Aviation safety

Controlling aeronautical hazards and continuously improving the safety of our operations.

Air safety and air traffic development in Europe

Airport security management system

The European Commission has empowered the EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) to develop technical regulations that will improve air transport safety a step ahead of increases in traffic in shared European airspace.

Several EU regulations build upon and complement recommendations from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to provide a framework for the design, creation and maintenance of aircraft; pilot and air traffic controller training; and, since 2014, airport infrastructure, operations and services. 

The airport Operator coordinates the safety of the airfield

Airport security management system - plane

These regulations create a coherent set of legal requirements and best practice guidelines for everyone working at Bordeaux Airport, from aircraft operators to air navigation service providers, Handlers and Ground staff.

Bordeaux aerodrome’s operator, Bordeaux Airport SA, is responsible for ensuring the operations its teams conduct are safe and comply with regulations, and it does this via its safety management system (SMS). It also coordinates the safety aspect of its partners’ operations.

A coordination protocol creates a single operational framework for air safety that every worker is bound by, and it details the ways in which data is exchanged and specific collaborative activities are carried out (via, for example, the Safety Promotion Committee, the Local Runway Safety Team, Local Apron Safety Team, safety studies, event analyses and feedback).

SMS Key Components

The management system shall include: 

  1. Clearly defined lines of responsibility and accountability throughout the aerodrome operator, including direct accountability for safety on the part of senior management;
  2. A formal process that ensures that hazards in operations are identified;
  3. A formal process that ensures analysis, assessment and mitigation of the safety risks in aerodrome operations;
  4. The means to verify the safety performance of the aerodrome operator’s organisation in reference to the safety performance indicators and safety performance targets of the safety management system, and to validate the effectiveness of safety risk controls;
  5. A formal process to anticipate changes and to manage their impact on safety; 
  6. A formal process to review the management system, identify the causes of substandard performance of the safety management system, determine the implications of such substandard performance in operations, and eliminate or mitigate such causes;
  7. A safety training programme that ensures that personnel involved in the operation, rescue and firefighting, maintenance and management of the aerodrome are trained and competent to perform safety management system duties;
  8. Formal means for safety communication that ensure that personnel are fully aware of the safety management system, convey safety critical information, and explain why particular safety actions are taken and why safety procedures are introduced or changed;
  9. Coordination of the safety management system with the aerodrome emergency response plan; and coordination of the aerodrome emergency response plan with the emergency response plans of those organisations it must interface with during the provision of aerodrome services; 
  10. A formal process to monitor compliance of the organisation with the relevant requirements.