Namibia bets on new aviation authority to improve standards
THE launch of the Namibia Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) early this month has brought renewed hope that aviation standards will improve for the better.
The new Civil Aviation Act and the establishment of the NCAA are expected to result in Namibia exceeding the International Civil Aviation Organisation (Icao) implementation benchmark of 70%.
The NCAA is reported to have $221 million which was transferred to it from funds accumulated over the years from the aviation industry. Julius Ngweda, chief public relations officer at the transport ministry, did not respond to questions seeking further details on how the NCAA will work.
Anthony Philbin, chief of communications in the office of the secretary general of Icao said that an effective regulatory authority is essential for the realisation of a safe, secure, efficient, economically viable and environmentally responsible civil aviation sector.
“ICAO is providing assistance to Namibia in the areas of Aerodromes and Ground Aids (AGA), Air Navigation Services (ANS), aircraft operations, the airworthiness of aircraft, aviation security, civil aviation organisations, personnel licensing and training, and primary aviation legislation and civil aviation regulations,” said Philbin.
Icao support has been provided in the transition process, from the directorate of civil aviation to the Namibia Civil Aviation Authority, through an update of the primary civil aviation law, advice on the structure of the NCAA, recruitment of staff, and advice during the initial start-up activities of the authority.
Philbin said Air Namibia is on the Iata Operational Safety Audit (Iosa) register. This means it has successfully passed the biennial Iosa safety audit. Iosa is an internationally benchmarked safety audit all Iata member airlines have to undergo as a condition of membership.
Two years ago, Icao downgraded the Hosea Kutako International Airport from category eight to five because of poor firefighting and emergency rescue services.
The downgrading meant no A330 aircraft could land or take off from Hosea Kutako until the Namibia Airports Company had met all the requirements regarding firefighting and emergency rescue services.
The International Air Transport Association (Iata) said the last international related aviation accident in Namibia was in 2013.
“Iata isn't aware if any recent airline accidents in Namibia. The last one was the November 2013 LAM- Mozambique Airlines plane that crashed in northern Namibia while en route from Maputo to Luanda, killing all on board. The Namibian authorities responsible for the investigation attributed the crash to the deliberate actions of the captain, who locked his co-pilot out of the cockpit,” said Linden Birns, managing director of Plane Talking, which represents the interests of Iata in Southern Africa.
Air Namibia's spokesperson Paulus Nakawa told The Namibian on 1 October that the national airline carried 530 000 passengers in 2015, of whom only 6 per cent was on domestic routes, while the rest were cross-border. This accounted for about 51 per cent of all passengers by air between Namibia and the world. The remaining 49 per cent was shared by South African Airways, Condor, British Airways, Taag of Angola and others.
