Civil Aviation Authority

Air news for October 2010 on aviation matters in Africa, Europe, Middle East Africa, Asia and United States of America. This article is reporting on new development for the Expansion of Ethiopian Airlines and the prospects for the now closed Durban International Airport being re-opened as an aviation facility.

Ethiopian Airlines to Embark On Major Ground-Bases Projects.

Ethiopian Airlines is soon to embark on a four star hotel construction project near its head office in Addis Ababa, as well as a number of other ground-based undertakings.

The airline has already acquired a plot of land in close proximity to its hub, Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. It has hired a Chinese construction firm, CATIC, which will construct the airlines first hotel that would primarily serve the carriers passengers.

Ethiopian CEO, Girma Wake, told word air news that the management decided to build its own hotel due to the hassle the airline faces in finding adequate decent rooms for transit passengers.

"Addis Ababa is the political capital of Africa where international organizations like the AU and UNECA HQS are found. The city frequently hosts major international conferences, and sometimes it is difficult for us to find enough rooms in standard hotels for our guests," Wake said.

The hotel will have 300 rooms, restaurants, bars, conference hails, swimming pool and all other required facilities. The estimated cost of the hotel is us$30-million and construction will begin at the end of this year. According to Wake construction may take three years to complete.

Also on Ethiopians development program me is finalizing preparations to construct a new maintenance hangar that will accommodate the Boeing Dream liner aircraft that the airline is expecting to take delivery of early in the New Year. Ethiopian has firm orders for ten B737-8 jetliners. Originally, delivery was slated for 2008-2010.

The Ethiopian MRO centre which has three hangars (the third one was inaugurated in 2006) is capable of providing maintenance and overhaul services on B767,757,737,707,727,DH6,ATR42,Fokker50 and L100 aircraft. Since the early 1960s, the MRO centre, licensed by the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority and FAA, has been providing technical services for other airlines.

Mesfin Tasew, maintenance and engineering department head of Ethiopia, told world Air news that the acquisition of the Dreamliner had prompted the airline to expand its MRO centre."We also need to boost our third party MRO business," Tasew said, adding that the design of the new and fourth hangar was being finalized.

In 2009 Ethiopian placed orders for 12 Airbus A350-900XWB,five Boeing 777-200LR,ten B737-800s and eight Bombardier Q400s .The airline has already received four of the Q400s aircraft and the remaining ones will be delivered by the end of this year.

Ethiopian currently operates a total of 40 aircraft-ten B767-300s, eight B757-200s,two B757-260Fs,two MD-11Fs,five B737-700NGs,two B737-800Ws,four Q400s and five Fokker 50s.

The airline is also planning to build a new cargo terminal at its hub to boost the capacity of the 1400 square metre freight terminal it opened in 2006.

Wake said the surge in the country's flower and meat export had prompted Ethiopian to build a new cargo terminal."Our cargo business is growing and we need a new facility that will accommodate the growing demand," Wake added.

In the 2008 -2009 fiscal Ethiopian hauled 101000 tons of cargo, representing an increase of 13% compared to that of the previous year."Ethiopian is an airline which is growing at a rate of 20% and we need to augment the growth", said Wake.

The airline is also planning to build a new HQ building and catering facility at its hub in Addis Ababa.

Check the EU's blacklisted airlines.

Is Meridian Airways, Africa Airways or Air Flamingo on the ticket for your next vacation, consider other options!

Along with more than 300 other companies, these companies are on the EU's growing list of airlines with "no-fly" in Europe.

The reason why companies end up on the list is that they can't document that they maintain a satisfactory safety standard.

If the airline companies end up on EU blacklist, the company's aircraft will not be allowed to land or take off at European airports.

If you fly in more exotic areas, it might be worth checking the list. Fortunately, airline accidents rarely happen, but I would not recommend anyone to sit in an airplane from a company that is on the list. There is a reason why it exists.

The list is updated regularly, and the two latest additions on the blacklist were added to the list in the beginning of September.

Meridian from Ghana Airways is on the list after a series of inspections by both the company's aircraft and facilities yielded extremely poor results, writes the EU-Commission on its website.

Airlift International, is also an airline company from Ghana, that according the European Commission, "a standard far below that required by international aviation."

Africa-dominance!

We can't compromise when it comes to aviation security. If we have evidence that an airline does not meet safety requirements, or if the authorities in a country fails to meet its obligations by enforcing safety standards, we must take steps to ensure that safety is not compromised, "said vice chairman of the European Commission, Siim Kallas, in a press release.

In 17 different countries, virtually all airlines are blacklisted. Most of these are African, but also in popular holiday and backpacker destinations like Indonesia and Philippines are the vast majority of airlines banned.

It's simply because the authorities in several of these countries do not have good enough security.

150 Norwegian controls annual.

The reason for black listing is comprehensive reports from the controls in the EU and EEA countries. Non-Norwegian-registered airplane's is also regularly checked in Norway.

Civil Aviation Safety Authority carries out 150 inspections each year with foreign companies. We have a checklist that contains 54 points. The list includes factors in the cockpit documentation in relation to the operator's skill, the crew license and equipment in the cabin, such as emergency equipment, fire extinguisher and something as simple as the seat belt works, "said Marit Kvarum, Information in the Civil Aviation Authority.

PS! Do not be fooled by airlines safe-sounding name. Among the companies on the list are seemingly secure companies such as Business Aviation, Air Trust and Safe Air Company.

The typical image people have of air traffic control (ATC) is that of a group of people in an airport tower who coordinate aircraft activity by staring at radar screens that use points of light to represent aircraft. While not fundamentally incorrect, this isn't a fair representation of the extent of ATC operations. This article will flesh out that simplistic image and introduce you to the equipment, technologies, and procedures that go into keeping aircraft and air travelers safe in the air and on the ground. We'll look at the way air traffic control is organized, and explore the communication technologies that air traffic controllers use to keep in touch with air crew and ground personnel. We'll also look at the radar technologies used to keep track of aircraft, and we'll end with a brief look at some next-generation technologies.

Safety and wake turbulence

The primary mandate of air traffic control is to ensure the safe transport of people and cargo by keeping aircraft at a safe distance from each other and expediting the flow of traffic. Air traffic controllers have access to sophisticated radar systems that provide an overview of the airspace they control, and they have communication tools to coordinate flight paths with the air crew. Pilots lack the tools necessary to get an overview of the airspace, so they have to rely on air traffic controllers to guide the aircraft through congested airspace.

Since aircraft travel at significantly higher speeds compared to other common modes of transport, the time available for pilots to react to a dangerous situation can be quite short. Thus it's essential that flight paths are carefully planned and managed to minimize the risk of a collision. This is especially true around major airports where the density of aircraft in a given volume of airspace is higher than average.

Turbulence created by wingtip vortices and exhaust gases from jet engines can be significant when aircraft are in close proximity. This phenomenon, called "wake turbulence," can adversely affect trailing aircraft if the distance between them falls below a certain limit. This limit depends on the mass of the two aircraft. For instance, a light aircraft following a heavy aircraft is more susceptible to wake turbulence than a heavy aircraft in the same situation. Therefore, aircraft approaching an airfield have to be carefully sequenced in a manner that takes such factors into consideration. Additionally, weather conditions such as low cloud, heavy rain, or snow blizzards can mean that pilots can't see other aircraft in the vicinity and have to use their instruments and instructions from air traffic control to navigate.
Types of ATC

Air traffic controllers are organized into various groups, each of which is in charge of handling a distinct portion of the aircraft's flight. Each group has a designated airspace that it controls, and aircraft are handed off to the next group of controllers as it approaches the limits of the prior group's airspace. The airspace controlled by each group is further divided into sectors that are themselves handled by individual controllers. The way these groups are organized varies from country to country and depends on the extent of controlled airspace and number of aircraft handled.

The Potomac TRACON facility controls approaches and departures in the airspace surrounding Baltimore Washington International, Washington Dulles, and Washington National airports.

The tower controllers are the most visible group. From their vantage point on the airport tower, they have a visual overview of all the important parts of the airport tarmac, such as runways and taxiways. Tower controllers monitor the airspace surrounding the airports and keep track of approaching and departing aircraft. At well-equipped airports, they may even have access to surface movement radar systems to monitor aircraft and support vehicles as they move on the ground.

Once the aircraft is in the air and clear of the airfield, tower control hands the aircraft off to a departure controller. These controllers are typically based at facilities a good distance from the airport. With the use of surveillance radars, they are able to monitor air traffic around the airport. These facilities are called Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facilities in the US. In an area like New York, where airports are close to one another, a TRACON facility can service multiple airports. The controllers here ensure that the planes approaching and departing the airspace they control are following designated flight paths and speeds. TRACON facilities also sequence the aircraft that are coming in to land, in order to ensure that they are adequately separated to minimize any wake turbulence effects. Departure controllers also need to take into account aircraft that may be flying through their airspace, and keep them separated from aircraft landing or taking-off.

As the aircraft exits the TRACON airspace, a facility known as an Area Control Center (ACC) takes over. These facilities monitor the aircraft's flight while in controlled airspace through remote radar stations. Each ACC will have a designated airspace that it supervises. An aircraft may fly through multiple ACC sectors as it flies to its destination, with each ACC handing off control of the aircraft to the next ACC as it exits the former's airspace. Once an aircraft gets closer to its destination airport, the ACC controllers hand off responsibility to the approach controllers at the local TRACON, who guide and sequence the aircraft to the active runway, and finally to the tower controllers.

ATC Radar Systems

Air traffic controllers use radar systems positioned at or near the ATC facility to get a real-time overview of the aircraft flying in the airspace they control. Radar technology for detecting aircraft first became popular during the wars in the first half of the last century and played a vital role in their outcome. First-generation radar systems served as early warning systems; these systems had relatively poor resolution, and their only purpose was to alert their operators to the presence of flying objects in the radar's field of view. These early radars operated by emitting a continuous radio signal and listening for any echos, but they weren't able to use these echos to gauge the size of the aircraft, calculate its ground speed or altitude, or determine if the aircraft belonged to an ally or the opposition.

After the war, radar technology was advanced with improved electronics and materials for antenna construction. This allowed for systems that were much more efficient and had higher resolution. The Air Traffic Controllers today are served by many types of radar equipment such as Primary Surveillance Radars (PSR), Secondary Surveillance Radars (SSR), and Mode S for monitoring traffic in the air, and Surface Movement Radars (SMR) for traffic on the ground.

Primary Surveillance Radar (PSR)

The Primary Surveillance Radar is the traditional form of radar that most people are familiar with. The radar sends a directed pulse into the atmosphere, and when that pulse encounters an object it gets reflected back to the radar station. By having precise knowledge of the orientation of the radar and the time between the sending and receiving of the radio pulse, the bearing of the object with respect to the radar station and its approximate distance can be calculated. The radar is typically enclosed in a dome to protect it from adverse weather. The PSR cannot determine the altitude or elevation of the aircraft relative to that of the radar station. For this to be possible, a second radar that sweeps the sky vertically would be required. However, such technology is typically only found in Precision Approach Radar installations at military facilities to assist pilots with landing aircraft.

The potential for an aircraft to be detectable by the PSR depends on its Radar Cross Section (RCS). The RCS depends on a number of factors, including the distance between the aircraft and the radar, and the size of the aircraft. A larger aircraft, for instance, would be visible at a greater distance than a smaller aircraft due to the larger surface area available for reflecting the radar waves. Other factors, such as reflectivity properties of the aircraft skin, the wavelength of the radar signal, and the angle at which the radar signal is incident on the aircraft (and thereby reflected), also play a part in how visible an aircraft is to the PSR.

Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR)

The Secondary Surveillance Radar system—or Air Traffic Control Radar Beacon System (ATCRBS) as it is sometimes referred to—is comprised of the ATC radar installation and a transponder that rides onboard the aircraft being monitored. The origins of SSR lie in the "identify friend or foe" system used by the military to distinguish allied and enemy aircraft. While a Primary Surveillance Radar listens for reflected radio signals, the Secondary Surveillance Radar listens for messages from the aircraft's transponder. The radar rotates about the vertical axis similar to a PSR, but transmits a specific signal on 1030 MHz. This signal is subsequently received by the aircraft's onboard transponder, which responds with a reply on 1090 MHz. Much like the PSR, the bearing and distance of the aircraft with respect to the radar installation can be calculated with precise knowledge of the orientation of the radar when the signal was transmitted.

The SSR system has many advantages over PSR. Firstly, since it doesn't rely on radio waves being reflected back by the aircraft, the radar cross section of the aircraft does not form a part of the equation. All aircraft in range of the radar, regardless of size, composition, or distance from the radar, can be "heard" equally well. Secondly, since the signal received by the radar originates on the aircraft, the signal is subject to less attenuation compared to a PSR signal. This is because the reflected PSR signal has to travel twice as much as the SSR signal. This also implies that the signal transmission power for an SSR can be much lower than that of a PSR.

While SSR has many advantages, the prime disadvantage is that the system needs a properly functioning transponder on the aircraft for it to work. An aircraft without a transponder would effectively be invisible to the SSR. For this reason, PSRs are still used as a backup mechanism in most parts of the world. The Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) in the US (and similar regulations in most countries) require aircraft operating in air traffic controlled airspace to have an operational transponder.

SSR Modes

The signal transmitted by the SSR is termed the "interrogation signal." There are different modes of interrogation that compliant transponders respond to. Civil aircraft typically respond to interrogation modes A and C.

In Mode A, the transponder responds with its squawk code, a unique identifier for the aircraft assigned by ATC comprising of four octal numbers. This code enables ATC to differentiate between the various aircraft being monitored, though it can also be used to discretely communicate the existence of an emergency situation onboard the aircraft. For instance, a squawk code of 7500 indicates that the aircraft has been hijacked, and a squawk code of 7600 indicates that the pilots are unable to communicate with ATC.

In Mode C, the transponder responds with the aircraft's pressure altitude, which is the altitude above sea level as calculated using the barometric reading at the aircraft's altitude. The altitudes reported are in 100-feet increments. This information is vital for ATC to ensure that aircraft flying in close proximity have adequate vertical separation.

Mode S is an improved secondary surveillance mode, and it operates over the same radio frequencies as SSR, making it backwards compatible. While Modes A and C in the legacy SSR system "broadcast" an interrogation message to all aircraft in the path of the radar beam, Mode S selectively interrogates individual aircraft using a 24 bit identifier that is assigned to the aircraft upon registration.

Mode S has a number of advantages over Modes A and C, the first of which is that its selective interrogation approach reduces the workload on the system, as it might be inundated with SSR replies in heavily congested airspace. Secondly, the legacy SSR system allowed for a transponder identification code of only four octal digits (12 bits) that yielded just 4096 codes (not including reserved codes) which were assigned by ATC. To complicate matters, this could be different for the same aircraft in different ATC sectors. As the number of aircraft increased over the past few decades, there was a scarcity in the number of available transponder codes, but move to a 24 bit addressing system alleviated the problem. Finally, the altitude reporting in Mode C was in increments of 100 feet, but this was improved to increments of 25 feet, allowing controllers to have a more accurate picture of aircraft positions.
Surface Movement Radar (SMR)

The airfield can be a busy place, with pushback tugs, tractors with baggage containers in tow, refuelling trucks, catering trucks, airport security vehicles, and (of course) aircraft. While the PSR and SSR provide controllers with an overview of aircraft in the air, the surface movement radar provides a real-time view of aircraft and support vehicles on the ground at airports. Most modern airports have Ground Control in charge of ensuring that critical patches of the airport tarmac such as active runways and taxiways are safe for moving aircraft.

Ground Control can observe all moving vehicles and aircraft on a radar screen overlaid on a map of the airport. As the objects being tracked by an SMR are relatively smaller than those tracked by a PSR or SSR, the radar uses a much shorter wavelength (and correspondingly higher frequency) with a narrow beam for a higher resolution result. Depending on the size of the airport, multiple installations of this sort may be required to cover all the critical parts of the airport. Enhancements to this basic system include having airport support vehicles installed with transponders that can be queried to ascertain location. Similarly, aircraft transponders can be queried to augment the radar display with call signs. Information from the tower radar can also be incorporated to display approaching aircraft. Newer systems can even aurally warn controllers of potential runway incursions and conflicts, so that action can be taken in time to avoid disaster. Such a system is generally called an Airport Movement Area Safety System.

Unfavorable weather conditions such as heavy rain and fog can lead to a reduction in visibility, making it difficult to monitor the tarmac. Runway incursions are a constant danger in such challenging conditions. A runway incursion is described by ICAO (International Civil Aviation Authority) as the incorrect presence of an aircraft, vehicle, or person on the protected area of a surface designated for the landing and take-off of aircraft. The Tenerife Airport Disaster, the deadliest accident in aviation history, was as a result of two aircraft colliding with each other on the runway. The incident occurred in heavy fog and at a time when the air traffic controller on duty could not see the two aircraft, nor could the two pilots see each other. A more recent incident that highlights the importance of the surface movement radar in emergency situations is the crash of british airways flight 038 on the threshold of runway 27L at London Heathrow Airport.

Air-Ground Voice Communication

In the early years of aviation, when there were fewer planes in the sky than we have today and there was not much need for pilots to communicate with ground personnel, signalling was often done using lights and flags. But with an increase in aircraft, a more efficient and unambiguous two-way communication system became necessary. At the same time, radio technology was progressing, and it became feasible for aircraft to have radio transceivers on board.

Aircraft communication in the early years was over the HF (High Frequency) range of the radio spectrum. In the US, each airline company had its own dedicated radio frequency over which company pilots communicated with their operators on the ground. But over time, with an increase in airliner companies and air traffic, this system soon led to a depletion in the available frequencies on the spectrum. The problem was resolved by setting up a common entity that provided air traffic coordination services. This allowed for a better use of the available radio spectrum, as pilots communicated with air traffic personnel over common frequencies. Over time, this system evolved to the air traffic control system we have today.

Modern civil aviation uses the HF (High Frequency) and VHF (Very High Frequency) parts of the spectrum for communication between aircraft and ATC. Military aviation in various countries are also known to operate in UHF (Ultra High Frequency). Early air to ground voice communication was over HF, but VHF started to get adopted in the 1930s and 1940s.

VHF communication

VHF is the predominant frequency range used by civil aviation in most parts of the world, and communication usually happens over the 118 MHz to 138 MHz frequency range via an amplitude modulated (AM) signal. (FM radio, in comparison, is over frequencies from 87 MHz to 108 MHz in most countries, and is of course, frequency modulated.) The frequency 121.5 MHz is reserved for emergencies in the VHF frequency range.

VHF transmissions rely heavily on a line-of-sight between the transmitter and receiver. This doesn't necessarily mean a visual line-of-sight, however, but a "radio line-of-sight" in the VHF part of the spectrum. Solid structures, such as buildings or the earth's surface, tend to attenuate the signal (or reduce its strength). Additionally, atmospheric layers do not refract or reflect VHF waves well. Due to these characteristics of VHF propagation, and due to the curvature of the earth, an aircraft below a VHF transmitter's radio horizon would typically fall outside its range. Thus the nature of the terrain and the height of the aircraft above the ground plays a part in determining whether it is in range of a given ground station operating over VHF frequencies.

For instance, the range would be severely curtailed for low-flying aircraft in hilly areas or urban areas with tall skyscrapers. In such cases, signal repeaters can be used to increase coverage. Theoretically, an aircraft at cruise altitude, flying in ideal weather conditions with a good quality transceiver can expect to communicate with a station unobstructed by hilly terrain about 200 nautical miles away (370 kilometers or 230 miles). In less than ideal real-world conditions however, this range can be significantly lower.

VHF operating frequencies are allocated to ATC stations in such a way that they do not interfere with each other, and since VHF relies on line-of-sight, frequencies can be reused by other distant stations. A typical activity for controllers is to pass on the frequency used by the next ATC sector to the pilot as the aircraft exits the ATC's airspace.

HF communication

When flying over large expanses of water, VHF communication, due to its line-of-sight nature becomes unusable. Additionally it would be impractical to construct, operate and maintain VHF relay stations in the middle of the ocean. So in these situations, HF can be used to communicate with an aircraft below the station's horizon and often many thousands of nautical miles away. In some cases, HF transmissions are known to have been successfully received on the other side of the planet. Thus pilots flying certain oceanic routes that are outside radar coverage use HF to periodically report their position to the oceanic control station for the sector they are flying in.

HF has some major drawbacks that make it impractical for more widespread applications. First, HF signal propagation is highly dependent on atmospheric conditions and solar activity, making HF communication comparatively noisy and unreliable. Due to this variability, ATC stations operating over HF have a number of alternative frequencies that they can operate over, and they switch to the frequency with the best signal propagation characteristics at the time.

It's also the case that HF signals have a longer wavelength than VHF signals, so the antennas used for transmitting and receiving are much larger, as well. And HF transmitters also operate at a higher power, since the receivers may potentially be hundreds of nautical miles away.

Next-generation Technologies

The aviation industry has been relatively conservative in its approach to adopting new technologies, so a number of the systems described so far are based on technology that has been around for at least a few decades. This conservatism is primarily attributable to the safety and reliability considerations that must be taken into account when making changes to existing equipment and procedures.

While tried-and-true systems do provide the required safety, this safety may at times come at the cost of efficiency. Critics of the current air traffic control systems claim that efficiency gains of many percentage points remain to be realized by more intelligent routing in controlled airspace that allows for lower separation distances between aircraft.

Currently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US is studying the implementation of various next-generation technologies to improve the efficiency of the ATC system while retaining or improving the level of safety. Next generation will incorporate global positioning satellites, digital communication networks, data networking, and improved weather forecasting to improve efficiency. Of all the technologies being considered, Automatic Dependant Surveillance (ADS-B) is being billed as the the future of air traffic control and as the backbone of the NextGen system.

Automatic Dependant Surveillance—Broadcast (ADS-B)

ADS-B is a relatively new technique (compared to use of primary and secondary surveillance radar) to monitor aircraft. The technique uses the global positioning system (GPS) to provide an accurate report of an aircraft's position. As the name suggests, this is a broadcast technique where an aircraft equipped with an ADS-B transponder routinely broadcasts data. Using similar information from all aircraft, the air traffic controllers can build an accurate picture of aircraft positions. ADS-B is able to provide information not unlike an SSR, but without the requirement for a radar installation or transmissions from a ground station.

The aircraft typically transmits its identity, current position, speed, and direction of travel (among other parameters) over a digital link, twice every second. Due to the broadcast nature of the data, other aircraft in the region can also receive this information and provide their pilots with an overview of the traffic in the neighborhood as well. One of the advantages of the ADS-B system is that the receiver can be relatively simple and inexpensive. Another advantage is that ground vehicles at the airport can use the same system to report their location on the airport tarmac which can be incorporated into the Airport Movement Area Safety System described earlier.

One of the disadvantages of ADS-B is that the system relies on the GPS system for accurate reporting of position information. Loss or degradation of the GPS signal could potentially put lives in danger. This can be mitigated to an extent by alternative sources of positioning information such as the European Galileo project, the Russian GLONASS project or the Chinese Beidou project, when they become fully operational. The other disadvantage is that a malfunctioning or inoperative transponder could render the aircraft invisible, or worse, broadcast false information. This is one reason for the continued use of surveillance radars as backup. Given the relative simplicity and cost-effectiveness of building an ADS-B transponder (compared to surveillance radars) and the open nature of the system, critics fear it is also a security hazard as it would in theory be possible to spoof data to represent aircraft that don't actually exist.

Listening to ATC and Tracking Aircraft

ATC and pilots communicate over open, well-advertised frequencies. Since VHF communication takes place using frequencies between 118 MHz to 138 MHz, a frequency range not commonly available on general purpose radio receivers, a scanner that can tune into these frequencies is required. It isn't unusual for serious aviation enthusiasts to invest in a good quality scanner to listen to their local air traffic controllers and pilots. Sites such as live ATC stream ATC broadcasts from various ATC facilities in the world. One must, however, exercise caution and check local laws first, as listening to ATC is illegal in certain jurisdictions. HF communications also occur over open, well-advertised frequencies and, unlike VHF, general purpose shortwave radios often have the frequency range to tune into oceanic ATC. Due to the nature of HF propagation, it may be possible to listen to controllers thousands of miles away, but the reception quality will vary.

The ADS-B system, as it operates currently, is an open system as well. It is possible to purchase an ADS-B receiver for as little as $600. A number of enthusiast sites such as flightradar24 (Scandinavian region), Zurich University of Applied Sciences' School of Engineering radar site (Switzerland) and Casper(Netherlands) provide an overview of aircraft in their region by listening to ADS-B transmissions.

Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, wants to double its flights to India following highly successful bilateral agreement between top aviation officials of Bahrain and India.

The agreement between Bahrain’s civil aviation affairs and their Indian counterpart gives Gulf Air operating rights to Hyderabad on a daily basis. It also grants the airline additional rights for daily services to Kochi and Kolkata.

The agreement which was concluded after two-day discussions between the civil aviation authorities from India and Bahrain. The Indian civil aviation delegation was led by Mr. R.K. Singh, joint secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, and deputy secretary Government of India, Mr. M.S. Chopra along with the civil aviation director for Regulation and Information Mr. K.P. Maggon and other senior officials from Indian aviation.

The Kingdom of Bahrain was led by the undersecretary for civil aviation affairs, Capt. Abdulrahman Al Gaoud.

“This bilateral aviation agreement is a testament to the longstanding strong relations between Bahrain and India and this will further strengthen our symbiotic relations.” said Bahrain civil aviations affairs undersecretary Capt. Abdulrahman Al Gaoud, who led the Bahrain delegation to the high-level talks in Delhi.

Gulf Air’s president and chief executive Mr. Naf, who is on his first visit to India, hailed the agreement as a historic and momentous development for the airline, which is the sole national carrier of Bahrain.

“The success of this swift bilateral aviation agreement between the kingdom of Bahrain and India presents a golden opportunity for the two countries to further boost their economic and cultural development.”

“Being the first Middle East carrier to operate to India, Gulf Air considers this as a token of appreciation for its long term commitment to serve India. And as part of our efforts to be the airline of choice, we are looking at the rapidly growing India market as one of our stepping stones to success,” says Mr. Naf.

He added that Gulf Air has aggressively embarked on its expansion plans with the recent announcement of the Boeing 787 order valued at nearly US$ 6 billion in list prices.

Commenting on Gulf Air’s expansion in the country, Mr. Rajeev Nambiar, general manager of Gulf Air, India, said he was delighted with the outcome of the high-level talks.

“Gulf Air has been witnessed tremendous growth in India and we look forward to strengthening our presence in the country which has one of the worlds’ fastest growing economies. Indian market has always been a key focus area for Gulf Air and added capacity shall compliment our services to Indian travelers.” added Mr. Nambiar.

The travelers needs updates on matters of air transport on nearly a monthly basis to be able to plan for their holidays .Many events do take place and thus the need for the stakeholders to be informed and no which steps to take for whichever event.

Travelers Within East Africa States To Pay For Safety Fees

The Civil Aviation Safety & Security Oversight Agency (Cassoa), are proposing for a safety fee to be charged on air travel within East Africa state countries namely, Kenya,Uganda,Tanzania,Rwanda and Burundi of usd 0.7 in order to strengthen the organization, whose activities are expected to include those of the civil aviation authorities of the blocs five member countries. The member states have up to March this year to decide on the proposed charge. This charge is likely to marginally raise air travel costs in the region at a time when it is seeking to attract more tourists while competing with cheaper destinations. This proposal has to be approved by finance ministers of each of the five countries. They have already agreed that everything should be done to support the two-year-old EAC institution, the first regional civil aviation safety oversight in Africa, whose creation has been hailed by the aviation fraternity world over. The fee will be charged on every embarking passenger by the respective CAA in each country on behalf of the agency, which was established by the East Africa Community in 2007 to oversee the development of effective civil aviation safety and security oversight in the region. The measure is intended to raise the budget of the institution, whose current financing strategy that includes contributions from the partner states, is seen as unsustainable. The agency, temporarily hasted at the East African Community headquarters in Arusha, will soon be relocating its permanent head office to Uganda and its establishment makes the community the only region in Africa to have harmonized civil aviation regulations.

New Flights To Florida And The West Coast of The United States

Alitalia will be offering two new intercontinental routes: Milan Malpensa-Miami, from 3rd June 2010: and Rome Fiumicino-Los Angeles, as from 5th June 2010.This means that the Italian airline will be connecting Italy to the West Coast of the United States and Florida with direct flights.

New exclusive services will be reserved for passengers travelling in magnifica class on the ground and on board, such as dedicated check-in counters and exclusive lounges. The airline has also extended its European network by opening two new international routes: from Rome Fiumicino to Vienna and Malaga. As from March twelve flights a week on the Rome-Vienna route have been available and on 31st May 2010 this will increase up to fourteen flights a week. The Rome-Malaga route will be served by daily flights.

Airline News

Air Algerie Includes One of The new ATR 72-500 of The 4 Ordered In 2009.

The National airline Air Algerie took delivery recently of the first ATR 72-500 of the 4 ordered in 2009.This aircraft was delivered during a ceremony organized in Toulouse.

Air Algerie, which already operates 8 ATR 72-500s, will increase the size of its fleet to 12 with the delivery, during 2010, of the remaining 3 aircraft order. Consequently .Air Algerie will become the largest operator of ATRs on the African continent.

The 4 new ATR 72-500 are configured in the 66 seat version will enable the national airline to propose an optimized service to its passengers, by offering more frequent flights and by opening new routes, in particular to certain regions in the South of the Mediterranean basin.

The manufactures of ATR aircrafts will assist Air Algerie with the commissioning, installation and operation of anew flight simulator, which is part of the plans of the airline to open a training center for pilots in Algeria.

Signing of Boeing Maintenance Tool Attracts Key African Clients.

Kenya Airways and TAAG Linhas Aereas de Angola have signed up for the Boeing Maintenance Performance Toolbox, as part of each airlines program to enhance efficiency and improve dispatch reliability through the use of e-enabled technologies.

Toolbox comprises six different tools in one easy-to-use suite of software products that an airline can employ to tailor an efficient solution to its specific need.TAAG and Kenya Airways each ordered Toolbox for use on multiple Boeing jetliner models.

The Managing Director/CEO Kenya Airways Mr. Naikuni said with this new technology of Toolbox it will enable Kenya Airways to improve efficiency and quality in maintenance processes. He further stressed the Toolbox will improve the accuracy of the documentation on Kenya Airways fleet to benefit the entire maintenance team.

Kenya Airways next Generation 737,767, and 777 fleets will be equipped with Toolbox .The airlines 737,767 fleets will utilize three modules each (library, Authoring Systems) while its 767 will use the Library module.

TAAG will employ Toolbox on its Next-Generation 737 and 777 fleets. Each fleet type will utilize four modules: Library, Authoring, Systems and Structures.

SAA Called On To Draw Crowds

South Africa Airways should play a major role in stimulating tourism in order to counter indications that visitors to the FIFA World Cup would be fewer than expected , by offering return fares of usd999(R7372.15) to this country from anywhere in the world., Marion Ambrosini, a member of the parliamentary portfolio committee on public enterprises, suggested recently.

According to Ambrosini this would result in the huge increase in international tourists hoped for when it was decided to host the World Cup 2010 and justify the multibillion-rand investment in infrastructure by the government and local authorities, and the millions spent by private investors in hotels and other tourism accommodation.

A research done on internet reveals that the fares available from London to New York on June 5 and returning July 15 would cost less than R5,000.There is very little difference in price between carriers. Whereas fares from London to Johannesberg on the same dates could cost between R7006 on KLM to over R12000 on Emirates with SAA coming in at R8347.

Checking on internet on accommodation sites it shows that the prices are in many instances being trebled or more for the duration of the World Cup. A guest house in Bloemfontein advertises accommodation in March at R500 per night per person, in June this rockets to R5000 per person per night.

Mr. Ambrosini further suggested that subsidized fares on SAA would be one way that South Africa would get its money back. The national carrier is currently under pressure to remain profitable and has been refused recapitalization for a new fleet when the leases on its domestic and regional aircraft began to expire this year. Thus forcing it to arrange short-term leases.

At present domestic airlines are maintaining that airfares will not be increased over the June/July period despite reports to the contrary.

You can organize and be a group of 115 and you can charter B737-300 to South Africa for FIFA World Cup 2010 do not miss your dream of watching the World Cup In South Africa because the scheduled flights are full ,there are private charter flights you can charter too. Private Executive Jet Like Citation Bravo 550 Jet 7 seater for business executive who wants to watch their favorite teams when they are playing and on finals if they make it.

You can combine your safari to Africa and watching of FIFA World Cup in South Africa don't miss on this it is the only chance that you have to combine safari and sporting events.

The aviation industry or air transport is one of the most sensitive industries today especially after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Almost all countries have tightened security within their airports through their local civil aviation authorities. Over the years, the industry has seen tremendous growth through good regulations, systemic facilitation guided by the use of ultra-modern information communication technologies, high safety standards as well as gigantic investments in the current trends of automation. This facilitation is also compounded by good relations or well-structured consultative mechanisms with government agencies like the customs union employees who are situated in regional, local and international airports.

On the other side of the story the provision of airport, aircraft, passenger and cargo security has increasingly led to delays, passenger discomforts, intermittent earnings in the aviation industry, collapse of local tourism in many countries, as well as the loss of customer confidence in the services provided as well as good will.

ANALYSIS:

DEFINITIONS:

The United Nations commission for Europe has led to wide rage acceptance of the fact that trade facilitation could be defined in a simple manner as the process of simplifying and harmonizing all procedures associated with international trade and any information channels that might be associated with them.

Civil aviation authorities on the other hand have been unable to come up with a congruent definition of aviation security. Even in the wider sense, there is no universally acceptable definition of security. For the purposes of analyzing this paper we shall assume that aviation security generally refers to the mechanisms of surveillance, inspection and supervision of passengers and their luggage's as well as cargo in all areas under the jurisdiction of an airport including the reception counters.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FACILITATION AND SECURITY IN THE AVIATION INDUSTRY:

Airport security is supposed to provide a compromising role to facilitation in order to enable the smooth running of the aviation industry. Although this is not always the case, there has been a remarkable interrelationship between the two roles in harmonizing the aviation industry.

In the passenger, handling segment the introduction of biometric strips for identification of passengers has had positive effects. In this field, it has become easier to identify passengers and this has reduced the necessity for stringent identification processes.

This has resulted in reducing unnecessary delays or long queues before departures; in addition, it has helped to improve security, as the biometrics is almost 100 percent tamper proof. Such arrangements have further reduced the operating costs of not only the firms involved in the industry but also the cost of local authorities that are supposed to provide general security in the airports.

In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, many passenger flights restricted the kind and quantity of luggage passengers could carry on board. This has facilitated quicker inspection of passengers as well as increasing aviation security since most of the luggage left is now usually transported by specific cargo flights that have no passengers on board.

In the cargo operations division increased security not only on the handling of lofty price consignments but also the handling of hazardous or dangerous commodities has led to the facilitation of better and safer transportation mechanisms.

Although airport facilitation and security may be seen as compromising elements it is usually the case than not that whenever there are, pertinent issues that need to be addressed the security side usually supersedes the facilitation.

Thus, despite their interrelationship it is necessary to have aviation industry forums setup for purposes of consultation on facilitation and security issues from time to time.

In such forums, issues of legitimacy or legality of certain security decisions that appear to be counter-productive or counter-facilitative needs to be addressed. In such cases, a compromise should be reached in order for the security to be maintained and facilitation within the industry guaranteed.

It may be true to say that many facilitation goals or objectives have failed to be realized because of the security initiatives or decisions undertaken. This has resulted in people adopting alternative transportation systems because they feel violated by excessive security checks at airports. In addition to this there appears to be a lack of interest within the concerned stakeholders to address these issues.

To promote a symbiotic relationship between facilitation and security many governments have failed to entertain alternative transportation of cargo e.g. by rail, road or by sea. Surprisingly these modes are cheaper than air transport and if utilized guided by laid down procedures and policies they would go a long way in facilitating aviation security.

To combine civil aviation security and facilitation is not an easy task. That is why from the onset of the September 11 terrorist attacks many countries have tried to set up a national strategy for aviation security. This has been prompted by the fact that the aviation industry is very precarious. It is a major facilitator of international trade through the movement of people, mail, and cargo from various points to various destinations globally.

Due to this fact certain governments or civil aviation authorities have gone ahead to ban certain aircrafts or airlines from operating in their airports. This decision has helped to facilitate aviation operations since all airlines will be constantly being trying to meet certain security features or elements. This will ultimately go a long way in harmonizing the facilitation and security of the aviation industry.

CRITIQUE:

Despite the interrelationship between facilitation and security, we have to realize that the security side is more important especially in these days of neo-terrorism. It would be unwise to have excellent facilitation if our lives will always be on danger the moment we enter international airports.

Thus, in this sense it is better to have an acceptable security system in place and then trying ways that will help in formulation of facilitation systems that will compensate the security arrangements. The only we can achieve this security is by integrating the global activities of all private and public aviation security in to a well coordinated chain that will help to reduce air vulnerabilities, prevent, detect or deter aviation security threats.

CONCLUSION:

The analysis of this paper was aimed at finding out the nature of the relationship that exists between the concepts of facilitation and security in the field of aviation security operation. Many scholars have tried to argue that facilitation and security can be equated to the two sides of a coin. What most of these people have failed to realize is that you can never see the two sides of the said coin at the same time. With respect to this am afraid to say that unfortunately whenever this coin is tossed the probability is usually that the security side of the coin will always carry the day.

Indeed there is some progress as some of the Southern and Eastern Africa countries are striving to ensure they maintain safety standards.

Safety Management Systems at Proflight Zambia

Proflight Zambia operates charter and scheduled flights into bush airstrips and major airports in and around Zambia.Proflight operates 12 aircraft with around 25 pilots.

The safety Management System (SMS), developed in 2008 helps them to create a safe working environment, in which unsafe acts and conditions are eliminated. Safety of any operation is always the first consideration when evaluating methods and means of accomplishing any operational goals .Proflight Zambia has continually improved the safety of their operations by identifying, eliminating or mitigating any deficiencies in conditions, policies or procedures.

It was a challenging task for the Safety Officer for implementing the first SMS for the company. They have progressed from a basic reporting system to a more complex system incorporating categories of reporting and a disciplined approach towards maintaining a log-all aiming towards creating a method through which safety goals and targets can be set and trends can be obtained and monitored. The groundwork involved all departments within the company, compiling ideas and developing a template through which we could develop a safety manual as a guidance tool for safety management.

Meetings with both management and flight crew were held to introduce the ideologies of the SMS and also to discuss ideas. After the meeting and exchanging ideas reporting forms being used were created.A simple standard reporting form with sections for relevant safety matters, i.e incident, occurrence, hazard,etc is easy for flight crew and staff to fill out, factoring in confidentiality. Their Flight Dispatch department is required to include these safety forms in each captain's folder for their flights each day, so that crews have ready access to these forms when away from base. All of the safety forms used are designed to accommodate all operations by Proflight Zambia. Their forms are a combination of best practices obtained from the South Africa Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA), Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) in Australia and Flight Safety Foundations GAIN programmes "Operators Flight Safety Handbook".

They have a whiteboard in the Flight Dispatch office as one effective method we use for reporting hazards. Pilots may report hazards with a brief description, mentioning the date and location and outlining the actions taken to eliminate this hazard. These hazards can then be reviewed by other crews reporting for duty that may be operating a flight into an aerodrome or area where this hazard was first identified. They operate a scheduled and charter services into many remote parts and game reserves of Zambia, where bird hazards, animal activity and runway surface hazards have been identified. All serious hazards go through a risk analysis outlined in the SMS,which is reviewed by the company's key safety personnel consisting of the CEO,Operations Managers, Fleet Managers and Maintenance Director. Decisions are then made on the most effective ways of mitigating these hazards.

Since 2008, through the implementation of the SMS they have had a marked increase in their reported incidents, occurrences, bird strike reports and hazards as compared to previous years. This amount of reporting has assisted us in identifying problem areas. In turn, this has notably brought about a drop in the number of incidents. A strong reporting system has proven to be beneficial, resulting in better management of maintenance related issues, incidents due to hazards, and ATC related events and operational matters that have been acted on or eliminated since.

The development of the SMS at Proflight has definitely brought about greater ‘safety awareness' to the limitations and risks posed due to hazards and occurrences-and has proven to be an effective tool, which we highly recommend for aviation organizations to develop and implement. The SMS at Proflight Zambia is constantly evolving and we make necessary amendments to keep a ‘just culture' and ensure safety is first priority in all of our operations.

They would like to further their SMS by sharing information and data with non-confidential content to learn from experiences of other operators in this part of Africa.Currently, in Zambia they do not have any means through which safety information can be shared effectively between operators.Alsodue to limited Internet access, many organizations and safety staff cannot access safety data relevant to their operations and geographic locations. Sharing this, through the launch of the Safety Focus magazine by the Aviassist Foundation, would be an incredible way for aviation safety professionals in Eastern & Southern Africa target audiences that would otherwise not have access to this information.

All in all, we would like to commend the Aviassist Foundation for running many courses in the region that have benefited aviation organizations, especially smaller organizations with limited budgets. The introduction of the Safety Focus flagship magazine may just provide a unique and effective communication link between airlines in this part of the world, promoting an even stronger drive for improving aviation safety in Africa.

CASSOA Gets Into Action

The East Africa Community Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (CASSOA) conducted a two-week workshop on Aviation Security Threat Assessment and Risk Management in Mombasa,Kenya.The two week training aimed at developing capacity on threat assessment and risk management in the civil aviation sector. It attracted more than 90 aviation and security experts in the region.

The main objectives of CASSOA are to ensure coordinated development of an effective and sustainable civil aviation safety and security oversight infrastructure in the East African Community.CASSOA works on the basis of a 5 year strategic plan. In prioritizing the safety challenges that it needs to address, it uses the ICAO audit reports as well as an ICAO Gap analysis. The five partner states (Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania & Uganda) are required to implement developed corrective action plans from their ICAO audits. Neither CASSOA nor individual partner states have adequate financial and technical capacities to address all these issues sustainably individually.

CASSOA moved from Arusha, Tanzania to its permanent headquarters in Entebbe, Uganda earlier this year.

ICAO .Africa Safety Plan Beating Its Targets

The first phase of the International Civil Aviation Organization –led African Comprehensive Implementation Programme (ACIP) ,launched in 2007, has completed much of its work a year a head of target, says ICAOs Secretary general Raymond Benjamin. The AFI plan has three "focus areas": establishing and maintaining an effective and sustainable safety oversight system, assisting states to resolve identified deficiencies [identified under the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme] and enhancing the aviation safety culture.

ICAO has boosted staffing at its African offices to co-ordinate the plan, largely depending on the regional pooling of safety oversight resources and expertise.

Expenditure on oversight often features low on the list of political priorities in Africa. When officials have received their training for an inspector's job, their new skills are more highly rewarded in the private than public sectors, so they leave. Pooling in one way of enabling expertise to be rewarded, and thus retained. The first regional authority, the Banjul Accord Group, is in operation, other agreements are in formation. Adoption of CIP going forward to 2015 is on the agenda for the ICAO assembly last month.

Towards Joint Safety Oversight In SADC

ICAO facilities international aviation regulatory harmonization through a program dubbed "Cooperative Operational Safety and continuing Airworthiness Program"(COSCAP).Each COSCAP concentrates on a group of African States. With four COSCAP projects underway in Africa, Botswana is the host country for the COSCAP project affecting the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) States and this project is funded by SADC.

Common goals of the COSCAPs are to harmonize regulations & procedures between the participating states,15 in the case of SADC.COSCAP aims to harmonize best practices for Air Operator Certification & Inspection (surveillance).The ultimate goal is to establish a(semi-) permanent regional safety organization, mandated to carry out some or all of the certification and surveillance functions on behalf of the SADC States. The regional organization could also function as a training resource center.

COSCAP-SADC has developed an electronic database to track implementation of the comprehensive training plan for SADC state and regional inspectors. A Flight Safety Working Group (FSWG) has been established. It is composed of ICAO technical experts, regional technical and legal specialists from the SADC States and technical partners donated by the Federal AVIATION Administration for the purpose of facilitating regulatory and procedural harmonization. A key achievement of COSCAP SADC has been the development of a Model Civil Aviation Act and generic regulations, approved by the project steering committee.

These approved generic regulations are intended to be incorporated into each states own regulatory safety system. They will serve as the instrument for regulatory harmonization in the SADC states. Upon adoption, the SADC states civil aviation regulations conform to Annexes 1,6 and 8.

Piloting has become the most demanding career and hence the need to have well established training institutions that care about time, the completion of the syllabus within the stipulated duration.

Qualification for One to Enroll As a Pilot.

You require to first have educational qualification up to ‘O' Level that is Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education with a minimum grade of C+ or above with C+ in Mathematics, English and any Science Subject and recently you must pass Geography and even a Degree or a Masters.

Admission to a Training Pilot Institution.

You will sit for an aptitude paper combining Mathematics, English and General papers which before you sit you will pay anon-refundable fee of kshs 50,000=00 which includes 3 flying lessons to check your capability of handling the aircraft and if you a pilot born or a pilot to be made. Once you pass the aptitude you will go for medical check up with one of the approved Kenya Civil Aviation Authority doctors to check your health and eyesight o determine whether you are fit to fly thereafter if you pass the medical tests you will then proceed to apply for your Students Pilots License which will enable you to start your flying lessons as you will be also covered by insurance incase of any incident or accident before obtaining the SPL you will be flying at your own risk.

Training Programme

(A)Private Pilots License (PPL).

At this stage it is the initial and you are required to attain 55 flying hours before sitting for your flight test for a bright student and for slow learners it will go up to 75 hrs and above. There theory ground school learning you will undergo in Navigation, Meterology, Airlaw and Aircraft performance weight & balance which you must pass before you sit for your air test. It does matter how good you are in flying but it is a must for you to pass theory exams. The flight training will cost you for bright students kshs 870,000=00 including ground school and the duration should be 3 months if the weather is fine and you have the finances. The above training cost is only valid unless the government does not increase fuel or cost per mile or cost of spares and if they do the cost will be increased accordingly and it does increase up to 10% and at most 15% so when budgeting mark up the above price with 15% to be on the safe side. When you start flying if you are bright when you hit 20 hrs you should be able to go your first solo flight that is fly alone without an instructor and the law requires you to have attained 17 years. You can start training as a pilot when 16 yrs and a half by concentrating more on theory and when you attain 17 you will have at least finished your grounds go your first solo flight and start flying continues and finish you PPL as you don't have to finish your secondary education to start flying. By the time you are through with your ‘O' Levels you will be already with your PPL and start pursuing your Commercial Pilots License. You will be trained on C-152/150 and PA28.

(B) Commercial Pilots License.

You will only qualify to do your Commercial Pilots License after passing your Private Pilots License. It will take upto 8 month to 1 year for bright students and for those with finances and with good weather. There are 11 subjects to be covered in theory and you must pass before sitting for your flight test. At this level you have to sacrifice you time minimize your social life, be dedicated and hardworking person to be able to complete this level and for bright students you will qualify after doing 145 flying hours on A Cessna 150/152,PA28, C-172/C-182 which will cost approximately kshs 2.3 million.

( C ) Multi-IR Training

This is the final stage and you will require 50 hrs training but you can use the C-172/C-182 with instruments which will reduce the cost for 30 hrs and the rest on twin engine and this will cost you less. You will sit for a technical type rating exam on the aircraft you will training you Instrument Rating and Multi. Once you pass you will then do a form 64 to get the aircraft endorsement on you licenses do your Multi Rating then you Instrument training which will cost you approximately kshs 1.5 million. Once you have you Mult IR then you are assured to get a job with Kenya Airways or one of the airlines or general aviation charter companies in Kenya.

The total cost will be 4.8 million for you to become a full pilot. But people do arrange themselves in a such way they do it in pits due to finances and finally the make it do think you need the whole 4.8 million that is a white lie. You can even work and take early morning lessons or late evenings lessons for flying and attend weekend classes for your theory and complete your training.

After your Private Pilots License graduation you can decide to go outside the country either to South Africa, United States of America or United Kingdom to complete your course there but keep in mind you will come back and still have to sit for conversion exams for grounds and flight which will cost approximately kshs 1 million. You will spend one month in theory conversion class for your license and 2 weeks on your flight conversion class if you have resources. This is on top of your full training and accommodation and meals overseas.So, please before you decide leaving the country for your pilot course please do your calculation consideration all aspects and analysis. There are consultancy firms with experts who will guide you on best institutions in Kenya which will ensure you complete your course with one year and half if you have finances and you are dedicated and hardworking students. These consultancy firms can even organize a yearly presentation in secondary schools for the 3rd year students when they are doing their career selections to advice them on how to make their dreams true for becoming pilots.

There is still no widespread agreement on exactly what constitutes an SMS despite the information currently available.

A quick review shows us that safety is defined as "acceptable risks that enable an organization to succeed in its mission". It used to be said that safety always came first, but this idea has been modified to recognize that a company's mission, its ultimate business goal, must be the primary focus. The company would not exist if it failed in that mission.

At its most fundamental level, a safety management system helps organizations identify and manage risk. It does not wait for something to happen. It doesn't rely on anecdotal information. It is based on hard data. Safety management systems help us manage risk far better than we have so far because it's a disciplined and standardized approach to managing risk.

Lack of proper reporting and release of data may be the single greatest obstacle to implementation of SMS.

Both mandatory incident reporting and voluntary reporting of observed safety lapses within a corporate just culture are crucial to a healthy SMS2.Without an SMS operators may be surprised to know that you already do quite a lot of risk identification & hazard reduction work. The preparation of aerodrome performance tables, for example, is actually an assessment of the risk involved in operating to and from a runway. The performance limitations that are applied due to runway length, runway slope, ambient temperature or equipment deficiency are the hazard reduction elements. How to get people to do all of the required work; is the key to being able to integrate these tasks into the process of planning an operation, if possible, getting the work done without staff really noticing it. Some form of system needs to be defined so that it can be approved by the authority. At the same time, the system must be accepted into daily use by people other than those in the safety department.

The idea behind SMS is that everyone can contribute to causing an accident as a result of which everyone can also contribute to preventing one.

Relationship of Trust.

"The basis on a relationship of trust between the organization and the employee is the development of an effective safety culture; the employee and the regulator; and the regulator and the industry," according to Transport Canada 3."In some cases, this may already exist; in most cases it will take some time to establish a foundation that fosters the development of this relationship.Some of the tools that will promote this growth are reporting policies that are, to the extent possible, on-punitive and effective communications at all levels."

‘Part Of Their Business'

In Australia, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) underlined to the CEOs of the country's aviation organizations that they must consider safety management "as part of their business-not just a technical add-on."

In a booklet distributed to the CEOs, CASA discussed development of SMS and other key aspects of safety management, including a positive safety culture and human factors issues.

CASA said,"Internationally, it is now recognized that a structured SMS is an essential feature of an aviation business." Although many CEOs in industry have operated SMS for years, CASAs CEO said, "It is clear that others need some help".

Citing guidance material produced by ICAO and CASA, among others, he said one of the most meaningful actions a CEO can take to advance safety is to preside over the operations "top" meetings on safety. This ensures that everyone in the company knows that SMS is considered a vital part of the business.

That approach is in place at Continental Airlines, where the CEO chairs quarterly meetings of the corporate safety review board, whose members are the airlines senior executives, said Capt. Don Gunther, senior director for safety and regulatory compliance.

"That's ….the top –down approach," Gunther said, and it sends a message company wide that the SMS is important to senior leadership."

Gunther began work in 2005 on Continentals SMS implementation plans .In January 2008, Continentals program was "pretty far along" but still not 100 percent implemented, he said. In addition to the corporate safety review board, safety action groups (SAG) are a crucial component. They represent the organizations employees within a particular geographic location or with a specific type of job or concern. The safety action groups are the "heart and soul of the safety management program".

‘Involvement of Middle Managers'

Accountable executives are increasingly showing their support by verbal and visible measures. They produce strong safety policies and are instrumental in the development of a proactive and predictive program.

Safety personnel are receiving formal safety training and education in the mechanics and implementation of SMS.ICAO is working towards making states self sufficient in imparting safety training. The AviAssist Foundation is one of the sources providing complementary action under its Training Centre Capacity building program (TCCP) in East and Southern Africa. The benefits of SMS are shown by increased productivity with less risk to the organization.

The safety department is responsible for establishing an SMS,but the success of such a program rests on the shoulders of management personnel. A review with more than 400 safety professionals reveals that one of the major stumbling blocks of the implementation of an effective and dynamic SMS program is middle management. The reasons are many, but two of the most important are lack of understanding of their role and the belief that safety programs are solely the responsibility of the safety department.

In his article in Aero safety World in February 2010, Barr asks us not to forget that safety is a corporate staff function that advises but has little if any authority to direct actions. The engine that drives SMS is line management; they are accountable for implementing SMS. Plus, they ensure that company personnel comply with SMS policies and procedures. Without the active support of the middle management, SMS is doomed to fail, Barr points out.

Middle management cannot be expected to support such radical new concept if they do not know its principles and potential benefits to the organizations mission.

Middle managers are responsible for the job safety training of their personnel as well as a workplace hazard analysis. The first line manager is the most important influence on individual safety behavior.

A blame culture and open reporting culture cannot coexist. It is up to middle management to openly support a strong reporting system and ensure that supervisors follow the just policy of reporting.

Finally, employees should have a method to report hazards that they observe in the operation. They should be free to report without fear of reprisal. The safety office should take all reports very seriously and evaluate cited hazards in a timely manner. Middle managers often discourage these reports.Then, after an incident, investigators find that the organization was aware of a hazard that led to the mishap but that institutional mechanisms failed to correct it or at least report it so that it could be fixed.

The Safety Action Group (SAG) plays a vital role in an SMS.The group is made up of managers who will review the data that has been provided by the safety office. They will look at audits, mishap investigations, hazard reports, goals and objectives, future activities and other areas of concern. It is their duty to review the data and make recommendations to senior managenet.Another reason for the importance of the SAG is the possible reduction of direct communication between the safety manager and the accountable executive. Paragraph 8.6.5 of the ICAO Safety Management Manual (SMM), Document 9859, second edition, says the following concerning those communications:

"Normal: Safety communicates through the (SAG) and/or the Safety Review Board (SRB).

"Exceptional/special circumstance: Safety must have direct emergency access to the accountable executive. The ‘backdoor' communication should rarely be used and properly justified and documented

"The Safety Manager will likely be more often than not the bearer of bad news, safety wise".

Further ICAO Action on Safety Management

ICAO is developing a new Annex to the Chicago Convention-annex 19.The annex will specifically address safety management. That will include state safety programs as well as Safety Management Systems and the interaction between both of them.

ICAO wants to take the opportunity of this new annex to provide the world with the best feasible material for all areas of aviation, especially for the smaller companies. It is these operators that have the most problems to understand and implement the SMS.

However an operator chooses to implement its SMS, crucial is that it must be understood & accepted into daily use by people other than just those in the safety department.