stage I and applying for Stage II registration, to ensure that those safety practices are maintained and incorporated in every facet of their day-to-day operations. Thus far, only three other ground handling operations, all located in Europe and India, have achieved Stage II IS-BAH registration.