AFRAA: Nigeria a Shining Light for Air Safety in Africa

Posted 24/11/2011

Nigeria’s renewed focus on air safety was highlighted by International Air Transport Association (IATA) Director General & Chief Executive, Tony Tyler, during this week’s African Airlines Association (AFRAA) Annual General Assembly (AGA) in Marrakech, Morocco, as the level that others on the continent should strive to achieve, acknowledging his own concerns about air safety in the region.

"I do have concerns on the issue of safety. We have much more work to do in Africa. However, we can learn from what Nigeria has achieved over the past five years. In 2005, Nigeria had the worse safety record on the continent with some real gaps in its safety oversight, pilot efficiency etc. But, they have worked hard to change this and now proved world class safety in Africa is possible,” he said.

Nigeria is now one of just three countries in the continent alongside Egypt and Madagascar that demands that airlines wishing to operate long-haul services receive IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) clearance before they are permitted to fly. Tony Tyler believes that this in an important step to enhancing air safety and speaking to The HUB ahead of the AGA said: “I would recommend others across Africa follow this lead.”

The views of the IATA Chief Executive were echoed by Dr Elijah Chingosho, Secretary General of AFRAA. “Safety is the greatest challenge facing African aviation and we need to put our house in order,” he said. “We need to make IOSA certification a mandatory requirement before approving a new AOC.”

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