The Airport Certification Process
Published: Thursday, 14 October 2021 12:51
The framework of this theme was reviewed during the virtual session of “AERIAL Tuesdays’” on October 12, 2021 at the CCAA headquarters in Yaoundé. According to the presenter, obtaining an aerodrome certificate by an operator from the CCAA involves the following five steps: preliminary application, formal application, on-site audit, issuance of the certificate and publication of the status of the certified aerodrome on the AIP.
Thus, the benefits of certification of an aerodrome are multiple. The certified airport can witness improvement in its safety level and, by extension, the certificate contributes to improving the State's USOAP compliance rate.
It should be noted that the certification process requires expertise in several areas.
To achieve this, it is necessary to build the capacity of both CCAA and operator staff to carry out the process.
More so, the construction of airport infrastructure required in this process and the acquisition of new equipment as part of the implementation of the corrective action plan according to the exhibitor give rise to the development of the economy and the air transport sector.
On another level, a certification also has the advantage of boosting the attractiveness of a destination, can encourage aeronautical consultations, lead to the signing of air transport agreements and thus increase the service of a country.
And we all know that a busy airport is a productive airport in terms of revenue.
It is with this in mind that the CCAA, under the leadership of the Ministry of Transport, has been interacting with Cameroon Airports (ADC) since January 12, 2019 for the certification of the Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport.
Thus, having reached the third phase of the certification process (the on-site audit), it can be indicated that in the near future, Yaoundé Nsimalen Airport, one of the three international airports in Cameroon, will obtain its certification.
From then on, Cameroon's contribution to the achievement of the ICAO's zero accident objective for commercial flights by 2030 will become more concrete.
In addition, the CCAA, based on this first certification experience at the Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport, will be able to more easily certify the three other international airports: Douala, Garoua and Maroua-Salak.
It should be noted that in Cameroon, legal texts governing the aerodrome certification process require that it be renewed every two years.