Safety remains the most
pressing issue facing the
African aviation industry.
According to the
International Air Transport
Association (Iata) it is ready
to support and help African
airlines that have indicated
they will be fully compliant
with Iata’s Operational
Safety Audit (Iosa) by no
later than 2015.
Asked if this was a
realistic target as many airlines
were already hinting that they
would not be able to meet the
deadline to have the 900+
standards of the Iosa in place,
Iata’s director general and
CEO Tony Tyler said they were
confident that all of Africa’s
airlines would be compliant by
2015.
“We are ready
and able to help any
airline who wants to
become compliant.
There is funding
available and we
can have workshops
up and running.
We believe that
world class safety is possible in
Africa,” he said.
While Iata’s 20 sub-Saharan
members are performing in
line with the global average
on safety – as are the 24 sub-
Saharan airlines that have met
the standards of Iosa – African
aviation safety
remains a
challenge if one
looks at the
entire industry.
The overall
accident rate is
many times the
global average.
According
to Tyler, safety
remains a top
priority not
just in Africa
but all over the
world. “One
of the longeststanding
partnerships between
industry and governments is
on safety. Flying is safer than
ever,” he said. “Last year there
was not a single hull loss with
a Western-built jet among our
240 member airlines or among
the 387 airlines on the Iosa
registry.”
But, said Tyler, there was still
more work to do. “If we include
all aircraft types then 2012 saw
75 accidents and 414 fatalities.
These remind us of the great
responsibility to those who trust
us with their lives and their
goods.”
He said
geographically the
biggest challenge
was undoubtedly
Africa where the
accident rate has
been calculated to
be about 18 times
worse than the
global average.
“But the safety
performance of
African airlines on
the Iosa registry,
including our
African members,
aligns with the
global average,” he said making
it imperative to get all airlines
in Africa on the registry.
“This means that world-class
safety is possible in Africa. With
the Abuja Declaration African
governments have committed
to achieve the world-class levels
as required by Iosa by 2015.”
INSERT
‘In Africa the
accident rate has
been calculated to
be about 18 times
worse than the
global average.’
– Tony Tyler
CAPTION
Tony Tyler
