Controllers Association (IFATCA) Africa and Middle East Regional Meeting by Mr
Jeff Radebe, MP, Minister of Transport, Johannesburg
20 November 2006
IFATCA President, Marc Baum Gardener,
Albert Taylor, Executive Vice President, Africa Middle East,
Peter van Rooyen, GATSCA President,
Alexander Terkuile, Secretary General Air Navigation Services
Organisation,
His Excellency the Vice President of Botswana,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen:
On behalf of the government and people of South Africa, I am delighted to
address this 17th IFATCA. The theme of this meeting which is "The Challenge of
Air Traffic Management Provision", comes at a right time when the aviation
industry faces significant challenges associated with air traffic navigation
systems.
The subject of human factors in the air traffic management has become one of
the most important issues in air traffic control today. The aviation industry
has changed a great deal over time especially with regard to automation but air
traffic controllers are still functioning in the same way but with improved
levels of technical training and modern technology.
Even though human factors in air traffic control is not a novel item, the
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Flight Safety and Human
Factors Programme has given a new impetus to the work in the aviation industry.
One of the most significant results is that elements of human factors in air
traffic control have migrated from the academic to the operational domain. This
results in a new appreciation for the importance of human factors by air
traffic services providers. South Africa shares the same views with IFATCA in
that sufficient resources should be directed towards establishing robust and
independent safety regulations at national, regional and global levels to
encompass human and equipment management in air traffic navigation.
Ladies and gentlemen, I must stress that South Africa in conjunction with
IFATCA has placed the application of human factors knowledge high on its list
of priorities. Our goal is not simply to maintain a safe system but also
improve aviation safety through education and training. To minimise the risks
associated with aircraft navigation, it is imperative that air traffic
controllers go through internationally recognised training and international
standards of the operations of air traffic navigation systems.
For global economic growth to prosper, most of you will agree with me that a
lot of investment in air navigation upgrading, safety and security are crucial
issues to focus on. Globally there is a 13 percent shortage of air traffic
controllers. This meeting is a focal area for participants to address this
challenge. The Air traffic Navigation System (ATNS) is investigating various
ways to have enough capacity and staffing and infrastructure by 2010. The ATNS
has invested R786 million in projects and continued renewal of infrastructure,
radar upgrading and rescue navigation systems. It has allocated a further R125
million to train 50 new people every year for the next five years. It has plans
to improve runway capacity from 56 aircrafts to 76 per hour at OR Tambo and
Cape Town International Airports.
Ladies and gentlemen, we need to pay particular attention to ways of
reducing air traffic accidents globally. African aviation forms a small
percentage of the overall international activities yet represents the high
level of accidents at international level. This is also a challenge on how we
can improve our levels of aviation security. According to the African
Development Bank (ADB) research, African countries must invest between US$150
billion and US$200 billion in their airports to bring them up to standards.
Africa has about 500 national airports, about 117 international airports and
more than 1 000 other airfields.
These figures are a true reflection of how the expansion of our aviation
industry will strengthen the economy and boost growth in job creation and
investment. The approach into the future is partnerships as air traffic control
is a global commodity resource and in order to ensure an effective ATNS we need
to investigate more safe measures to take further steps to the future.
With the increased growth in international economies that aviation
contributes, it is critical that the industry considers tightening up its
safety and security infrastructure to enhance growth and development in travel,
tourism and sporting. The economic contribution that the aviation industry
makes is immense.
Air transport contributes about 2,4 percent global gross domestic product
(GDP). More than two billion people now travel by air. Air transport generates
about 470 000 direct and indirect jobs across Africa, contributing over US$11,3
billion to African GDP. To make South Africa more globally competitive in terms
of aviation growth, Cabinet approved a five-year strategy for the regulation of
air transport in support of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for
South Africa (AsgiSA).
The overall objective of the strategy is to increase aviation's contribution
towards sustainable economic growth and job creation. The strategy aims at
further enhancing the prospects of South Africa as a favourable air travel
destination and to improve the regulation of the supply side of air transport
services.
With the continued growth prospects of the aviation industry, it is expected
that the successful implementation of the airlift strategy will culminate in a
significant increase in the number of travellers through our airports.
Finally, ladies and gentlemen, I wish this platform of aviation experts to
come up with tangible measures which can be implemented to address challenges
facing the air traffic navigation systems across the globe.
I thank you!
Issued by: Department of Transport
20 November 2006
Source: Department of Transport (http://www.transport.gov.za/)
