Airlines in the sub-Saharan African (SSA) region continued to improve their safety performance with zero jet hull losses and zero fatal accidents involving jets or turboprops for a second consecutive year, according to the International Air Transport Association (Iata) 2017 Airline Safety Performance report published late yesterday (Thursday).
Both the turboprop hull loss rate and the all accident rates declined against the average of the previous five years. However, the turboprop hull loss rate increased compared to 2016 (5.70 vs. 1.52). This was largely responsible for causing an increase in the all accident rate compared to 2016 (6.87 vs. 2.43).
"The goal is to achieve world-class safety. There is still a large gap to cover in the safety performance of the continent’s turboprop fleet,” said Iata director-general, Alexandre de Juniac.
Global standards such as the Iata Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) are making a difference. Counting all accidents, the performance of African airlines on the IOSA registry was more than three times better than non-IOSA airlines in the region.
“That’s why we continue to encourage African nations to incorporate IOSA and the Iata Standard Safety Assessment (ISSA) into their safety oversight systems," said De Juniac.
Globally, Iata member airlines experienced zero fatal accidents or hull losses in 2017 with jet or turboprop equipment. "2017 was a very good year for aviation safety. Some 4.1 billion travellers flew safely on 41.8 million flights. We saw improvements in nearly all key metrics — globally and in most regions. And our determination to make this very safe industry even safer continues,” De Juniac said.
