IATA rolls out initiative to enhance aviation safety in Africa

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has launched the Collaborative Aviation Safety Improvement Programme (CASIP) to reduce accident and serious incident rates across Africa as part of the Focus Africa initiative.

Launch partners in the programme are the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), The African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Boeing, and the Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA).

Together, the CASIP partners will prioritise the most pressing safety concerns on the continent and rally the resources needed to address them. The benefits of improving aviation safety in Africa will be spread across the economies and societies of the continent.

IATA’s Director-General (DG), Willie Walsh, said improving aviation safety would play an important role in Africa’s overall development.

“Safe, efficient and reliable air connectivity is a major driving contribution to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. In that sense, CASIP will make it clear to governments across the continent that aviation must be prioritised as an integral part of national development strategies. With such broad benefits at stake, we hope that other parties will be encouraged to join the CASIP effort,” Walsh said.

The starting point for safety improvement is the effective use of global standards for safety. At the government level, a key indicator is the effective implementation of ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPS).

Data for the year 2022 reveals considerable room for improvement with only 28 of 54 African states reaching an effective implementation rate for ICAO SARPS of 60 per cent or higher.

In parallel, the CASIP partners will identify deficiencies in operational safety and implement corrective action plans, provide safety training and workshops continent-wide, promote a data-driven approach to safety performance with emphasis on making safety data available to decision-makers and ensuring efficient accident/incident reporting.

The DG added that improving safety performance is a priority for Africa. “And we don’t need to reinvent the wheel to deliver the needed results. Collaborative safety teams in Latin America have demonstrated that safety improves when government and industry work together to implement global standards.

“By working together, the partners will pool resources to have a greater impact on areas where risk can be reduced, leading to measurable improvements in safety,” Walsh said.