Civil Aviation Authority

Lack of infrastructure- There is non-availability of FBO's (Fixed Base Operator), terminals. The numbers of agencies for ground handling are extremely restricted, there is non-availability of MRO'S (Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul) and increases cost of maintenance. There is no separate parking and the helicopters are operating out of airports. There are no heliports and heli-routes in India till date.

Restrictive regulations- Too many agencies are involved in the procedure of getting a private aircraft such as Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, and Airport Authority of India. 25% of duty is only restricted only to the corporate aircrafts, which increases costs. The owner has to restrict himself to operational timings at major metros, which renders private ownership useless.

Lack of Manpower- There is shortage of pilots and engineers. In India there are 35 flying schools, which are not producing the required number of pilots. There is a demand of about 50,000 employees and 15000 engineers in the airline industry.

The general aviation sector still has large scope for growth, by the intervention of private players and the availability of the purchasing power among the classes.

The South Africa Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has announced the introduction of a new centralized Safety Reporting System that is aimed at improving aviation safety by reducing aircraft accidents.

The new system provides a platform for the public and those that are involved in aviation operations such as pilots, air traffic controllers, flight attendants, engineers, airport and ground personnel , to report unsafe activities, omissions and "situations" that could lead to an aircraft accident. The new system, however, does not replace the reporting of an accident or serious incident which should still be reported to the Accident and Incident Investigation Division of the SACAA.

The SACAAs Director of Civil Aviation, Colin Jordaan, said:"The Central Safety Management Reporting Facility was introduced in order to meet the requirements stated in the Standards and Recommended Practices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) around safety management.

"Most importantly, the new system is a proactive procedure which enables anyone to report aviation safety risks, on the ground or in the air, whether perceived or real, that could prevent an aircraft accident".

The announcement of the new system comes a few weeks after aviation experts gathered at a seminar convened by the SACAA to discuss safety concerns and whether the relatively new concept of the Safety Management System (SMS) is the ultimate solution to aviation safety.

The centralized Safety Reporting System, which forms part of the broader Safety Management System, accommodates three types of reporting, namely: voluntary, mandatory and confidential. The reporting system also affords "Whistle-blowers" confidentiality.

"Ensuring aviation safety is a daunting task, especially when the general public and role players in the aviation industry are not proactive taking part in reporting unsafe behavior and events that could lead to an accident. With the introduction of the Centralized Safety Reporting System, the process of alerting the SACAA to risky acts, omissions and events has been made easier.

"Through this system and with everyone's involvement ,we are optimistic that hazards can be identified well in advance, thereby providing those involved with an opportunity to prevent any potential loss of life, injury or damage to property," explained Ms Louise Stols,general manager : risk and compliance at the SACAA.

According to MS Stols, reports sent to the SACAA through the Centralized Reporting System are held in strict confidence."For instamnce, reporters may, but are not required to, submit their names and contact information. Moreover, when among analyzing or disseminating the report among relevant departments for follow-up, all identifying information about the submitter is removed."

She added: "Once a report is received, it is logged and where necessary de-identified and then distributed to the relevant SACAA technical department for further investigation."

On a quarterly basis, the reports are analysed and statistical data or information in terms of identified trends is then shared with the aviation community to ensure that lessons are learnt and where necessary steps are taken to rectify mistakes.

"The safety reporting system is a non-punitive system, meaning that reports are investigated with the objective of preventing reoccurrence and not to apportion blame or legal liability. However, in cases where reports indicate serious safety deficiencies that are blatantly and deliberately disregarding applicable regulations, even after the SACAA has alerted the responsible individuals or entities, applicable regulatory or judicial actions will be instituted against such perpetrators;" said Ms Stols.

"While we acknowledge that risk is inherent to the aviation industry, we also believe that most of the aircraft accidents we have encountered thus far could have been prevented had someone taken the initiative to report the risky behavioral trends, events and omissions encountered or observed that compromised safety," concluded Captain Jordaan.

Apart from the extreme example of manned space missions, air travel is probably the most heavily monitored and regulated mode of transport on earth. Although statistics show that most people suffer serious and fatal injury as a result of motoring accidents, this is because at any one time, there are far, far more people on the roads than there are in the middle of an airplane journey.

Safety in aviation unsurprisingly attracts much more attention because the dangers are more obvious and, when something does go wrong, the effects can be disastrous and headline grabbing especially if an accident occurs over a heavily built up area. It goes without saying therefore that those involved at the sharp end like airline pilots and air traffic controllers have to go through stringent selection procedures to make sure that they have the right temperament for the job well before they even start technical training.

Sadly for them but sensibly for the rest of us, it's largely a case of many being called but only a few being chosen. Yet, like an army on operations, the frontline troops who make it through the selection process have huge back-up behind the scenes.

In the UK, most of this back-up is provided by the CAA, the Civil Aviation Authority and passengers using air travel are effectively in their hands from the minute they arrive at the airport to the minute they leave it after their return. This almost comprehensive responsibility is not purely concerned with the airworthiness of aircraft and their crew. The organization also runs the ATOL scheme which ensures that passengers can get home in the event of an airline suffering financial collapse.

The effort that goes into maximizing passenger safety is based on the cumulative experience and knowledge gained from the circumstances causing past accidents.The result is that only 130 air accidents were recorded worldwide in 2010 compared with 200 in 2001when there were significantly less flights made and passengers carried.

Here in the UK, the CAA is widely regarded as one of the best regulators in the world and it is frequently consulted by its younger counterparts overseas. Over the years it has built up a rigorous roster of checks involving the medical condition of pilots and flight engineers, the qualifications of aircrew, air traffic controllers and maintenance engineers and the state of the country's airports.

It looks into everything from the flight simulators used to train pilots, potentially dangerous goods carried as luggage or freight and what it likes to call " Human Factors". These include things like pilots being affected by stress and fatigue or unruly behavior by passengers.

Away from large-scale commercial aviation, the CAA is also responsible for such esoteric areas as flying displays, civilian parachuting, hot air balloons and airships.

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.

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