By Emil Ahlgren, Director of Operations APAC at Web Manuals
In 2024, global aviation carried 5 billion passengers across more than 40 million flights, reinforcing once again that it is a growing industry and one of the safest forms of transportation. But not all regions are keeping pace equally — and the Asia-Pacific region now faces a critical moment for safety leadership.
According to the IATA Safety Report 2024, the accident rate in APAC increased from 0.92 per million sectors in 2023 to 1.04 in 2024, placing it just above the five-year regional average. While the fatality risk remained low, the trend is heading in the wrong direction.
In parallel, IOSA-registered airlines once again demonstrated superior safety outcomes, with no fatal accidents or hull losses. These figures reinforce what many of us in the industry already know: structured oversight and safety culture matter, and digital transformation is key to sustaining both.
The concern with APAC’s trajectory is not rooted in a lack of expertise or professionalism — quite the opposite. Operators across the region often manage highly complex networks, diverse fleets, and challenging geographies. But many still rely on manual processes, fragmented documentation systems, and limited compliance visibility.
If we want APAC to meet — or exceed — global safety benchmarks, we need to scale up the tools that enable even smaller and regional operators to achieve IOSA-level resilience. Digital documentation plays a critical role in achieving IOSA-level safety standards by ensuring that organizations remain audit-ready and have immediate access to accurate, up-to-date information when it’s needed most.
IOSA Isn’t Just for the Major Carriers
The IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) program has expanded significantly in 2024. With 46 new airlines added, the total number of IOSA-registered operators rose to 446 globally. And this year marked the widespread rollout of Risk-Based IOSA audits, which focus on operator-specific risks, maturity of Safety Management Systems (SMS), and process robustness.
Importantly, IOSA goes beyond checking boxes. It’s about identifying weaknesses before they escalate into risks. IATA’s risk-based audits in 2024 found three times more non-conformities compared to traditional audits, underscoring the depth and relevance of this new approach.
At Web Manuals, we’ve seen this firsthand: with over 70 IOSA-certified customers worldwide, we’ve observed how adherence to this standard fosters a stronger safety culture, sharper operational discipline, and smoother audit readiness.
However, many smaller APAC operators still perceive IOSA as unattainable, due to resource constraints, documentation challenges, or the complexity of audits.
That’s where technology needs to step in. At Web Manuals, we work with operators across APAC, from national airlines to regional startups, to digitize their documentation systems and embed compliance directly into daily operations.
Our Compliance Libraries offer dedicated IOSA regulations that let operators connect IOSA standards directly to their operational manuals. This enables real-time tracking of revisions and changes and simplifies audit preparation with full traceability and version history.
At Web Manuals, we can see a clear desire to modernize, and APAC operators are actively seeking solutions to close that gap. We’re proud to be part of that journey, partnering with aviation professionals across the region to help them align with international standards through smart, accessible tools.
The Path Forward
It is important to recognize: APAC is not behind but it’s at a crossroads. The region can either allow incremental gains to slip or commit to a new standard of proactive, technology-enabled safety.
IOSA is a proven benchmark, and digital compliance tools are what make it accessible to everyone.
I believe APAC operators — with the right digital tools and partnerships — can lead the global charge in showing how safety leadership is operationalized. Not just through policies, but through accessible, connected, and intelligent safety systems.
For APAC to meet and surpass global safety trends, the time to digitize is now.
