Asia-Pacific's commercial air-transport safety infrastructure needs a major overhaul, according to the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) group's air-safety experts. Poor safety oversight by some civil-aviation authorities (CAAs) and a growing potential for air-traffic conflicts were identified as two of the vital issues. A plan for regional action to improve safety is expected to be approved in June.
The group has identified 92 potential safety issues in the region, ranging from controlled flight into terrain to airport security and human factors. APEC consolidated the individual problems into five major areas of concern, including:
- a lack of uniform safety oversight by CAAs;
- a lack of rule-harmonisation among authorities;
- a growing potential for air-traffic conflicts;
- severe shortage of skilled personnel to manage safety issues;
- a need for APEC-wide confidential incident-reporting.
The APEC "group of experts on aviation safety and assistance" has been set up to focus on improving air-safety standards around the region, which encompasses 18 countries, ranging from Canada and the USA in the east, to Australia, China, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore in the west. Don Spruston, director general-civil aviation, Transport Canada and co-chairman of the APEC group, says: "Safety oversight varies throughout the APEC members from good to non-existent." Further pressure is generated by an exceptional growth (10% per year on average) of air- traffic movements in the area, he adds.
At a meeting to be held in April, the group plans to finalise recommendations on major new safety initiatives. These will be presented to a June meeting of senior APEC transport ministers. Proposals include the setting up of an Aviation Safety Council which will oversee the actions taken.
Source: Flight International
