Airport organisation

There's a wind of change blowing through the air transport industry. To the outsider it may appear that only the regulatory structures have been altered. But it goes much further - right to the heart of making sure that planes are safe to fly.

Maintenance is critical and there are reams of regulations that have to be followed to ensure the right maintenance is done in the right way at the right time. In 2003 the EU set up the European Aviation Safety Agency to promote the highest common standards of safety and environmental protection. Oversight within the UK is still carried out by the Safety Regulation Group (SRG) of the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Research is about to start at Cranfield University to assist the oversight process. It will look into the virtues and practicalities of using risk assessment to regulate maintenance, rather than the current approach of imposing a schedule of inspections. ‘This is all happening in the light of the Hampton Review,’ said Dr Simon Place of Cranfield's Safety and Accident Investigation Centre.