A Word From Our Director General

Kurt Edwards We look forward to seeing many of you at NBAA BACE 20-22 October. IBAC has several activities planned throughout the week, including the IS-BAO Standards Board meeting on 19 October; our event for recognizing IS-BAH and IS-BAO participants Wednesday afternoon, 21 October; the Industry Advisory Forum and International Dinner on 22 October; and, of course, the Governing Board meeting on Friday, 23 October. Stop by and see the IBAC team at booth #764.

An important topic of discussion at some of these meetings will be the upcoming 7^th ICAO Worldwide Air Transport Conference in Montreal in November. Its focus will be the policies that affect the economics, infrastructure, and inclusivity of the global air transport system. IBAC is grateful for the support of the Member Associations and our Industry Partners in preparing for the worldwide gathering. We will have more to share with you later this month and in early November.

ICAO AND Environment

Capt. Claude Hurley, Director, Environment & Flight Operations

From Magnetic to True? – Update: The ICAO True North Advisory Group (TRUE-AG) is making steady progress towards recommending a path towards establishing True North as the primary navigational reference. The group was established by the ICAO Air Navigation Commission (ANC) and has been working since 2024 to develop a comprehensive Concept of Operations, safety risk models, and global transition roadmaps. Transitioning to True North promises to eliminate the ongoing operational complexity and substantial annual costs of magnetic variation (MAGVAR) database updates, bringing long-term consistency and predictability to flight planning and air traffic management. The group is aiming to deliver its final report to the ANC in March of next year for their consideration.

While there are many benefits to switching to True North, it won’t come as a surprise if the TRUE-AG’s findings will also highlight some significant, practical challenges ahead, including potentially long timelines to full implementation. It’s anticipated that transitioning will require coordinated capital investments across the aviation ecosystem, including ground ATM system modifications, aerodrome signage and runway re-designations, as well as updated training syllabi. For business aviation flight departments, key operational considerations will likely involve managing fleet equipage — upgrading interconnected avionics subsystems (such as FMS, IRS, and TAWS) to True Capable or True Native standards — and mitigating human factors risks while operating through adjacent magnetic and True North latitude bands during what will likely be a multi-year rollout. There are some useful backgrounders on the True North transition initiative here, here, and here. We’ll keep reporting on this initiative as it progresses through the ICAO review process

Industry Partner Programme

Leo Knappen, Head, Industry Partner Programme

Greetings industry colleagues, the IPP Programme is in the midst of a busy autumn, with multiple events and numerous discussions on several fronts.

• It was a pleasure representing IBAC at Corporate Jet Investor-Asia, held in mid-September. An APAC-based organization joined IPP during the conference and will be announced soon.

• Moreover, several civil aviation leaders from across APAC expressed strong interest in IPP and wanted to learn the critical, although unsung, role that IBAC fulfills when championing Business Aviation at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) headquarters in Montreal.

• IPP will be well represented at a trio of key upcoming Industry events scheduled from mid-October through to mid-November. We hope to see you there:

NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas, USA, where we intend to announce another three new IPP members – including the Asia-based organization mentioned above;
ICAO Air Transport Conference (ATConf7) in Montreal, Canada;
CJI-Miami Conference in Miami, USA.

• A Final Reminder: our increasingly popular Industry Advisory Forum is set for Thursday, 22 October 2026 in Las Vegas – following the conclusion of the NBAA Convention. We are pleased to report that 15 IPP members have already confirmed their attendance at this important by-invitation-only meeting—where we anticipate a continued strong level of engagement from both IPP Members and IBAC Association Members.

IS-BAO

Andrew Karas, IS-BAO Programme Director
• Eurocontrol GAPPAC Project: Work continues with the Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Airborne Conflict (GAPPAC) project in collaboration with EUROCONTROL and the Flight Safety Foundation.

• ICAO Safety Management: Continued engagement with ICAO leadership through the Safety Management Panel, including ongoing discussions and updates related to Annex 19.

• IS-BAO Standards Board: The IS-BAO Standards Board will meet on Monday, 19 October, to review current standards recommendations and proposed updates. Looking forward to seeing everyone and for the week of NBAA-BACE.

• Workshop Schedule: The IS-BAO workshop schedule has been published through April 2027, providing operators with advance visibility of upcoming training opportunities: International Business Aviation Council | Workshops

IS-BAH

Terry Yeomans, Programme Director

Evaluation meeting with EASA begins this week that will soon initiate the process of evaluation of IS-BAH under the ARGH.OVS.310 requirement of Regulation (EU)2025/23. As a reminder, that rule requires EASA and the European national authorities to evaluate referenced industry standards.

• The IS-BAH Standards Board monthly call will be taking place on this Wednesday 7th October.

• IS-BAH Workshops are planned for 14-15 October, register HERE.

• ICAO GHTF meeting will be in Montreal 19-23 October, the same week as NBAA-BACE

• NBAA BACE: Steven Abreu-Hill will be attending BACE and presenting on Tuesday 20 Oct Managing Risk in Dynamic Ground Environments in room W231 at 2:30 PM.

• The Arab Civil Aviation Organization (ACAO) and ICAO regional workshop on 20-22 October will be taking place in Rabat, Morocco. IS-BAH will be presenting virtually.

SAFETY EVENT REPORTING
IS-BAO Progressive Stage 3 operators and IS-BAH registered organizations are encouraged to use the deidentified safety reporting systems developed to track, share, and learn from your experiences.

Paul Cremer

My name is Paul Cremer, and this marks my 42nd year working within the business and general aviation industry. Over this time, I’ve had the privilege of overseeing a diverse array of sector activities, ranging from aircraft charter and management to air ambulance services, ground operations, air traffic control, airport management, technology implementation, and the outsourcing services I currently manage.

In my role focused on delivering advisory, technology, and outsourcing services to aviation customers, I handle a wide spectrum of responsibilities. This includes overseeing International Trip Support, Operations Control Centre Services (OCC), Continuing Airworthiness Management Service (CAMO), Airworthiness Reviews, ARC Services, Aircraft Delivery and Re-delivery Support Services, Maintenance Coordination Services including AOG, Tech Ops (Maintenance Control Centre), and managing myairops software products. As the Head of Aviation Delivery, I lead the customer-facing delivery of Technology & Outsourcing products and services for the market, drawing upon a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and industry connections within Gama Aviation’s Technology and Outsourcing Strategic Business Unit.

My journey into Business and General Aviation began during my teenage years while still in school. I was fortunate enough to be welcomed into the industry, starting at a flying club, and later working at the Air Traffic Services Unit at Blackbushe Airport. There, I maintained the ATC Movement Logs in the Control Tower during weekends, solidifying my passion for aviation. Upon completing my schooling, I seized opportunities at Fairoaks Airport, where I began as Ground Crew while pursuing my Aerodrome Flight Information Service Officer’s license. Advancements in my career led me to the role of Air Traffic Services Manager.

Since joining Gama Aviation in 1996, I’ve held various positions, including Operations Manager (Post Holder), Operations & Commercial Manager, Commercial Manager, Operations Delivery Manager, Head of Business Aviation Delivery, and currently, Head of Aviation Delivery. This role encompasses Gama Aviation Group’s Gama Aviation, myairops, and FlyerTech companies.

In 2023, I was honoured to be invited to serve as the Chair of the Operations Working Group for the British Business & General Aviation Association. This opportunity allows me to contribute to industry initiatives within BBGA’s membership of nearly 200 industry companies, focusing on challenges such as regulatory compliance, Air Services Agreements, technological advancements, workforce development, operational matters, and sustainability.

Marc Bailey

Marc Bailey has spent his career in aviation and has worked in most areas of our industry with scheduled airlines, MRO’s, military contract support and latterly with associations, government, and its agencies.

Marc currently represents your position in Europe (even post Brexit) – as President of ECOGAS (European Council of General Aviation Support) which maintains a voice with EASA. All the major member states are represented on the ECOGAS board. With EASA restructuring its meetings with industry, ECOGAS is now well positioned to represent our position in all areas following industry partnerships with the European Continued Airworthiness Group and with the Association for Remotely Piloted Aviation Services (ARPAS). 

Marc is chair of the UKASF (United Kingdom Airworthiness Strategic Forum) as part of an initiative to develop Aviation Services across all aviation activities.  The UKASF pulls together airlines, MROs, Rotary, Drones, and commercial GA bodies to work with CAA and DfT. The objective is for industry to take the lead to drive strategic issues to benefit all parties. We are well positioned after six years to continue our good work for industry. With the re-established role of Chief Surveyor in the CAA we have a good focal point to undertake this work with the regulator including regular discussions and a full industry day with the CAA each year.

Marc chairs the CAA Finance and Services Forum, which allows industry in the UK to discuss the financial plans for the CAA and look closely at the services being delivered to industry. This is a new and valuable new platform for all parties.

Marc has formed an alliance with, ARPAS, AOPA, BHA and BBGA so that we can strengthen our voice under a joint ‘GA 4 Biz’ banner. This alliance is working to do everything possible to represent the industry’s business interests with UK government and to help realise the Government’s desire to make UK General Aviation a Global Leader in a post Brexit environment. 

The next Generation initiatives with industry and government have continued to develop with the retention platform now evolving into the “Aviation Skills Recruitment Platform” .  The platform now not only offers a vehicle for those offering and seeking posts in aviation, it also provides pathways with its TalentView portion seeking to provide pathways for new entrants into our sector. 

The recruitment platform is being further developed to include training opportunities across a wide range of providers, from government agencies through academic bodies. Getting our next generation activities right in the UK over the next couple of years is our single most important issue which we in aviation must grab with both hands. Moving into 2026 we are seeking to further develop the pathways to enter aviation, and this effort is being supported with development of multimedia platforms with the organisation Metaverse. This multimedia approach is being developed so that it is more relatable to the next generation of people wishing to join aviation in a myriad of roles.

In the role of President (honorary) Marc can support the BBGA in many aspects and continue to ensure that we retain the right connections across industry, with regulators in the UK, regulators in the EU and wherever possible help hold government and its departments to account using normal channels, and where necessary utilise All Party-Political Groups for aviation.

BBGA Annual Conference and AGM

BBGA Universal Aviation 2027 Golf Tournament

A Word From Our Director General

A Word From Our Director General

James Carroll

Alison Chambers

Paul Cremer

Jason Hayward

James Moreton

James Hardie

Aoife O’Sullivan

Alex Durand

Marc Bailey

Sarah Towerzey

Heather Gordon

Lindsey Oliver