Hopes for significant growth of Africa’s aviation industry could be dashed by the poor safety records of most of the continent’s airlines.
African Civil Aviation Com-mission (AFCAC) secretary- general Sosina Iyabo told Engineering News: “The African aviation industry is on a growth path, but safety is most critical. If this growth is to be sustainable, African airlines must be perceived to be safe.” She was speaking on the sidelines of a major aviation conference in Nairobi, Kenya.
She added that, with most African airlines grappling with the challenges of operating an ageing fleet, undercapitalisation and loss of skilled personnel to lucrative regions like the Middle East and Europe, the industry’s expected growth could come a cropper.
“Safety is the biggest challenge facing African aviation and regulators must be more pro- active in their oversight role,” she said.
Last month, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) reported that, while the global aviation industry had recorded impressive improvements in safety performance in recent years, airline accident rates in Africa remained a major concern. Jet Airliners
According to Iata, the avearge accident rate for all jet airliners in Africa was 10.85 accidents per million flight hours, compared with a world average of 2.00. By the end of April this year, the accident rate on the continent had improved to 7.98 accidents per millions flights, but this was still more than four times the global average.
The high accident rate has prompted the European Union (EU) to ban many African airlines from its skies, a move that has curtailed growth of the continent’s aviation industry.
By 2010, the EU had blacklisted more than 100 African airlines from 17 nations on safety grounds. The bloc had completely banned some airlines and slapped operational conditions on others. Those mainly affected were airlines from Angola, Rwanda, Benin, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Equitorial Guinea, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Swaziland and Zambia.
“Africa needs safe, secure, effi- cient and reliable airlines if the industry is to record significant growth,” said Iyabo during the second Aviation Suppliers and Stakeholders Convention, organ- ised by the African Airlines Association.
Stakeholders The convention, which brought together about 250 aviation stakeholders from 40 countries, sought to discuss the opportunities in Africa’s aviation industry.
Although safety remains a concern, indications are that the African aviation industry is poised for growth, thanks to a conducive environment, which includes impressive economic growth, averaging 6% a year, an emerging genuine middle class and a population that is expected to double from one-billion to two-billion over the next 40 years, as well as a minerals boom.
Other factors include massive investments in infrastructure, political stability, continuing liberalisation of markets, the removal of trade barriers, increas- ing intra-Africa trade and an expanding private sector.
Over the next 18 years, air traffic on the African continent is forecast to increase by more than 6% a year.