By Dr Moses Amweelo ONE of the biggest customers for any airport is the airline industry. Airlines need airports and airports need airlines; but in an era of rising costs and costly expansion, the marriage of interests has soured, according to International Air Transport Association (IATA). For that reason, the relationship between airport charges, cost of facilities, services and airport profits need to be carefully considered. The IATA has announced that it expects airlines globally to lose US$2.2 billion in 2006 and to post profits of US$7.2 billion in 2007. The quarterly revision is a significant improvement on the previous forecast of a US$4.3 billion loss in 2006 and a profit of US$ 6.2 billion in 2007. However, at the same time, governments must get out the way of a hyper-competitive airline industry on commercial issues and take a much closer look at the efficiency of airport monopolies. Airlines say many airports are spending too freely to build prestigious monuments to the glory of various airports, unnecessarily raising airline fees, while airports say that airlines are trying to squeeze costs that must rise to handle increasing airline traffic. Not everyone in the airline industry feels equally strongly aboutÃÆ’Æ‘ÀÃ…ÃÆ”šÃ‚ airport costs, and many airports are willing to negotiate with their airline customers. Airports Council International (ACI) points out that the average airport gets only half its revenue from airlines, depending on vendors and airport businesses for the rest. Methods of financing airport operations have changed dramatically in the past 50 years. Some states in Africa have already decided to gradually ban government financing of airport costs. The airports must rely on fees charged to airlines and on commercial revenue like fees paid by restaurants, shops and vehicle parking houses and areas located in the airport. Airports are already subsidizing the airport charges paid by the airlines, and a proportion of purely commercial income is used to compensate for the fact that revenue from aeronautical activities fall short of the costs incurred in providing these services. Worldwide, airport charges amount to only 4% of total airline operating costs, a figure that has remained virtually unchanged since 1978, according to the ACI report. The ACI has forecast that worldwide, traffic will double by 2020 and is concerned that regulatory and physical constraints threaten to create severe capacity shortages. Earmarking funds for airport expansion projects is a pressing need. It is the only way to avoid a serious capacity crunch at congested gateways. If the airport wants to serve the travelling public and local economies, it is important for all aviation stakeholders to work together to remove obstacles to airport development. It is interesting to note that figures released by ACI show an increase in passenger and cargo movement at many airports in Africa. 80% of airports in Africa, which provided statistics to the ACI, indicated a positive growth in passenger movements. Among the highlights of last year’s (2006) data: – Global passenger traffic rebounded by 11.3% in 2004 over 2003, with strong growth across all regions generating higher aeronautical revenue through an increase in aircraft movements and passengers. Higher passenger numbers also drove non-aeronautical income higher as there were more passengers spending on airport products and services. – Cargo flight frequencies rose appreciably in all regions in 2004, further increasing airport aeronautical revenue, which are heavily based on formulas involving landed weight. – Airport employment remained stable, with some 4.5 million persons employed on airport sites. – ACI has forecast passenger traffic to double over the next 15 years creating capacity concerns at many airports. Airport operators are already addressing this critical issue, having spent US$31 billon in 2004 on capital expenditure, most of which provides new airport capacity. For 2005, the survey indicates a record US$ 36 billion was earmarked for capital expenditure. – Airport user charges remained stable at 4% of airline operating costs for 2003 and 2004 (according to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) provisional data), which is the same percentage ICAO recorded over 25 years ago. Let’s not forget that the airport operator is not only responsible to deliver a service, but it has to enhance its security. Every day new challenges arise. Who could imagine that a simple carpet knife could be used to hijack an aircraft full of passengers and use it as a weapon of mass destruction? Technology in the aviation sector is the most advanced in the modern world and is changing by the day. Continuous training and the upgrade of the security infrastructure are therefore of utmost importance. However, training should not only concentrate on the skills of each individual person, but also on the human factor interface. The interface deals primarily with the interchange of information between human and machine, and links the human to the system and to other components. The human factor is not only one of the major causes of many aircraft accidents, but security related incidents. It is for this reason that more and more emphasis is being given to training in human factors and the interface with machines. Effective civil aviation security can be achieved through development, implementation and maintenance of comprehensive national legislation and training programmes. The quality of aviation training remains an important factor in this specialized field. Modern training development methodologies provide the means of ensuring that the requirements for training keep pace with the needs of the job. As procedures change, the process leaves an audit trail that allows a training developer to quickly and accurately update training materials to reflect these changes. Forging a link between training and security standards would be a more systematic way to ensure that security officers, airport personnel, flight crew members and other operational personnel have the skills needed to perform their jobs in a safe, secure and efficient manner. I am confident that many of the above-mentioned issues have been already implemented in various African states. The aviation safety and security – Africa The issues that play a vital role in aviation safety and security such as: -Developing strategies to incorporate excellence in aviation security; -Implementing a more efficient and sustainable maintenance system to improve and enhance aircraft usability and safety; -Integrating key measures to reinforce civil aviation security in Africa; -Introducing world-class technology to achieve the required security needs within African airports; -Analyzing new and alternative air traffic control systems to ensure a safer flow of air traffic; and, -Discussing strategies and mechanisms to minimize human error. For the past half a century, civil aviation has made remarkable growth to transport 1.8 billion passengers and 38 million tons of freight all over the globe, which is responsible for about 4.5 % of world GDP. The rapidly evolving and growing aviation sector has presented us with considerable opportunities to benefit from both a social and economic point of view. At the same time, growth also led the civil aviation community to face inevitable challenges to ensure aviation safety and security as well as keep up with the changing dynamics in the airport and airline industry, such as the introduction of high capacity aircraft, changes in the ownership of airport infrastructure and airlines, a move from ground-based to satellite-based systems for communication, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management (CNS and ATM) and growing liberalization in the aviation field. The global aviation system remains fundamentally safe thanks to various safety initiatives by all aviation stakeholders on either a regional, bilateral or global basis. Especially the ICAO universal safety oversight audit programme along with the ICAO unified strategy programme has contributed to the progress in international aviation safety by assessing the level of implantation of safety related standards and recommended practices (SARP’s) and promoting the partnerships to assist states to resolve their safety deficiencies. However, the unusually high number of fatal accidents we experienced in 2005 especially in Africa have focused public attention on the safety of air transport and had us take stock of what we have been doing for safety. Some are already concerned about the sustained increase in the number of airlines and the number of flights may result in more aircraft accidents in the future. The provisions of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation of 1944 established obligations for the contracting states of ICAO. With respect to aviation security, it is particularly important to maintain worldwide uniform standards, since the protection deriving from the implementation of the security standards is only as strong as the weakest element in the chain. We all get to know that standards and procedures alone will not prevent accidents. They should be fully understood and implemented by all parties involved – governments, service providers and airlines alike. The Republic of Namibia is working in harmony with the SADC/COMESA/EAC to enhance national, regional and global civil aviation safety and security by strengthening the laws governing the aviation industry. Training of aviation inspectors and airport security screeners is a critical element in ensuring safety and security. Namibia has and continues to conduct recurrent aviation safety and security courses locally. The courses address concepts and principles of managing aviation safety and security operations within the unique environment of an international airport. Course contents are based on ICAO standards and recommended practices, and focuses on protection of passengers, crew, ground personnel, the general public, aircraft and airport facilities. The subjects covered include ICAO standards and recommended practices, the threat to civil aviation, security programme development, security surveys and inspections, access control, physical security systems, passenger screening, screening of checked baggage, cargo, mail, and catering, human factors and training, and crisis management. Finally I would like to reiterate Namibia’s commitment to the ICAO’s objectives particularly in the field of aviation safety, security and facilitation.