Sid-Star welcome to the discussion.
Yes, FRMS (or similar in name) does exist in the desert airlines. Indeed most of the modern airline safety systems put in place in the developed world exist in the Middle East companies, but too often in name only.
The emphasis appears to be on box-ticking, as opposed to genuinely solving issues. Ticking boxes looks great to the auditors, and enables an
outward appearance of industry compliance. This stems from a weak accountability trail with upper level management, encouraged by feeble regulatory oversight. I've had as much confirmed in person from one of my own company's Flight Ops Inspectors, whilst engaged in conversation with him on my jump seat during a regulatory audit flight.
The smoke and mirrors trick of the local airlines is not limited to our industry, it is endemic to the region. How often have we heard from our passengers how wonderful Airline A is, when in reality if they could see it from an inside angle they would likely think twice before putting themselves and their families onboard....
There are undoubtedly some very capable hard working middle managers who know only too well the problems on the line, but their options to obtain positive change are limited...... limited too often by corporate financial priorities, an absence of human compassion from their leaders, a lack of the right people in the right places, and a cultural emphasis on not rocking the boat. Those who do don't last very long in their position.
The culture is such that 'get it done as directed' is far more prevalent than 'get it done safely', (let alone sensibly). Lateral thinking is actively discouraged, and questioning the status quo a treasonable offence.
Where does it end? Do we have to expect a smoking hole in the desert, sadly like more than one of our nearby competitors? Despite any perceived negativity, I remain somehow optimistic that change will ultimately come. But it's an evolutionary process, and takes far longer than most of us care for, or are able to withstand on a personal level. Interestingly, some of the few positive effects on the system historically have come from public awareness - these operators absolutely hate negative
PR, and have even learned to evolve (slowly) as a result of bad press reaching the public domain.
We work for an operation that discourages open discourse, living in a region with a tightly controlled, self regulating local press. Is it any wonder that for those of us who still care and wish to avoid that smoking hole in the desert, speaking out by other means remains one of the few final options......?