Airport infrastructure – its environment and capacity of facilities – must be improved to ensure aviation safety.
This point was highlighted by Civil Aviation Minister Davis Steven and emphasised by National Airports Corporation (NAC) Managing Director, Joseph Tupiri, to statements by East New Britain Governor Ereman ToBaining that Tokua Airport needs an upgrade.
Governor ToBaining revealed this when welcoming Steven and those participating in the third Aviation Safety and Security Annual Conference in Kokopo.
He said the Tokua Airport last underwent an upgrade seven years ago on its runway, which is now in need of repair.
Minister Steven, in his speech, states that this conference addresses aviation infrastructure capacity and environment as a priority area of improving aviation safety.
He says emerging capacity increases in the region ‘may be a risk, if aviation infrastructure capacity does not keep pace with growth in demand’.
“As air traffic continues to grow with new emerging challenges in PNG, the need … to improve capacity and the safety and efficiency of flights in our airspace and across airspace boundaries is clear,” the Minister says.
He however, states that such improvements on aviation safety and security performance cannot be done alone; therefore the collaboration among all aviation stakeholders is vital.
“Collaboration therefore needs to extend beyond each entity to encompass the various industry partners,” he says.
The conference is in its second day today and will focus on Civil Aviation Legislation updates and offences regulations.
This high level aviation safety and security conference meets the CASA corporate plan objective for a full and frank consultation with the industry, involving effective interaction with stakeholders.
The corporate plan articulates a mid-term objective to achieve full implementation of the State Safety Programs to facilitate proactive safety risks management.
In order to achieve these goals, CASA benefits from this collaboration with its aviation community this week as it familiarises with its current environment and challenges.
(MostTravelledPeople.com)