ATNS maintains a Safety Management System:

• For all its activities in compliance with the South African Civil Aviation Regulations and Technical Standards;
• Ensures that all safety regulatory aspects of its activities are properly addressed;
• Assesses the safety implications of its activities;
• Mitigates risk as low as reasonably possible;
• Encourages the exchange of safety information and extracts lessons learnt related to safety risk in a judicious manner;
• Promotes an open and just reporting culture for safety occurrences;
• Identifies, coordinates and monitors safety improvement initiatives; and
• Promotes and adopts international best practises for the Safety Management Systems.

Apart from being an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirement, ATNS benefits from documenting and maintaining an SMS.

These benefits include:

• Improved safety awareness;
• A focus on continual improvement;
• Provision of evidence of effective risk management;
• Identification of areas of higher risk to allow for the prioritisation of resources;
• Provision of assurance to the leadership of the organisation that formal safety management practises are in place;
• Evidence to the organisation of the importance placed on safety, safety culture and risk management by all management;
• Elevation of the standard of safety management, which, where applicable, should result in lower insurance premiums if implemented effectively;
• Provision of a competitive advantage in future business and commercial activities; and
• Cost savings – reduced risk results in lower insurance premiums.