Could you briefly describe the Civil Aviation industry in Cape Verde?

First of all, we have a very small industry.  We have only two operators, one airport and one  navigation service provider.  So, in our case, we want to grow our industry. Tourism is the main  resource we have in our country.  Right now, we expect to have more than 40% growth from this  year. Many projects are underway, and we believe that tourism will be the main activity in the  country. The main part of our tourists come from Europe.  So, we want to make our industry as  attractive as in Europe. And for that, we have engaged in very interesting projects to have same  standards that ICAO demands in any country, that is the Standards and Recommended Practices  (SARPs).

How were you able to attain FAA Category 1 Certification?

We have a very good partnership with the FAA and particularly with the Safe Skies for Africa  Programme.  We have signed the agreement with the FAA and with the Safe Skies for Africa  Programme.  Cape Verde is in the next one or two years, five more countries can achieve the same  goal.  South Africa is already there.  Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have a special programme, so  they can achieve the goal.  The main thing is that our government understands very well the  importance giving us all the tools.  After we went through ICAO’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit  Programme (USOAP), they pointed out our weakness.  One of them is that our country did not  have a broad aviation law.

 That is why the government passed the aviation law.  Not only that, they stood firmly that they  should have a very strong CAA.  After the first five years- when they gave the aviation body some  independence, they felt they should go further and today, we are a totally independent civil aviation  agency.  We have our own budget which is approved through our board. So, we are totally  independent. Our civil aviation organisation ensures the operators go through the certification  process; this is not only for the air operators, but also for the airports and air navigation operators.   We also recommended for the government to invest in modernising the Air Traffic Services, and  they have also implemented it.

Today, we have a very unique Air Traffic Services in Cape Verde.  We can monitor all our traffic,  not only in our terminals, but also in our flight information region.  This also gives opportunity for all  the airlines using our flight information region to save some money. For us, investment in aviation is  investment for the future.  And we believe it is not only for us, but for Africa.  We, in Cape Verde,  see aviation for all countries in Africa as a tool for reducing poverty in Africa because its much  easier and much cheaper to invest in aviation as a way to reach remote places, and reduce the time  of accessing these areas.  Also, it shortens the route between destinations. We don’t have to go to  another continent before coming back to a part of Africa that we want to go to.  We want to  improve co-operation within our continent.  And another reason we are trying to achieve these  things is that as we are a smaller country, the bigger countries can say if we achieved it, why can’t  they achieve the same thing.

What are the advantages of the Safe Skies Programme for Cape Verde?

One of the advantages of the Safe Skies Programme for Africa is that today, our main airline, Cape  Verde Airlines, is going to the U.S.  They have twice weekly flights and they intend to increase this  with their own aircraft, and this has reduced a lot of cost for the airline. The advantage of the Safe  Skies Programme is that it gives us the opportunity to comply with ICAO regulations and also the  regulations in the U.S.

How do you look at air safety in Africa generally?

Many things changed after the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme started. The safety in  Africa changed radically for the better.  What we would like to see is more confidence of some  governments in their CAAs, and to get them the tools they need.  For instance, the Civil Aviation  Code says it clearly that safety in aviation can only be there if component states comply with what is  stated in the Chicago Convention. That means the SARPs are the minimum that we should comply  with.  And to do that, we must have the tools; we must have clear laws, a strong and clear  commitment to the CAA, very good technical and training standards for the CAA and good  standards for surveillance, certification and security based on SARPs.  I believe that our CAAs  have the capacity and they need these other parts.

What is your reaction to the case of aviation experts taken away by foreign operators?

In our case, we don’t have something like that because our CAA in Cape Verde can compete with  the operators.  The personnel are at the same level with operators or better in terms of service  conditions. Even some personnel from the operators want to work with us.  In Cape Verde, we  have the regulations we use, and these regulations should be complied with by all operators.  Those  are the main standards. If any operator does not qualify, we do not allow it to operate into our  airspace or airports.

Source Vanguard