IATA Africa Aviation Day 2013: Tyler Advocates IOSA For African Airlines

(L - R) Mr. Chris Ndulue, MD, Arik Air, and Mr. Tony Tyler, DG/CEO, IATA both sigining an MOU leading to the airline's membership with the global body.

The Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Mr. Tony Tyler, has called on Governments in Africa to make the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) mandatory for airlnes. He made the call while delivering his opening remarks at the 2013 IATA Africa Aviation Day held recently at the Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos. Mr. Tyler stressed that “No priority is greater than safety,” but expressed dismay that Africa’s performance was well below what is being achieved globally. He revealed that in 2012 African airlines had one accident (with a Western-built jet aircraft) for every 270,000 flights as against the global industry average of one accident for about every 5 million flights.

He however expressed optimism that within the same year “None of the 25 IATA members in Africa had an accident. He further noted that none of the 384 airlines on the IATA IOSA registry had a jet hull loss; including some three dozen carriers on the continent. “It is clear that IOSA is making a difference; not just in Africa, but in safety globally. In each year since 2008 when IOSA became a condition for IATA membership, IOSA carriers have performed better than those that have not been audited to its 900+ standards,” he declared.

Going by the recommendations leading up to the Abuja Declaration signed earlier in the year by African States, Tyler noted: African Governments have recognised the need to improve safety, adding that the Abuja Declaration sets out a comprehensive approach to reaching world-class safety by 2015. “I will take this opportunity, with so many African Governments represented here, to urge them to make IOSA mandatory. So far Egypt and Madagascar are the only governments on the African continent to have done so. More governments joining them will send a signal that Africa is serious about the Abuja Declaration commitments,” he remarked. He however stressed: “IOSA can assist governments in safety oversight, but it is not a substitute for effective safety oversight by civil aviation authorities.”