IATA prepares for Cabin Operations Safety Conference in Paris

The International Air Transport Association will host the second annual Cabin Operations Safety Conference on May 5th-7th in Paris, France.

It will be the first such meeting since Germanwings flight 9525 crashed in southern France on March 24th with the loss of 150 lives.

The co-pilot of the Airbus A320, Andreas Lubitz, is believed to have locked himself in the cockpit and deliberately crashed the plane.

More than 300 delegates representing 130 organisations including airlines, regulatory agencies, investigation organisations, aircraft manufacturers and suppliers from around the globe are expected to attend the IATA event.

“Safe, efficient and effective cabin operations are an integral part of our broader commitment to flight safety.

“The enormous teamwork that goes into every flight is at the heart of our industry’s success.

“The Cabin Operations Safety Conference is an opportunity for stakeholders to address current and emerging safety challenges through a sharing of expertise based on global standards and best practices,” said captain Kevin Hiatt, IATA senior vice president, safety and flight operations.

This year’s event features a dynamic mix of sessions with interactive workshops and expert speakers, with the aim of advancing and elevating cabin safety standards through the sharing of lessons learned and best practices.

The program offers sessions addressing legacy and emerging issues including unruly passengers, child restraint systems, cabin operations, the importance of human factors training and lithium battery events in the passenger cabin.

Communicable disease on board will also come under the spotlight, along with inadvertent slide deployment prevention, and the loss of cabin pressurization.

IATA will present its latest recommendations including recent updates to the Cabin Operations Best Practices Guide.

Results of a recent global survey related to inadvertent slide deployments will also be released at the conference.