● ETHIOPIA: IATA boss Tony Tyler to mark Aviation Day Africa in Addis Ababa next month.

Tony Tyler, the Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) will visit the Ethiopian capital,  Addis Ababa, next month (16 April) on the occasion of Aviation Day Africa where he and his delegation will meet with executives from Ethiopian Airlines (ET) and officials from the Ethiopian Ministry of Transport and the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority.

Mr Tyler's visit to Addis Ababa, which is also the seat of the African Union Commission, marks the first time an IATA Director General has visited Africa in an official capacity.

Amongst his priorities will be the improvement of aviation safety in Africa. Tyler said committing to make the IATA operational safety audit a standard for operating in Africa will be a key contributor in translating the initiatives outlined in the Abuja Declaration into better safety performance. 

“Already we have seen that in 2011 the accident rate of African carriers on the IOSA registry was aligned with the global trend and as of November 30 they had no accidents,” Tyler said. 

Source [The Reporter]

Aircraft hull losses as of 2011 (IATA)

IATA is organizing this Aviation Day in cooperation with Ethiopian Airlines, to look at the challenges and opportunities for aviation in Africa, ahead of the IATA's 69th IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) and World Air Transport Summit (WATS) to be held in Cape Town from 2-4 June 2013. The AGM will be hosted by South African Airways (SA).

A presentation at the Addis Ababa Hilton Hotel will follow on 16 April 2013 - see this link to register.

Mr Tyler's visit will follow that of Bombardier CEO and Group President, Pierre Beaudoin, Group President and Chief Executive Officer of Bombardier Inc., who on 5 March held extensive discussions with Ethiopian CEO Tewolde Gebremariam and other senior executive management members regarding Ethiopian's Q400 aircraft operations. 

"Africa has significant growth potential over the next 20 years and is an important part of Bombardier’s globalization strategy," said Mr. Beaudoin. "We are excited about the opportunities for expanding business and commercial aviation in the region and look forward to working with leading carriers like Ethiopian to develop the market fully." 

Source [Ethiopian Airlines]

The two companies are working to enhance their relationship, in view of the expected high growth of regional intra-Africa travel in the coming years.