14 African countries kept up with aerodrome certification course from CAAi

Some 36 delegates from 14 African countries has benefited from the No Country Left Behind ICAO initiative as the attended an aerodrome certification course managed by the UK’s civil aviation authority’s international division, CAAi.
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The Nairobi training event was fully funded by CAAi under its Social Enterprise activity and
was delivered with the assistance and cooperation of the ICAO Eastern and Southern Regional Office and the support of the Government of Kenya and the Director General of the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority.
As of December 2016, only 21% of aerodromes in Africa were certified to ICAO standards. What’s more, aerodromes and ground aids in Africa represent the lowest level of the effective implementation out of all the ICAO “Critical Areas”.
Kirsten Riensema, the air navigation commissioner and UK alternate representative to ICAO said: “It is forecast that by 2036, Africa will see an extra 274 million1 passengers per year. It is therefore very important that we continue to support and create opportunities for development of aviation professionals in Africa, who can use their aviation skills to support this level of growth by creating and maintaining safer aviation regulatory framework”.
It was the chief implementation and planning section of ICAO’s Air Navigation Bureau that had proposed the project, and both ICAO and CAAi were keen to provide the training. Delivered by UK CAA aerodrome regulators David Macmillan and Tom Murney, the training covered the “understanding of aerodromes” contained in ICAO Annex 14, Safety Management Systems within Aerodrome Operations and Aerodrome Certification. The training aims to improve regulatory oversight capability in the region.
Working with ICAO, CAAi invited delegates from developing countries with the highest potential of creating a lasting impact on the safety in the African aviation. The course attracted delegates from Angola, Botswana, Chad, Comoros, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Namibia, Niger, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.