August 21, 2020 – The Wicks Group (TWG) recently completed a baseline assessment of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s compliance with international standards for aviation safety oversight and monitoring.
Bahrain’s Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications (MTT) contracted with TWG for the assessment in early 2020 to advance the country’s goal of establishing direct flight services between Bahrain and the United States (US) on its national flag carrier, Gulf Air. TWG’s business development with the Government of Bahrain was supported by the US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA), which helped TWG organize meetings in Manama with MTT, the US Embassy, and the American Chamber of Commerce in Bahrain.
Typically, TWG carries out such assessments in-country over a two-week period. However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying restrictions on international travel, TWG conducted its assessment of Bahrain remotely using videoconferencing, email, and other digital information- and file-sharing methods.
TWG deployed an 11-person team of senior technical experts, attorneys, management consultants, and analysts over a three-month period to determine the compliance status of Bahrain’s civil aviation law, regulations, civil aviation authority organization, technical personnel qualifications, certification and licensing functions, and surveillance and enforcement activities with standards and recommended practices (SARPs) established through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN). Bahrain, the US, and more than 190 other countries are obligated to comply with the SARPs as signatories to the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.
At the conclusion of its assessment activities, TWG provided a detailed report and a Go Forward Plan for making recommended changes and enhancements. TWG and MTT are now finalizing the terms of a technical assistance engagement under which TWG will support Bahrain Civil Aviation Affairs (BCAA) in making the needed improvements and preparing for a future FAA International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) audit. Bahrain must receive an FAA IASA "Category 1" (compliant) rating for the US to allow direct flight services from Bahrain.
This was TWG’s second IASA-related baseline assessment of 2020. The firm completed an assessment for the Republic of Angola in January.
Established in 1999 and based in Washington, DC, The Wicks Group has a 100% success rate in assisting foreign governments with achieving compliance with ICAO SARPs and obtaining, retaining, or restoring FAA Category 1 ratings. To date, 10 Category 1 ratings have been obtained or retained by TWG client countries following a TWG technical assistance project and FAA IASA audit, including most recently India, Azerbaijan, and Panama in 2018. TWG also regularly assists foreign air carriers with obtaining the US government certification and approvals needed to initiate or expand US air transportation service.
For more information about The Wicks Group, please contact Glenn Wicks at gpwicks@wicks-group.com or at +1 (202) 457-7790.