Lagos – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Wednesday pledged to collaborate with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to improve air transport safety in Africa.
This is contained in a statement jointly signed by the General Manager, Public Affairs, NCAA, Mr Sam Adurogboye and the Area Manager, South West Africa, IATA, Mr Samson Fatoki in Lagos.
The statement said the pledge was a key outcome from a meeting held between NCAA’s Director-General, Capt. Muhtar Usman and Mrs Tanja Grobotek, IATA’s Regional Director, Safety and Flight Operations, Africa and the Middle East.
It said both regulators promised to collaborate closely in developing and rolling out a set of measures intended to enhance the African Union’s 2012 Abuja Declaration on Aviation Safety in Africa.
The statement quoted Usman as saying that the endorsement of the Abuja Declaration was one of the most significant steps taken to boost aviation safety and development on the African continent.
“Nigeria is committed to supporting its implementation across sub-Saharan Africa through developing new strategies that will see the recent gains on Africa’s safety record sustained and even improved,’’ it quoted Usman as saying.
The statement said the NCAA also reaffirmed its commitment to improve on the effective implementation of the Safety-Related Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPS) by the end of 2016.
According to the statement, at the end of January 2016, only 21 African states had accomplished at least 60 per cent of implementation of the SARPS.
It also quoted Grobotek as saying that since the Abuja Declaration’s adoption in 2012, Africa’s safety performance has improved significantly.
“Notwithstanding these important and valuable gains, when measured proportionally, the continent continues to have the world’s highest hull-loss rate per million flights.[pro_ad_display_adzone id=”70560″]
“African safety is moving in the right direction, thanks to the work done by a number of African nations, including Nigeria, who have worked hard to raise awareness of the importance of implementing the Abuja Declaration.
“In 2015, we saw safety on the continent improve, compared to the five-year accident rate for both jet and turboprop hull losses. Nevertheless, the challenges of bringing Africa in line with global performance remain,” she is quoted as saying.
The statement said Grobotek hinted that IATA remained focused on its commitment to actively contribute its expertise and resources to help African Nations implement the standards outlined in the Abuja Declaration.
“One such area is the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), a proven tool for raising safety. IATA has worked with a number of airlines in Africa to bring them onto the IOSA registry.
“Eleven have joined since the Abuja Declaration was signed, which means 31 airlines from Sub-Saharan Africa now benefit from this rigorous safety audit,’’ the statement quoted her as saying.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Abuja Declaration of 2012 was formed by the African Union (AU) to bring the African accident rate in line with the global average by 2015. (NAN)
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