The Collaborative Aviation Safety Improvement Program (CASIP) is being launched by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to reduce the accident and serious accident rate across Africa
The announcement is part of the Focus Africa initiative and partners in the programme include The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), The African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Boeing, The Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA).
The partners will prioritise the most pressing safety concerns on the continent and rally the resources needed to address them. It is hoped that the benefits of improving aviation safety in Africa will be spread across the economies and societies of the continent.
Willie Walsh, IATA’s director general, commented, “Improving aviation safety will play an important role in Africa’s overall development. Safe, efficient and reliable air connectivity is a major driving contribution to the UN’s 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.”
The CASIP partners have agreed to identify deficiencies in operational safety and implement corrective action plans; provide safety training and workshops continent wide; and promote a data-driven approach to safety performance with emphasis on making safety data available to decision-makers and ensuring efficient accident/incident reporting.
“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,” explained Walsh.
