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There is a fear that a sharp increase in air transport volume will result in an unacceptable increase in the number of accidents in the future. Experience demonstrates that before an accident occurs various incidents and numerous failures reveal the existence of safety risks. In this context, the risk assessment procedure consent the determination of the probability of the causes that generate accidents, and becomes an operative instrument, particularly efficient in the prevention of hazards. Airport operators deal with risk every day. The risk is sometimes under their control, and sometimes it is not. Although this approach has been successful for many years, safety performance needs to improve. With traffic growth, the number of accidents tends to increase when the level of safety remains constant. To preserve public confidence, the aviation industry, using new technologies and approaches like Safety Management System (SMS), needs to further reduce the chances of accidents. Safety Risk Management is the key operational component of an SMS - a creative method that looks into the future. Managing risk needs to be proactive and consider the specific characteristics of each airport. This article shows a process how to evaluate the performance of the SMS operations at Slovak international airports. The first stage was to acquire the seriousness and rankings of the SMS components and elements, and the second stage was to evaluate and rank their performance. The rankings of safety management system seriousness of components from high to low are: safety risk management, safety policy and objectives, safety promotion, and safety assurance.

Keywords: air transport, safety management system, method of risk management solution

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