July 26, 2021 (Santa Ana, CA) -- ACI Jet, a world-class FBO providing ground handling services, corporate aircraft management, charter and maintenance has been awarded International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH) Stage 2 certification from the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) for its FBO operations at John Wayne Airport (KSNA). IS-BAH is the global industry standard for handlers and FBOs and is designed to meet Safety Management System (SMS) requirements from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), according to IBAC.
With three years of work from the entire team, the Orange County FBO joined the ranks of less than 150 FBOs worldwide to be awarded this certification. ACI Jet started the IS-BAH Stage 1 process for their Orange County location in the summer of 2018, achieving that certification by the end of the same year. From there, the team dedicated their time to training, inspections, reporting and audits in order to engrain safety awareness and procedures into every aspect of the culture. While Stage 1 was about putting safety procedures in place and training employees to follow them, Stage 2 has been about making reporting a habitual part of the daily operations.
“Over the last four years, we’ve made it our goal to develop and instill a safety culture that is proactive.” said Andrew Robillard, vice president of ACI Jet FBOs. “Achieving IS-BAH Stage 2 is a testament to how far we’ve come. It’s a solid foundation for us to build on, and continue to grow the safety culture in aviation.” Today, most of the reports submitted to management through the Safety Management System are proactive, with an emphasis placed on finding ways to improve safety protocols before problems arise.
This attention to safety grew in significance following ACI Jet securing its 35 year lease win at John Wayne in 2020. Being awarded the entire east side parcel of the airport yielded nearly double the previously occupied operations area and significantly increased the volume of ramp operations, especially for the ground support crew. A built-in safety mindset is vital for the fast-paced ramp and rapid growth at an airport with such a heavy GA traffic.
Nathen Steiger, FBO general manager and a key part of establishing a safety culture at SNA, stated, “It is an honor to be recognized as an IS-BAH Stage 2 FBO. ACI Jet takes great pride in maintaining a high level of safety and experience for all of our customers.”
