International Business Aviation Council (IBAC)

IS-BAO - an International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations

IBAC is a non-profit, non-governmental association which represents, promotes and protects the interests of business aviation in international policy and regulatory forums. IBAC was founded on 15 June 1981 at a meeting in London; it was incorporated as the International Business Aviation Council, Ltd. in the District of Columbia as a non-profit corporation on 25 June 1981. Its Bylaws were ratified 14 September 1981 in Anaheim, CA. There were five founding members of IBAC and they are now called the British Business and General Aviation Association (BBGA),the Canadian Business Aviation Association (CBAA), the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), the German Business Aviation Association (GBAA), and the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) of the U.S. Since that time, IBAC has welcomed aboard the Australian Business Aircraft Association (ABAA), the Associação Brasileira de Aviação Geral (ABAG), the Business Aviation Association for India (BAAI), the Business Aviation Association of Southern Africa (BAASA), the EBAA-France (EBAA-F), the Italian Business Aircraft Association (IBAA), and the Japan Business Aviation Association (JBAA).

A list of the addresses and phone numbers of the IBAC Member Organizations is provided under Member Organizations.

IBAC is directed by a Governing Board which is comprised of representatives designated by each of its Member Organizations. Officers are elected by the Board and are: Chairman, Vice Chairman, Corporate Secretary and Treasurer. The current list of Officers is contained under General Information. IBAC is administered by its Director General. Meetings of IBAC's Governing Board are held approximately every six to nine (6 - 9) months.

IBAC, through its Members, researches and collates the requirements of the business aviation community and develops Policy/Position Papers (PPP) representing the needs and goals of that community.

IBAC distributes a quarterly newsletter to its Members called IBAC Update. It contains information on the activities of the international aviation community, Member Organization activities, reports from meetings, etc.

IBAC devotes considerable effort to attending meetings organized by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which is a specialized agency of the United Nations and sets all the Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPS) concerning civil aviation. IBAC represents the interests of business aviation to ICAO. It has designated representatives, with observer status, on such ICAO Committees as the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP), and a number of ICAO Panels and Planning and Implementation Regional Groups (PIRGS) including the North Atlantic Systems Planning Group. IBAC is also business aviation's liaison with other international aviation organizations such as IATA and IFALPA.

IBAC also administers the Aircrew Identification Card, which identifies crew members of business aircraft so that international flights may be cleared more expeditiously. The Card contains all the information required in ICAO's Annex 9, Facilitation. Annex 9 contains the SARPS that Contracting States should follow when clearing international commercial flights for exit and entry. No such recommended practices exist for business aircraft but the Card is widely recognized by security officials. Aircrew Card holders tend to receive the same sort of expedited treatment as crewmembers of commercial aircraft. The Card is available only to aircrew of business aircraft operators who are Members of one of the IBAC Member Organizations.