NAC celebrates ICAO safety audit

Namibia attains 72% score
The International Civil Aviation Organisation recently scored Namibia favourably for the maintenance of its aviation infrastructure and the safety measures it has implemented.
STAFF REPORTER
  • 7 Months Ago - 2024-04-03 00:00:00
The Namibia Airports Company (NAC) said it is satisfied with the recent outcome of the country's universal safety oversight audit programme - continuous monitoring approach - an on-site audit conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) from 6 to 18 March.
The international audit was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of Namibia’s safety oversight systems in compliance with the ICAO standards and recommended practices. The preliminary results scored Namibia 72.31%. In 2016, Namibia’s overall score was 57.39%. These results were reached after an assessment of the country's effective implementation of solutions to significant safety concerns, indicating at the time that there were serious breaches of safety standards, which could lead to several airlines shunning Namibia's airspace.
The results indicated an overall improvement in the safety performance of the state of Namibia, ranking the state above the regional/eastern and southern Africa region average of 60% and global average of 69.3%. The final report - with details - will be issued by ICAO after six months.

Vote of confidence
NAC CEO Bisey /Uirab said the outcome of the audit was a result of ICAO's confidence in the Namibia Civil Aviation Authority's systems, as was demonstrated by the score Namibia attained.
“As the custodian of the country’s main airports, NAC was under the spotlight in terms of how we have prepared for this audit and we at all times demonstrated confidence in our systems, which was key to the country achieving the current score. This score is a vote of confidence in Namibia's aviation safety systems, a country blessed with opportunities beyond the horizon and very safe and secure to visit by air."
"It is also worth mentioning that Hosea Kutako International Airport is certified, and I reiterate the collaboration between all stakeholders to maintain the momentum that was exhibited during the on-site audit with intent to retain the consistency in the oversight responsibilities, to ensure a robust state oversight system in the country," he said.