Africa Urged to Improve Aviation Security

African aviation will have to increase investment to reach international security standards, South African Transport Minister Jeff Radebe said on Monday.

Speaking at the 17th International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers Association (IFATCA), Radebe said: "African aviation forms a small percentage of overall international activities, yet represents a high level of accidents at international level."

He cited an African Development Bank study which found that African countries must invest between 150 billion U.S. dollars and 200 billion dollars on aviation to bring them up to international security standards.

The continent has about 500 national airports, 117 international airports and more than 1,000 airfields.

Although Africa accounted for only 4.5 percent of global air traffic, 25 percent of all accidents in which aircraft were lost in 2004 occurred in Africa, according to the International Air Transport Association.

"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," Radebe said.

With the 2010 Soccer World Cup to be hosted by South Africa, the Air Traffic Navigation System (ATNS) was investigating ways to improve capacity, staffing and infrastructure locally.

"The ATNS has invested 786 million rand (109 million dollars) in projects and the continued renewal of infrastructure, radar upgrading and rescue navigation systems. A further 125 million rand (17 million dollars) has been allocated to train 50 new people every year for the next five years," Radebe said.

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