Government expects a positive outcome following an audit by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (Icao) which has arrived in South Africa to audit the country’s aviation safety oversight systems.
Officially welcoming the team at an event held yesterday at the South African Civil Aviation Authority (Sacaa) head office in Midrand, Minister of Transport, Joe Maswanganyi, pointed out that even though South Africa was regarded as a developing country, its aviation infrastructure “matches that of most of the developed countries”.
“This is not only in reference to aviation technology, but also in the way in which we conduct business in this sector,” he added, pointing to South Africa’s zero fatality rate in relation to scheduled commercial operations.
“I am comforted by the fact that statistics indicate that things have been improving lately, particularly in the last four years. The number of accidents has been declining since the 2013/14 financial year when 144 accidents were reported. Four years later, the number has dropped by a massive 50%, [with] 72 aircraft accidents during the 2016/17 financial year,” Maswanganyi said.
He attributed this to various safety promotion interventions at State level, coupled with initiatives by Sacaa and industry.
Director of civil aviation at Sacaa, Poppy Khoza, said in a statement: “A lot of work has been done behind the scenes and as such, we hope not to attract any adverse findings following this audit.”
