VAI President and CEO François Lassale welcomes attendees to the inaugural Southeast Asia Aviation Safety Conference in Bali, Indonesia. In addressing the audience on Day 1 of the event, Lassale emphasized regional collaboration and practical action to strengthen aviation safety. The conference continues through May 29. VAI’s Southeast Asia Aviation Safety Conference opens in Bali VAI President and CEO François Lassale calls for practical action, regional collaboration, and stronger safety leadership across vertical aviation. May 27, 2026, Bali, Indonesia — Vertical Aviation International (VAI) opened the Southeast Asia Aviation Safety Conference in Bali, Indonesia, today with a clear message: Safety improvement in the region must be practical, collaborative, and rooted in operational reality. The event, built specifically for Southeast Asia, brings together operators, pilots, engineers, maintenance technicians, regulators, manufacturers, and safety professionals for two and a half days of discussion about the risks and responsibilities facing vertical aviation across the region. VAI President and CEO François Lassale framed the conference as a direct response to the region’s need for a stronger safety forum. “This is a first-of-its-kind event built from the ground up for this region, by this region,” Lassale said. “What happens at this event is focused on strengthening safety throughout Southeast Asia, not only for those here today, but for the next generation of aviation professionals who will follow us.” The opening day focused on leadership, accountability, human factors, accident preparedness, and emerging hazards. General Tan Sri Muhammad Ismail Jamaluddin, retired chief of the Malaysian Army and former CEO of Weststar Aviation Services, delivered the keynote, challenging attendees to move beyond incremental safety gains and pursue meaningful safety evolution. Lassale, who moderated the day’s leadership panel, emphasized that safety culture is shaped by daily decisions, not written policies alone. “Leadership in aviation is not simply about managing people or enforcing procedures,” Lassale said. “It is demonstrated every day by the decisions organizations allow their pilots to make, and by the culture that either supports or quietly undermines sound judgment.” That theme continued during a session on the 2023 Gold Coast midair collision, led by Bruce Webb of Airbus Helicopters and Dr. Marcus Bauer of iwiation and CycloTech. Using virtual reality technology, the session placed attendees inside each cockpit to show what the pilots could and could not see before impact. Lassale said the purpose of the session was not blame, but prevention. “The lessons from this tragedy belong to all of us,” Lassale said. “This is about understanding how capable, experienced professionals operating in familiar environments can unintentionally drift toward catastrophic risk.” Additional sessions examined the personal side of safety, accident response preparation, and the growing challenge of nonaviation hazards in shared airspace, including kite-strike risks. Speakers stressed that safety solutions must include better communication, community awareness, and cooperation beyond traditional aviation channels. The day concluded with a regional panel on the path forward for Southeast Asia. Moderated by Lassale, the discussion focused on how the lessons from the conference could translate into practical safety improvements across operators, regulators, and industry partners. “Today was about realistic action, not theory,” Lassale said. “We have heard from leaders across the region on safety culture, human factors, technology, risk, and the hazards facing operations here. Now, the question is what we do with those lessons when we return to our organizations.” The conference continues with additional sessions focused on safety culture, operational discipline, and regional collaboration across Southeast Asia’s growing vertical aviation sector.
