World Food Programme set to aid aviation safety on humanitarian missions

Fully supported by the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) of Sharjah and sponsored by a number of local aviation companies, the conference will be held under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al Thani, Chairman of Civil Aviation - Sharjah International Airport, the conference will provide a platform for discussion between WFP and all other global partners including air operators and state aviation authorities to meet a common objective of reducing aviation-related risks.

  “By gathering most, if not all, aviation safety officials and organisations under one roof, the presentations and subsequent discussions tend to provide new perspectives which further enhance aviation safety standards and procedures,” said Capt. Samir Sajet, WFP’s Regional Aviation Safety Officer for Asia and the Middle East Region. “These new perspectives are eventually translated into actual policies which when strictly enforced, have helped reduce the occurrence of serious incidents for Humanitarian Air Service.

  “And for WFP and the UN’s Humanitarian Air Services operations, these inputs are of great importance because we work, more often than not, in difficult environments and remote areas which necessitate additional safety requirements that are added to the  international requirements,” Capt. Sajet explained.

  Since the establishment of the WFP Aviation Safety Unit, WFP Aviation’s serious incident rate has declined over the past five years. In its annual report in 2009, the global organisation reported accident rate averages of 0.45 per 10,000 hours flown. In addition, full investigations and occurrence analyses are carried out by the ASU, after which recommendations are issued and monitored for effectiveness.

“The importance of gathering together aviation experts from all over the world to sit down and focus on aviation safety is indeed invaluable,” added Abdul Wahab Al Roomi, Director General – Department of Civil Aviation, Government of Sharjah. “Sharing of information, experiences, techniques and even technology towards the common goal of making almost all aspects of aviation safe is paramount because not only are we dealing with lives onboard an aircraft, but in cases of humanitarian relief efforts, we are also saving as many lives as we can. And for such operations, we cannot afford to make matters worse by having an aviation-related incident.

  “And it is for this reason that the Department of Civil Aviation of the Government of Sharjah fully supports the World Food Programme and its conference objectives as aviation safety is a paramount concern of ours, as should each and every aviation industry stakeholder,” Al Roomi further said.

  Following the conference’s first edition held last year also in the UAE and in its capital of Abu Dhabi, key speakers at this year’s conference include Cesar Arroyo, Chief of the WFP Aviation Safety Unit; John Illson, Chief, Integrated Safety Management, ICAO HQ in Montreal, Canada; Nicklas Dahlstrom, Emirates Airline; Stephen van Dijck, Accident Investigator VNV, (Dutch Alpa) IFALPA; Manuel Bustamente, SIASA, a Mexican Operator; Michelle Millar, PhD. FRMS Project Coordinator, ICAO; Kathryn Jones, UK CAA; Capt. Jim Mangie, Delta Airlines; Michel Schaffner International Committee of the Red Cross; Bill Voss, CEO and President of FSF; Roy D.Barnett. Senior FAA Representative International Aviation Middle East Office; Peter Budd, ICAO Regional Office, Cairo; David Chapman, UAE GCAA; and Jo Gillespie, Gates Aviation.

  Among the topics to be discussed are: Hazard Identification and Reporting Systems for SMS Implementation; Sharing and Utilization of Safety Information; Hazard Identification , Reporting System and Accident Analysis & Prevention; Management of change during SMS implementation (Challenges and Solutions); CAA oversight of small aircraft operators (Air Taxis, General Aviation) vis a vis SMS implementation; Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS); ICRC Safety Risk management (Field experiences ); Approach and landing accident reduction (ALAR ll)-FSF; and Regional Aviation Safety Collaboration and cooperation- Is it a possibility or not?.

  Further to organising international aviation safety seminars, conferences, and workshops as well as training, WFP’s Aviation Safety Unit has been tasked with ensuring an adequate level of safety in all UN Humanitarian Air Service operations. Because WFP Aviation does not own or directly operate aircraft, it provides air services by chartering aircraft to meet the needs of emergency and humanitarian support for UN Agencies and other cooperating partners. And in this regard, its Aviation Safety Unit is responsible for monitoring the compliance of WFP contracted air carriers against international standards and regulations and best practices in the industry. It also plays an active role in enhancing the capacity of civil aviation authorities in Africa and Asia, mainstreaming initiatives such as safety audits and occurrence monitoring and conducting Safety Management Systems courses in liaison with the International Civil Aviation Organisation or ICAO.

In 2009, WFP Aviation provided safe, efficient and reliable air transport services. With an average usage of 53 aircraft per month, WFP Aviation transported 323,713 passengers and 12,412 metric tons of humanitarian cargo in 44,200 flying hours to 200 destinations in 14 country operations.