IATA, ICAO call for African aviation safety plan

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) have outlined the need to implement the Africa Strategic Improvement Action Plan to address safety concerns.

The two aviation agencies outlined the need for such a strategy at the African Ministerial Meeting on Aviation Safety in Nigeria.

The plan is aimed at magnifying safety by addressing the important issues surrounding deficiencies and enforcing new regulations.

“For ICAO, States with significant safety concerns are a priority, and I cannot stress enough that they should be the priority of all stakeholders,” ICAO council president Roberto Kobeh González said.

The Improvement Action Plan was constructed following the analysis of air transport accidents in Africa between 2006-2010 conducted by the IATA and ICAO, highlighting insufficient regulatory oversight and a lack of SMS implementation.

The establishment of the new plan would support the development of independent and sufficiently funded aviation authorities, effective safety oversight systems, accident prevention measures focused on runway safety and loss of control, IATA operational safety audits by all African carriers, flight data analysis and safety management systems by all service providers.

The IATA and ICAO agencies have completed extensive research into exercising these systems and bringing them to fruition through the induction of the Africa Strategic Implementation Action Plan.

The funding of the proposed action plan will be shared according to the functions and responsibilities of the entities involved in each initiative.

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