Madrid, July 4th, 2024
Javier García is SAFA/SANA Ramp Inspections Project Manager, coordinates the department and manages RITO (Ramp Training Organisation) at SENASA, in its support service to the Spanish Safety and Security Aviation Agency (AESA). His professional work as a ramp inspector and instructor is highly recognised in the national and international aeronautical field. In this interview to MEET OUR TEAM, Javier García explains how SAFA/SACA (Safety Assessment Foreign/Community Aircraft) and SANA (Safety Assessment National Aircraft) ramp inspection procedures have evolved, as well as the training of the professionals who carry out these inspections.
Ramp inspections are part of the European Union's Aviation Safety Programme and are mandatory for all Member States and those with which EASA - the European Safety Aviation Agency - has signed Working Arrangements. In total, 51 states on five continents are part of this programme.
SENASA has been a fundamental part in the implementation of the Ramp Inspections Programme since its inception in 2006 through the assignment received from AESA. SENASA provides an expert technical team that is in charge of carrying out the material inspection, planning and administrative management together with AESA inspectors. This joint team has a high level of standardisation and coordination when carrying out both field and administrative work.
Although the beginnings were complicated because there was no detailed procedure and standardisation was difficult, implementation has adapted and evolved, with more detailed guidelines and procedures now in place, both from EASA and EASA. This has resulted in inspections with a high degree of standardisation across all countries participating in the programme.
In addition to ramp inspection activities, SENASA was a pioneer in 2009 in obtaining approval as RITO (Ramp Inspection Training Organization) to train Ramp Inspectors. This qualification initially allowed SENASA and AESA inspectors to be trained in a very agile way, and in a short time, the international presence was expanded by training authorities and airlines from other countries.
Nowadays, new challenges in the field of inspection, such as the NextGen project to update procedures increasingly focused on operational risks, or inspections outside the EASA scope, imply being able to adapt and respond to new scenarios. For doing this SENASA has a team that has been able to adapt, with the dedication and professionalism it has always shown, with the clear objective that safety comes first.
Read here the complete interview.