State Safety Program – Norway

The first edition of the Norwegian State Safety Program was signed in June 2017 by Ketil Solvik-Olsen as Minister of Transport and Communications and Director General of Civil Aviation Authority Norway, Lars Kobberstad.

A tool for a better overview

Norway’s State Safety Program describes what the authority’s aviation safety work consists of and how it is organised. It will contribute to a better overview and increase aviation safety. Regulations and oversight activities alone are insufficient tools for improving aviation safety. Through the State Safety Program, we will commit to supplementing regulations and oversight activities with other tools, like risk management. The purpose of risk management is to identify the areas with the highest risks and who is capable of handling those risks. In consequence, allowing us to choose more accurate measures.

A close dialogue

Furthermore, the program secures an even closer dialogue with the actors. In summary, the State Safety Program provides better management of aviation safety in Norway. 

It should be safe to fly, and we constantly work to uphold a high level of safety in the aviation industry,

these were the words of the then Minister of Transport and Communications Ketil Solvik-Olsen when the program was signed.

An initiative from the UN’s International Organisation of Civil Aviation (ICAO)

The initiative to introduce a state safety program for aviation comes from the UN’s International Organisation of Civil Aviation (ICAO). In Norway, it is already a requirement that aviation organisations shall have safety management systems (Safety Management System, SMS) and seek a more risk-based approach to authority tasks.