(TAN): The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and African Airlines Association (AFRAA) have joined forces with the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) on a three-year safety project. The objective is to provide technical support to the African air operators of states party to the Single Africa Air Transport Market (SAATM) to ensure that they achieve and maintain global aviation safety standards.
The initiative is backed by African Development Bank grant funding provided to AFCAC and is specifically for carriers in countries that have signed up to the African Union’s (AU) flagship Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) program.
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The project will identify eligible airlines, conduct gap analyses and recommend corrective actions for each participating carrier to prepare them for IATA Operational Safety Audits (IOSA) or IATA Standard Safety Assessment (ISSA) evaluation. In addition, participating airlines’ personnel will receive quality and safety management systems training conducted by IATA, AFRAA, and AFCAC.
“Depending on the size of their organization and aircraft they operate, airlines wanting to take advantage of the SAATM’s market and commercial expansion benefits are required to be certified either through IATA’s Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) or Standard Safety Assessment (ISSA) programs. Both safety programs are globally recognized, and part of the African Safety Targets of Abuja Ministerial Declaration hallmarks of aviation safety,” explained Tefera Mekonnen Tefera, Secretary-General of AFCAC.
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“The ultimate goal of the project is to improve safety levels for the airline sector in Africa. Indeed, the 2012 Abuja Declaration safety targets stipulate that all African-based airlines attain IOSA or ISAA certification by the end of 2022,” said Abdérahmane Berthé, Secretary General, AFRAA.
IOSA is an internationally recognized evaluation system that assesses airlines’ operational management and control systems from a safety perspective. African carriers on the IOSA registry had an accident rate of nearly half that of non-IOSA operators for 2015 -2019.
