12th ALTA Pan American Aviation Safety & Ops Summit highlighted Chile’s safety standards

“We are in Chile where commercial aviation -over 5,700 kg- has not suffered an accident with fatalities for 32 years, maintaining an average of 0 fatal accidents per million takeoffs in the period 2018 – 2022”, highlighted José Ricardo Botelho, Executive Director and CEO of the Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) during the opening speech of the 12th ALTA Pan American Aviation Safety & Ops Summit, a conference that for the first time was held in Chile.

The opening ceremony was attended by, among other distinguished participants, the Undersecretary of Defense and representative of the Minister of Defense, Mr. Víctor Barrueto, the General Director of Civil Aeronautics, General of Aviation Raúl Jorquera, Ambassador Felipe Cousiño, representing the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile, the National Director of the Airports Directorate, Mr. Boris Olguín representing the Minister of Public Works and the Secretary General of the Civil Aeronautics Board, Mr. Martin Mackenna, accompanied by representatives of the directorates of civil aviation from the Bahamas, Brazil, Cuba, Honduras, Guatemala and Uruguay, representatives of ICAO, FAA, IATA, Flight Safety Foundation, AFRAA, EASA, among other industry organizations.

Chile has an airspace that reaches 32 million square kilometers; an extensive airport network, from Arica to Antarctica, including the island territories, highlighted the General of Aviation Raúl Jorquera, who commented that the Chilean aeronautical system has grown considerably in recent years, “which keeps us satisfied, but at the same time commits us to continue improving to offer all national users, from Latin America and the Caribbean and the world, the highest standards in operational safety”, he said.

The National Director of Airports highlighted the work of those who are part of civil aeronautics in the country and shared that the institution has “very concrete plans and infrastructure planning that the country needs, precisely to continue with these high safety standards. This is the contribution that we make as airports directorate, which focuses on the development of the airport management plan, its growth, all the operational work”.

“It is very important to be able to show what Chile does in this area, to be able to share with other countries in the region the good practices that are very important to maintain the high security standards we have,” added Ambassador Cousiño.

Undersecretary Barrueto highlighted the role of the Ministry of Defense in security matters and was pleased “because it is very important for Chile to host an event of this dimension. I have taken into account the importance and scope of ALTA. Above all, I believe that the main slogan is how to make this industry, which already is, more secure. We are very happy to participate.

Botelho thanked the conference attendees, who share the mission of promoting safety culture in aviation. “Safety culture goes beyond developing infrastructure, regulations or implementing new technologies. It’s about working with people – industry members and passengers – to make every flight safe. We are at a key moment of transformation in the way we manage safety. We went from a reactive format, to many proactive initiatives that have improved safety levels substantially and allowed us to be a fatality-free region today,” said ALTA’s CEO.

People are at the center of safety culture

Estuardo Ortiz, CEO of JetSMART Airlines, shared that “a safe operation is the result of a safety culture at the level of employees, suppliers and the entire aviation community.  In terms of safety, we are not competitors, we are all collaborators with a common goal. At JetSMART Airlines we are committed to offering affordable travel throughout South America, always maintaining the highest safety, quality and flight standards, thanks to our partners, regulators and suppliers who do everything possible to maintain a safer aviation industry. I hope that in the future we will be able to reach full regulatory homologation at a regional level in order to make the operation simpler, more efficient and safer”.

José Ignacio Dougnac, CEO of Sky Airline, shared that for them, having a safety culture implies that “our people ask themselves what is the impact of their actions and decisions regarding safety every time they make a decision or carry out a procedure. For us, this means having a safety culture that will lead us to surpass the standards that exist today,” he said. The company is focused on identifying in advance any type of action that could incur any type of safety risk. “Although we have come a long way, we still have many opportunities to advance,” he stressed.

Hernan Pasman, COO of Latam Airlines, said that analyzing what we do well and focusing on reinforcing what we do well is fundamental to continue improving safety in the region. The executive also stressed the importance of crossing the variables that as an industry can be measured. “Accidents don’t happen until they happen, that’s where the importance of operational safety lies”, he concluded.

For Secretary Mackenna “it was very important to listen to the CEOs of the airlines, we all know that they prioritize safety, but it is very important that it is transmitted, reviewed, communicated and also to see the commitment of the whole region, not only of the operators but also of the authorities and to maintain the importance that safety is the fundamental pillar to be able to develop all aviation”.

The exchange of experiences, best practices and ideas is the essence of this annual meeting organized by ALTA, which seeks to bring together in a single dialogue the entire ecosystem of the aviation industry to develop initiatives that further raise safety standards in Latin America and the Caribbean.