AVIATION AFRICA: ECAA strides in ensuring safe air transport

Makings a key note address at the Aviation Africa Conference Col. Wossenyeleh Hunegnaw, director general of the ECAA, said that ever since its establishment in 1944 ECAA has been growing by leaps and bounds; in its endeavor in promoting safety in the aviation industry and providing efficient, safe and sustainable air navigation services through the implementation of international safety standards and recommended practices.

In its journey that crosses over 70 years, ECAA has undertaken significant activities that enabled the nation’s air transport sector to be more safe, reliable and secured. These have been realized through establishing a strong training system which has been established in 1951 through the assistance of ICAO which serves as corner stone for acquiring high skilled aviation professionals. Hunegnaw said ECAA is assisting neighboring states by providing training in aviation related courses. The authorities aviation training center which is member of the ICAO’s Trainer Plus program is training ATCs from Djibouti, Somaliland and Somalia.   

Hunegnaw said ECAA has to respond the growth of the African air transport industry which is expected to double in the next ten years.

“In this regard I proudly say that the quality of services is striding fast to meet our long established vision of becoming a globally competent aviation regulator and service provider in the coming few years. A simple testimony to this is the high grades we obtained in the ICAO audit,” he said.  

ICAO’s preliminary audit result indicates that ECAA secured 91.78 (EI) score, which is the highest score that the authority ever scored in its history. “This is the highest evaluation performance in Africa,” Hunegnaw said.