Air Taxi will develop and implement plans to address these issues to ensure that they comply with applicable Russian laws and regulations and World Bank requirements. The detail about how these issues will be addressed by Air Taxi is summarized in the paragraphs that follow.
- Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Management Systems
Air Taxi will designate an individual within the organization with responsibility and authority for all safety, health and environmental matters at the company. The individual’s role will be clearly defined, including a written job description, and sufficient management authority and resources will be provided to ensure compliance with relevant and applicable laws and regulations (taking into account the responsibilities of third parties, such as Russian authorities, or aircraft suppliers or contractors). Air Taxi will also establish a procedure to monitor EHS performance, including documentation of monitoring results, mechanisms for correcting problems and investigating accidents, and ensuring the appropriate adjustments to procedures are made to prevent reoccurrence.
- Aircraft Operations Safety and Emissions and Noise
Air Taxi’s fleet of M-101T aircraft manufactured by Sokol will have the necessary airworthiness safety certificates from the relevant authorities. All aircraft meet the noise and exhaust emission requirements imposed by the Russian Federation, and also conform with ICAO standards.
Flight personnel will undergo extensive licensing, training, and qualification certification. Training for both flight and ground personnel will include flight safety and emergency and rescue procedures.
Consistent with international best practice, Air Taxi will develop an accident prevention program that will provide an additional layer of safety by assisting in the identification and mitigation of risks before they become serious safety problems. As part of the program, Air Taxi will maintain a database that stores all accidents and incidents that occur during ground and flight operations. The data include information on bird strikes, aircraft strikes, ground and air turn-backs, in-flight shutdowns, etc. When an event occurs, an investigation will be undertaken to determine the cause and if follow-up corrective action is needed to prevent reoccurrence, such as to revise pilot training programs, aircraft maintenance and the like.
Air Taxi will not carry goods characterized as dangerous cargo by the ICAO and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Maintenance-Related Hazardous Materials, Effluents, and Wastes Management
Heavy airframe maintenance and servicing of aircraft will be conducted at the aircraft manufacturer’s (Sokol) maintenance and overhaul center in Nizhniy Novgorod, while line maintenance activities will be conducted by staff employed by the various airports served by Air Taxi in accordance with Russian aviation requirements. Heavy maintenance activities necessarily involve the handling of hazardous materials, such as paints, fuels, lubricants, solvents, hydraulic fluids, and other specialized chemical products, as well as the generation of liquid and solid wastes (waste oils & solvents, metal plating wastes, spent batteries, paint waste, etc.). Sokol ensures that hazardous materials are properly stored inside buildings or in areas provided with secondary containment to prevent accidental spills from being released to the environment, and that wastes are collected and temporarily stored in containers, where appropriate in segregated areas. Depending on the type and class of waste, Sokol has arrangements with its suppliers and/or authorized waste disposal operators to ensure that these wastes are appropriately disposed or recycled in compliance with relevant Russian laws and requirements and World Bank guidelines. Sanitary effluents are discharged to airport-operated collection and treatment systems.
- Employee Health and Safety
Air Taxi will develop and implement an appropriate occupational health and safety program designed to comply with Russian workplace regulations. The program will include a set of specific written safety and health procedures for the range of job descriptions covered by their activities, as well as training programs covering safe work practices, emergency response and fire fighting.
