In 1968 the ARB- now the CAA – made a conscious decision to transfer the responsibility for regulating aftermarket civil aviation part suppliers to the airlines and maintenance organisations. This was soon followed by the rest of Europe apart from a few countries.

Since then the regulation of part suppliers has been maintained and controlled through quality audits by EASA Part 145 approved organisations. One important result of this policy is that it has excluded aircraft part suppliers from all policy making consultations with Regulatory Authorities concerning parts.

Experienced parts suppliers believed this was a mistake and one which needed addressing by the formation of a self governing body to monitor and control standards within the industry. We have the knowledge- we fully understand the controls, which are needed to ensure the highest quality.

It is an alarming fact that at present, anyone can form a company and set themselves up in business to supply parts and services within our industry and in many cases with little or no experience or standards. This, we believe is a situation which should not be allowed to continue in an industry which prides itself on having the most rigorous safety and reliability standards. Safety is paramount in airline passenger transport and the highest standards should apply at every level.

This is why, in 1995 we decided that it was important to establish an organisation to represent our industry. The response from across our industry to the suggestion of forming an association was outstandingly positive. The formation of EASO was seen by experienced suppliers as an invaluable first step in at last gaining some recognition of the importance of the aftermarket parts supply industry.

The Organisation's inaugural meeting was held at London Gatwick Airport on February 29 1996. It was not only a Leap Year Day but also heralded a major leap forward in the aviation parts supply industry in Europe.