IATA Launches New Ground Operations Portal

Photo source: IATA

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently announced the launch of the IGOM Portal, a major support tool for the efficient implementation of the IATA Ground Operations Manual (IGOM).

IGOM is the established global industry standard for ground handling worldwide. The IGOM Portal is an online platform where, with IGOM as the primary reference, airlines and ground service providers (GSPs) can exchange information, including any variations, on their ground handling requirements.

“Safe and secure on-time turnarounds are a priority for airlines and a critical deliverable for GSPs. Standardization of procedures through the IGOM is a key enabler. But it must be implemented to be effective. The IGOM Portal will provide the means to understand variances and manage adoption,” said Nick Careen, IATA Senior Vice President Operations, Safety and Security.

The IGOM portal will bring the following benefits to airlines and GSPs:

– Simplified verifiable communications: A fully traceable notification and acknowledgment function facilitates communications between airlines and GSPs on IGOM variations.
– Latest information: Real time updates to the IGOM are immediately published on the portal.
– Benchmarking: A comparison function enables a digital gap analysis between IGOM requirements and the manuals used by airlines and GSPs.
– Network overview: Local variations at all stations can be viewed for network overview of IGOM adoption.

“The safety gains from global standardization have been proven as aviation has developed. Along with facilitating global adoption of IGOM, the IGOM Portal will establish a baseline to measure and manage the global adoption of IGOM which will also lead to significant efficiency gains. With greater standardization, for example, GSPs will see a reduced need for airline specific training and will more easily be able to deploy staff across multiple customers,” said Careen.

The IGOM Portal is available free of charge to all airlines and GSPs. To subscribe to the IGOM Portal, visit the following link: www.iata.org/igomportal