IATA: Africa shows greatest potential for aviation

IATA director general and CEO Tony Tyler opened (03-Jun-2013) the 69th Annual General Meeting, held in Cape Town. Mr Tyler stated the assocation sees nowhere else that has greater potential for aviation than on the continent of Africa and sees regional aviation continuing to grow in the 7-8% range for at least the next five years. Africa "is also a continent with some serious issues", with safety prime among them. IATA's African members "are performing in line with the global average" but if the entire African region is examined "safety remains a challenge" with the total accident rate in Africa still many times the global average. Mr Tyler said the AGM is "an opportunity to send a clear signal to Africa's governments that world class safety is possible in Africa and that we support their commitment to achieving it by 2015". [more - original PR]