Southern Air Inc. today announced that it has become the fifth U.S.-based all-cargo carrier to pass the International Air Transport Association (“IATA”) Operational Safety Audit (“IOSA”) and be registered as an IOSA compliant airline

Brian Neff, Southern Air’s president, said, “We are incredibly pleased that Southern Air’s safety program has earned IOSA registration. The IATA Operational Safety Audit is the benchmark for global safety management in airlines, and we are very pleased that our strong and longstanding commitment to safe flight operations has been recognized by this truly world-class organization.”

The IOSA program is an internationally recognized and accepted evaluation system designed to assess the operational management and control systems of an airline. IOSA’s quality audit principles are designed to conduct audits in a standardized manner. The other IOSA-registered carriers are United Parcel Service Co., Federal Express Corporation, Atlas Air Inc./Polar Air Worldwide, Inc. and ABX Air. More information on IOSA can be found at http://www.iata.org/ps/certification/iosa/.

Southern Air Inc. was founded in 1999 as a low-cost, high-quality cargo carrier specializing in the provision of block space and aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance (“ACMI”) services through its fleet of 17 B747 freighter aircraft. It is the first ACMI operator in the world to operate the next generation of freighter aircraft, which includes the B777-200LRF and the B747-8F.