South Africa’s air traffic management agency, Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS), is working hard to improve air safety in the country.

“During the 2015/16 [financial year], our safety performance was not as we would have liked it to be, with a record low of 34 Risk Safety Index [RSI],” stated ATNS CEO Thabani Mthiyane in an address to the twenty-seventh meeting of the State- owned company’s operations committee.

“We then embarked on various safety initiatives which resulted in a significant improvement of our RSI, which was sitting at 47 as at March 31, 2017.” He highlighted that it “is an [indisputable] fact that flying remains the safest form of travel by a far wider margin, compared with other modes of transport.”

Within its region, South Africa is one of the few countries to have implemented a safety management system (SMS). “[H]owever, this is not enough,” he said. “We will continue to increase our efforts to ensure that our safety performance remains at an acceptable level of risk.” To ensure that ATNS has a responsive SMS, the company is cooperating closely with the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation. “These are but some of the improvements that ATNS prides itself [on].”

The company has experienced some “challenges” over the past couple of years, he observed. The main one involves the execution of its capital expenditure (capex) programme. Because of circumstances beyond ATNS’s control, it failed to meet its capex commitment targets for two years in a row. “Efforts have been made to improve this key area of our obligatory mandate.” On the other hand, this situation has proved to be a “blessing in disguise”, making us “fully commit ourselves [to ensure] that we strive towards a set standard of excellence”.

A highlight for 2016 was the agreement among the member States of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (Icao), reached at its thirty-ninth assembly, to conclude the Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (Corsia). This is a voluntary scheme and, so far, 70 countries have stated that they will join it. These States represent 80% or more of expected future aviation growth. The scheme is expected to make a significant contribution to fulfilling the aviation sector’s aim of achieving carbon-neutral growth from 2020 and to reduce net emissions to 50% of the 2005 figure.

“South Africa remains committed” to Corsia and the country’s other climate change objectives, stressed Mthiyane. “Under the leadership of our shareholder, the Department of Transport, we will be reviewing the State action plan to incorporate Corsia.” ATNS has started implementing various environmentally inspired air traffic management practices. These include performance-based navigation (PBN), incorporating continuous climb operations (CCOs) and continuous descent operations (CDOs), and the company is a founder member of the Indian Ocean Strategic Partnership to Reduce Emissions.

PBN reduces the track kilometres flown by aircraft, thereby reducing their fuel consumption and emissions. CCOs and CDOs allow aircraft to optimise their flight paths, which also cuts emissions, as well as reduces noise. (Icao has reported that, at Brisbane, Australia, over a period of 18 months, PBN cut aircraft fuel consumption by 125 700 gallons, or 475 826 ℓ, and carbon dioxide emissions by 1 100 t, while, along the Toronto–Montreal route in Canada, PBN has reduced greenhouse-gas emissions by 14 300 t and cut fuel burn by 5.4-million litres each year.)

“The much-anticipated Gauteng Area PBN Programme (GAPP) has taken off and is expected to be completed by 2019,” he pointed out. “We are working very closely with Airports Company South Africa, [the South African Civil Aviation Authority] and the industry to ensure that the project is a success.”