Extraordinary Meeting of the APIRG and RASG-AFI Groups
Published: Sunday, 21 July 2024 22:37
The members of these two regional groups, which are responsible for the planning and implementation of navigation services and air safety, met on July 19, 2024, to discuss the content of the new joint entity to be established, while taking into account regional and global plans to fully play their role and meet key challenges of air navigation in Africa and the Indian Ocean.
The aviation sector requires consistency in implementing air navigation services at both local and regional levels to provide harmonized and adapted services to airlines.
Also, to face the multiple challenges of the moment, and for more efficiency, the members of these two major regional groups of ICAO, namely the Africa and Indian Ocean Regional Planning and Implementation Group (APIRG) and the Regional Safety Group for Africa and the Indian Ocean (RASG-AFI) have decided to pool their efforts into a single entity. The discussions entailed reviewing the decisions of the last APIRG/RASG-AFI meeting, the actions taken, the presentation of the revised structure, the examination of the draft procedural manual and the new working methods.
The combined structure will be called the Africa - Indian Ocean Planning and Implementation Group of the Aviation System (AANPG). This new merged group will be composed of three subgroups, namely the Information and Infrastructure Management Subgroup (IIM-SG), the Aerodromes and Airspace Operations Subgroup (AAO-SG) and the Safety Management and Oversight Subgroup (SMO-SG). All the missions of APIRG and RASG-AFI have been attributed to these three subgroups.
In addition, some points of the AANPG group's procedural manual were debated on the spot and other constructive contributions are expected by September 30, 2024.
In the meantime, the former APIRG and RASG-AFI groups continue to carry out their activities, pending approval of the new body by the ICAO Council.
This major change in regional governance is an outcome which can be celebrated as it sets the stage for greater efficiency in coordinating air navigation and flight safety issues on the continent.
Translation: MKG/ARO-PRU
