The Flight Safety Foundation is opening an Asia-Pacific center headquartered in Singapore. The center will develop an annual program to meet the needs of aviation regulators and industry in the region; undertake projects and studies to provide a deeper understanding of safety challenges; and build capabilities in technology, data analytics, and safety management processes.
Former airline pilot and ICAO and United Nations executive Mitchell Fox will serve as the center director. During his 30 years with ICAO, Fox served as the chief of the Trainair Program, the operational safety section and strategic planning office, and regional affairs coordinator in the office of the secretary-general. He was also the U.N. director of air transport service, managing more than 200 aircraft that support peacekeeping missions worldwide.
“Aviation safety must be a top priority of the Asia-Pacific region as air travel recovers to pre-pandemic levels,” said Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore director Han Kok Juan. “It requires close collaboration among regulators and industry across countries. The setting up of the regional safety center is timely and provides a common platform for such collaboration.”
FSF president and CEO Hassan Shahidi added, “As commercial aviation in the Asia-Pacific region rebounds and recovers from the pandemic, it is important that all stakeholders have the resources and capabilities they need to ramp up operations safely.”