AFRAA to raise awareness among governments on ICAO CART to resume air services

July 13, 2020: The Africa Airlines Association (AFRAA) is engaging with governments and civil aviation authorities to raise awareness of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART) %u2018Take-off' Guidance and calling upon states to fully implement the recommended measures so that airlines can resume their activities as soon as possible.

The ICAO CART published on June 1 provides the recommendations and measures to be applied for the resumption of air transport from Covid-19 pandemic. States, airports, airlines, and service providers ought to implement these health and safety guidelines.

"African stakeholders need to adopt a common African position on CART's %u2018Take-off' Guidance for a seamless and effective restart of aviation activity. Implementing harmonised measures is urgent and critical to allow the restart of flights by African Airlines as soon as possible and to bring confidence of both passengers and stakeholders," Abderahmane Berthe, secretary general of AFRAA.

In June, ICAO, International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Airports Council International - Africa (ACI Africa) pledged their commitment to providing support to industry stakeholders in the region to help ensure implementation and compliance with the recommended ICAO Take-off guidance. This includes the development of more detailed operational procedures in four specific areas - airport, aircraft, crew and cargo - based on the Take-off guidance.

The cargo module addresses aviation public health including physical distancing, personal sanitation, protective barriers point of transfer to the ramp and the loading and unloading, and other mitigation procedures.