The recent crash of the Kenya Airways Boeing in Cameroon has made the issue of Africa’s bad air safety record a hot topic again. How safe is air travel in Africa?
Air travel in Africa - to fly or not to fly
In response to the recent Kenya Airways Boeing 737 crash in Cameroon, Associated Press wrote a story which appeared in papers across the world, stating flat out that, “Air travel in Africa is exhilarating, but often dangerous”.
In this article they quote William Voss, president of the U.S.-based Flight Safety Foundation saying: "Sometimes the danger is due to lack of quality personnel or the appropriate work isn't being done, or there's just wholesale disregard for safety. The poverty, war and corrupt governance that affect Africa as a whole also affect its air industry. With little government oversight, airlines let their standards slip."
But according to a 2006 International Air Transport Association (IATA) safety report, it’s not the worst region by at least one measure: the number of planes per million taking off that become “unusable as a result of an accident.” The IATA breaks the world into eight regions, and the Confederation of Independent States, which includes Russia and ex-Soviet republics, ranked the worst.
Out of every million planes that took off in the region, 8.6 became unusable. Africa ranked second worst.
The fact is, according to the IATA report, it is ten times more dangerous to fly in Africa than in Europe, North America or Asia and four times more dangerous than in Latin America.
It seems that 45% of accidents on the continent happen in the DRC, Sudan and Angloa.
World Hum writer Michael Yessis asked their contributing travel editor Frank Bures who lived in Tanzania and more recently traveled to Nigeria about flying in Africa and he replied :
“What’s more dangerous to me in Africa are the roads. When I took a bus from Lagos to Ibadan in Nigeria, I had to fill in ‘next of kin’ on my registration for the trip.”
Tip: When flying in Africa, stick to recognized national airlines and don’t be afraid to do research or to ask about their safety records.
There are some good airlines with excellent safety records like South African Airways, EgyptAir, Air Maroc and irocially Kenya Airways. And there are also programmes being implemented across the continent to improve air safety, to make air travel in Africa a happier and safer experience.
Egypt national carrier plans more Africa destinations
But all is not doom and gloom for air travel in Africa - EgyptAir is celebrating its 75th anniversary with plans to expand and improve services to a number of new destinations, including some in Africa.
EgyptAir, the seventh oldest in the world, has just turned 75 and used the milestone to announce ambitious plans to expand its network into Africa.
Atef Abdel-Hamid, EgyptAir Holding Company chairman, explains that EgyptAir will launch a regional jet division next June. The new subsidiary, called EgyptAir Express, will operate a fleet of six small jets mainly for domestic destinations. The carrier has already purchased six EMB 170 planes with a further six on option.
"It will start with two domestic destinations, Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada, then later on Aswan, Luxor, Abu Simbel and Alexandria," he said.
