African Aviation Safety: IATA Strengthens Training for Professionals
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is stepping up its efforts to strengthen aviation safety skills across Africa through a new series of workshops and webinars. Launched in Nairobi under the Focus Africa initiative, the program comes as the continent’s accident rate improves but remains significantly above the global average.
Africa is making progress, but the gap remains
Africa’s aviation safety record improved in 2025, but the continent still faces a significant challenge.
According to IATA’s 2025 safety report, African airlines recorded 7.86 accidents per million sectors, down from 12.13 in 2024 and below the five-year African average of 9.37.
The improvement is encouraging. But it needs to be viewed in the context of global performance.
Worldwide, the accident rate stood at 1.32 accidents per million sectors in 2025. Africa therefore remained the region with the highest accident rate among those tracked by IATA.
The continent also recorded a fatality risk rate of 2.19 in 2025, after recording zero fatality risk in 2024. Runway excursions were among the accident types recorded during the year.
The figures point to a mixed picture: progress is visible, but it is not yet strong enough to close the gap with the rest of the world.
CASIP puts skills and knowledge-sharing at the center
It is against this backdrop that IATA is expanding its safety workshops under the Collaborative Aviation Safety Improvement Program (CASIP).
The program was launched in 2023 as part of the safety pillar of IATA’s Focus Africa initiative. It brings together airlines, governments, regulators, international organizations, aircraft manufacturers and other aviation stakeholders to address specific safety challenges.
The approach goes beyond classroom training.
CASIP also focuses on operational risk management, safety data, corrective action plans and the exchange of practical experience between aviation professionals.
The first workshop in the new series took place in Nairobi and focused on Safety Management Systems (SMS). The session was supported by Boeing, Kenya Airways and the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA).
Training targets concrete operational risks
The topics scheduled for the coming months illustrate the breadth of the safety challenge facing African aviation.
The program includes:
- August: Webinar on operational risk management for ground operations
- September: Webinar on space debris awareness
- October: In-person workshop on runway safety
- November: Webinar on radio-frequency interference affecting GNSS systems
These subjects highlight how aviation safety increasingly extends beyond the aircraft itself.
Ground handling, runway operations, navigation systems and emerging technological risks can all affect the safety of a flight. Managing these risks requires trained personnel, reliable procedures and effective coordination between different actors.
Aviation safety is not only an airline responsibility
One of the most important lessons from Africa’s aviation safety challenge is that responsibility cannot rest solely with airlines.
Safety also depends on the ability of national authorities to implement international standards, monitor operators effectively, investigate accidents and incidents, and turn safety data into preventive action.
This remains an area where Africa has room for improvement.
IATA estimates that the effective implementation of ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices across 46 of the 48 sub-Saharan African states assessed stands at 60.34%, compared with a global average of 69.46% and a global target of 75%.
Accident investigation is another concern. According to IATA data, only 19% of accident reports in Africa were finalized between 2019 and 2023, compared with 63% globally.
These figures help explain why training alone cannot solve the continent’s aviation safety challenges.
Training must be accompanied by stronger regulatory oversight, better reporting systems, effective accident investigations, reliable safety data and consistent implementation of corrective measures.
A collective approach to a continental challenge
CASIP brings together a wide range of aviation stakeholders, including the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC), the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), Airbus, Boeing, Kenya Airways, the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and IFALPA.
That broad partnership reflects the international nature of aviation.
An aircraft may be registered in one country, operated by an airline based in another and cross several airspaces during a single journey. Safety standards therefore need to be consistent enough to prevent gaps between national systems from becoming operational vulnerabilities.
For Africa, regional cooperation is particularly important as air connectivity expands.
Why this matters for Africa
The aviation safety debate is about much more than protecting passengers.
A safer aviation sector can strengthen confidence in air travel, support tourism, facilitate business mobility and improve connections between African markets.
It also matters for the development of the continent’s Single African Air Transport Market and for the broader integration of African economies.
Focus Africa is designed to address several structural challenges facing the continent’s aviation sector, including safety, infrastructure, connectivity, financing, sustainability and future skills.
The skills dimension is particularly important.
Africa’s aviation industry will need more than aircraft and airports to accommodate future growth. It will also require engineers, pilots, air traffic professionals, safety specialists, regulators, investigators and other highly trained personnel capable of managing increasingly complex operations.
