The African Business Aviation Association has further strengthened its position on the global business aviation landscape with the announcement that it has been voted on to the International Business Aviation Council. The vote, which took place on the 17 November, confirmed AfBAA as the organisation's 15th member. The result was delivered to AfBAA's executive committee by Kurt Edwards, Director General of IBAC, in the organisation's home-city of Montreal. The membership takes immediate effect and AfBAA will participate in the next IBAC council meeting.

As a member of IBAC, AfBAA will join fellow member associations in coordinating a single voice that promotes international standards, policies and best safety practices for the global business aviation sector, all elements that sit at the core of IBAC's and AfBAA's missions and vision.

"We are delighted to have been confirmed as the latest member of this prestigious organisation," says Rady Fahmy, CEO, "it is a major milestone for us and one that we have worked hard to achieve. We look forward to collaborating with our fellow members from around the world to continue to improve standards in Africa, and worldwide. It is a very exciting development for us."

As AfBAA marks its fifth year of supporting the sustainable development of business aviation across Africa, it joins IBAC at a time of significant growth. AfBAA Membership continues to grow and this month from 29 November to 1 December, the first outing of AfBAC EXPO17, Africa's first dedicated one day conference, and two days of exhibition, static display and workshops, will take place in Johannesburg.

"We are very pleased to welcome AfBAA to the IBAC family," commented Edwards."We aim to serve the varying needs of international business aviation and can only achieve this with the participation of the official organisations that represent the increasing value of business aviation across all regions of the world. We're seeing growth in the number of African companies that demonstrate their commitment to safety and professionalism by achieving IS-BAH and IS-BAO registration. We look forward to working with AfBAA to further advance safety excellence across Africa."

IBAC is a non-profit, international trade association which holds permanent observer status at the International Civil Aviation Organization, the UN Specialized Agency for aviation matters. The organisation promotes and manages the industry-leading standards for best safety practices through its International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAOTM); International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAHTM); Safety Management Tool Kit; SMS eLearning training; and Aircrew Identification Card.

Contributed by AfBAA