Air Nam says it’s on track to meet new international safety standards

THE International Air Transport Association (IATA) has issued a warning about Africa’s poor aviation-safety record, saying it must improve or African airlines face being booted from the world body.

Last year Africa’s accident rate for Western-built jet aircraft was 12 times higher than the global rate. Should the 265 airlines IATA represents fail to pass the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) by the end of 2007, they will lose their IATA accreditation.The safety audit began in 2003 as the first global standard for airline operational safety management, available free of charge to any commercial airline or government with the goal of raising the bar on airline safety.”Everyone recognises that there is a problem in need of fixing.I visited Africa last October to ring a warning bell.Politicians have since joined the debate.But words and politics will not solve the problem.Air transport is critical to Africa and we need action to put it back on track,” IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani warned in a statement issued at the end of last week.Namibia’s national airline Air Namibia underwent a gap analysis by IATA three weeks ago, and is confident that it is on track to meet IOSA standards by the deadline.Air Namibia’s Manager for Quality and Assurance, Werner Putzler, told The Namibian this week that the airline was committed to doing everything it could to become compliant as soon as possible, especially since it flew to European destinations which are very strict about safety standards.”We are preparing to register by the end of the year, but we have to wait for the results of the gap analysis to determine what we need to change and when we will be ready for the audit,” said Putzler.Currently only four airlines in Africa are on the IOSA registry – South African Airways, Kenya Airways, Egyptair and Royal Air Maroc.Putzler said Air Namibia was not considered one of the African airlines whose safety standards IATA was concerned about.He said Air Namibia was ranked among those African airlines with high safety standards.Putzler said it was in Air Namibia’s best interests to become compliant as soon as possible as it would open doors for it to engage in code sharing and alliance agreements.The IOSA safety standards range from pilot training to engineering and operations; loading cargo to passenger safety.Twenty-three per cent of the world’s air accidents in 2005 occurred in Africa, while it only accounts for five per cent of global airline traffic.At least 60 per cent of these accidents were concentrated in just six countries – two in Nigeria alone, which left thousands dead.Ageing aircraft, lack of maintenance and technical faults are among the factors blamed for the crashes.Bisignani will be visiting Ethiopia this week for meetings with airline and government officials.An official from the Directorate of Civil Aviation said this week that Air Namibia’s gap analysis went “very well” and that it was “very pleased” with Air Namibia’s performance in meeting the safety standards.”Air Namibia in terms of safety is pretty comfortable.We’ve got it together.We can say they are doing a good job and we are very pleased,” said the official, who did not want to be named.The Namibian understands that although Air Namibia was already implementing almost all the 174 safety standards prescribed by IOSA, these procedures had not all been documented.This will have to be done by the time it is ready for the final audit.Putzler said Air Namibia was also waiting for feedback on whether it would have to implement certain safety standards currently not applicable to Africa.”There is still work to be done, but we are ready for it,” he said.The Directorate of Civil Aviation said that Air Namibia would be put on the international map as far as airlines in the region are concerned if it managed to get its IOSA accreditation ahead of the deadline.”It will put Air Namibia on a very good footing.It will allow them to code-share with international airlines and show that they are as good as you can get anywhere else in the world,” said a civil aviation source.The source said Air Namibia already had a very high standard as far as safety was concerned.A global air-safety audit recently identified safety problems at 181 African airlines and operators.”The benefits of air transport will be lost if we cannot make good on our number one priority – safety.Airlines and governments must develop continental solutions with vision, leadership and speed,” said Bisignani.Air Namibia’s gap analysis is one of 15 IATA plans to conduct on African airlines this year.Once ready for the audit, five IATA auditors will take five days to inspect every aspect of Air Namibia’s safety procedures.Already 146 airlines, representing 70 per cent of international traffic, have been audited.IATA has criticised African governments for not investing enough in air transport, saying that in many cases revenue collected from airlines and their passengers is not re-invested in the industry.”African skies can and must be safer.Action and commitment must replace platitudes and politics,” said Bisignani.Last month, African Civil Aviation Commission President Tshepo Peege warned that the regulator would take action against airlines and operators on the continent that violate air-safety measures.Peege said that to improve aviation safety in Africa, more money had to be invested in aviation infrastructure and the training of staff.Should the 265 airlines IATA represents fail to pass the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) by the end of 2007, they will lose their IATA accreditation.The safety audit began in 2003 as the first global standard for airline operational safety management, available free of charge to any commercial airline or government with the goal of raising the bar on airline safety.”Everyone recognises that there is a problem in need of fixing.I visited Africa last October to ring a warning bell.Politicians have since joined the debate.But words and politics will not solve the problem.Air transport is critical to Africa and we need action to put it back on track,” IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani warned in a statement issued at the end of last week.Namibia’s national airline Air Namibia underwent a gap analysis by IATA three weeks ago, and is confident that it is on track to meet IOSA standards by the deadline.Air Namibia’s Manager for Quality and Assurance, Werner Putzler, told The Namibian this week that the airline was committed to doing everything it could to become compliant as soon as possible, especially since it flew to European destinations which are very strict about safety standards.”We are preparing to register by the end of the year, but we have to wait for the results of the gap analysis to determine what we need to change and when we will be ready for the audit,” said Putzler.Currently only four airlines in Africa are on the IOSA registry – South African Airways, Kenya Airways, Egyptair and Royal Air Maroc.Putzler said Air Namibia was not considered one of the African airlines whose safety standards IATA was concerned about.He said Air Namibia was ranked among those African airlines with high safety standards.Putzler said it was in Air Namibia’s best interests to become compliant as soon as possible as it would open doors for it to engage in code sharing and alliance agreements.The IOSA safety standards range from pilot training to engineering and operations; loading cargo to passenger safety.Twenty-three per cent of the world’s air accidents in 2005 occurred in Africa, while it only accounts for five per cent of global airline traffic.At least 60 per cent of these accidents were concentrated in just six countries – two in Nigeria alone, which left thousands dead.Ageing aircraft, lack of maintenance and technical faults are among the factors blamed for the crashes.Bisignani will be visiting Ethiopia this week for meetings with airline and government officials.An official from the Directorate of Civil Aviation said this week that Air Namibia’s gap analysis went “very well” and that it was “very pleased” with Air Namibia’s performance in meeting the safety standards.”Air Namibia in terms of safety is pretty comfortable.We’ve got it together.We can say they are doing a good job and we are very pleased,” said the official, who did not want to be named.The Namibian understands that although Air Namibia was already implementing almost all the 174 safety standards prescribed by IOSA, these procedures had not all been documented.This will have to be done by the time it is ready for the final audit.Putzler said Air Namibia was also waiting for feedback on whether it would have to implement certain safety standards currently not applicable to Africa.”There is still work to be done, but we are ready for it,” he said.The Directorate of Civil Aviation said that Air Namibia would be put on the international map as far as airlines in the region are concerned if it managed to get its IOSA accreditation ahead of the deadline.”It will put Air Namibia on a very good footing.It will allow them to code-share with international airlines and show that they are as good as you can get anywhere else in the world,” said a civil aviation source.The source said Air Namibia already had a very high standard as far as safety was concerned.A global air-safety audit recently identified safety problems at 181 African airlines and operators.”The benefits of air transport will be lost if we cannot make good on our number one priority – safety.Airlines and governments must develop continental solutions with vision, leadership and speed,” said Bisignani.Air Namibia’s gap analysis is one of 15 IATA plans to conduct on African airlines this year.Once ready for the audit, five IATA auditors will take five days to inspect every aspect of Air Namibia’s safety procedures.Already 146 airlines, representing 70 per cent of international traffic, have been audited.IATA has criticised African governments for not investing enough in air transport, saying that in many cases revenue collected from airlines and their passengers is not re-invested in the industry.”African skies can and must be safer.Action and commitment must replace platitudes and politics,” said Bisignani.Last month, African Civil Aviation Commission President Tshepo Peege warned that the regulator would take action against airlines and operators on the continent that violate air-safety measures.Peege said that to improve aviation safety in Africa, more money had to be invested in aviation infrastructure and the training of staff.