AVIATION safety is Africa's biggest challenge having a record 12 times worse than the rest of the world, said the director general and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Tony Tyler.

    "World-class safety is possible in Africa," he told the annual meeting of the Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA) at Umhlali, Kwa-Zulu Natal, 50 kilometres up the coast from Durban.

    "Twenty-four sub-Saharan African airlines are on the IATA Operational Safety Audit registry. Eighty per cent of African accidents between 2008 and 2010 involved carriers not on the registry," said Mr Tyler, who until his recent appointment as IATA chief was CEO of Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways.

    For example, he said, IATA provided flight data analysis to nine airlines who agreed to make use of it, resulting in a 56 per cent reduction in deviations from ideal flight trajectories.

    On security, he urged support for the Checkpoint of the Future. The Checkpoint of the Future is a "vision for risk-based screening taking advantage of passenger data" and evolving technology.

    "We are seeing great support for this vision from the US, the EU and other governments worldwide. We hope that the southern African states will also sign on to the key principles for the Checkpoint," said Mr Tyler.

    IATA, he said, deplored the development of "red lists" of states that cannot be trusted to participate in the global air transport system. "This is counter-productive and will isolate those states that most need the help of global standards," he said.

    On infrastructure, he said South Africa has world-class infrastructure. "But the 161 per cent increase in Airports Corporation South Africa (ACSA) charges allowed over the next five years is a clear indication that there is much that must be reformed. If charges are increased in line with this allowance, South Africa could have the most expensive airports in the world. That is not sustainable," he said.

    "Last year 21 million people and 240,000 tonnes of freight travelled to, from and within South Africa. Aviation is a critical component of the South African economy and indeed the economies of all states in Southern Africa. But this cannot be taken for granted. Positive policies are needed to drive aviation's significant economic benefits," he said.

    IATA urged a review of ACSA capital expenditure - excluding some developments in Cape Town and Johannesburg from the 2013 pricing permission calculation and allocating the proceeds from the sale of the old Durban airport to pay down ACSA's debt.

    Mr Tyler also advocated the elimination of differential pricing between international and domestic services and cross-subsidisation among airports, and finally he urged development of a strong independent regulatory framework which includes consultation with the industry.

    IATA also voice opposition to plans to include aviation in its economy-wide carbon tax as the EU has done.

    "This will be a competitive disadvantage for South African carriers and add to double counting of emissions under conflicting measures including the EU emissions trading scheme proposals as well as the environment-related departure taxes that are imposed in the UK, Germany, Austria and elsewhere," he said.

     "This is yet another reminder of why a global approach through ICAO [UN's International Civil Aviation organisation] is the way forward," Mr Tyler said.

(source:http://www.shippingonline.cn/news/newsList.asp?classname=News)