Airbus and CAAC sign MoU on safety co-operation

Citation

(2009), "Airbus and CAAC sign MoU on safety co-operation", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 81 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2009.12781aab.012

Airbus and CAAC sign MoU on safety co-operation

Article Type: Safety topics and notes From: Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology: An International Journal, Volume 81, Issue 1

Airbus recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on safety co-operation with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) in Tianjin, China. The MoU covers a five-year co-operation program in the areas of rules and regulations training for Chinese aviation authorities, maintenance operation support for airlines, ATM technologies and concepts and a “train the trainer” program for Chinese aviation institutes and universities. This MoU follows an earlier Safety Co-operation Agreement that was signed in 2002.

The MoU was signed by Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO and Li Jiaxiang, Head of CAAC, on the occasion of the inauguration of the Airbus A320 Family Final Assembly Line in Tianjin.

“Hundreds of millions of people fly on Airbus aircraft every year, and their safety is our top priority”, said Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO, at the signature ceremony. “Within this partnership, regulators, operators and Airbus, as manufacturer, work closely together to further enhance the safety standards in Chinese civil aviation and ensure future interoperability of ATM systems in the world. We are proud to continue the sharing of our experiences together between CAAC and Airbus. With the signature of today’s agreement, the co-operation between Airbus and its Chinese partners will be an enhanced and continuous action.”

With the common understanding that civil aviation safety is of paramount importance and taking into account the quickly growing Chinese aviation industry as well as the shortage of highly skilled resources, Airbus and CAAC have set the common objective to further improve the level of aviation safety in China. In addition, this could also contribute to increase the eco-efficiency of the sector, since optimising routings, for example, would allow for important fuel-, cost- and therefore also emission savings.

Airbus and CAAC already developed and launched various programs and projects in the past, which have contributed to improving the safety of aircraft operations, inspectors’ training, maintenance enhancement and aircraft fleet standardisation since 2002 when the co-operation first started.