AAQG

AAQG stands for the Americas Aerospace Quality Group. It is a regional sector of the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG) focused on developing, maintaining, and harmonizing aerospace quality standards and guidance for organizations operating in North, Central, and South America.

What AAQG is

AAQG is a cooperative industry group made up of aerospace and defense manufacturers, suppliers, and other stakeholders in the Americas. It commonly works on:

• Contributing to the development and maintenance of aerospace quality management standards such as AS9100, AS9110, and AS9120
• Coordinating sector-specific deployment of IAQG standards and guidance
• Supporting alignment between aerospace OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, and lower-tier suppliers on quality system expectations
• Providing input to certification schemes and oversight models used by accredited certification bodies

In regulated and high-reliability manufacturing environments, AAQG standards and documents often define expectations for quality management systems, documentation, process control, and supplier oversight that OT/IT systems (MES, ERP, QMS, PLM) must help support.

How AAQG shows up in industrial operations

Within manufacturing and MRO operations, AAQG is typically referenced in connection with:

• Quality management frameworks: Use of AS9100-series standards and related guidance in plant-level quality systems and procedures.
• Supplier quality requirements: Flowdown of AAQG / IAQG-based requirements through purchase orders and supplier quality agreements.
• Documentation and records: Expectations around controlled documents, production records, traceability, and audit evidence that digital systems must manage.
• Audit readiness: Preparation for third-party audits and customer assessments that reference AAQG-developed standards.

What AAQG is not

• It is not a certification body or registrar and does not issue quality certificates.
• It is not a regulatory authority or government agency.
• It does not replace company-specific procedures, but its standards often serve as the framework those procedures must align with.

Common confusion

• AAQG vs IAQG: IAQG is the global group; AAQG is the Americas sector of IAQG.
• AAQG vs AS9100: AAQG is a group of organizations; AS9100 is a specific aerospace quality management standard the group helps develop and maintain.