FASTJET JOINS HANDS WITH AVIASSIST FOR SPECIAL TRAINING
(Posted 18th September 2015)
AviAssist has been selected to deliver airport wildlife management training for Africa’s fast growing low-cost airline Fastjet.
‘We have worked hard to secure this contract with this important new customer and are honored that fastjet has selected AviAssist as the provider for this crucial training’ said Tom Kok, AVIAssist’s Director before adding ‘We look forward to providing fastjet and its partners with the highest quality training and outstanding service all our customers expect and deserve’.
A number of airports in the East African region face major wildlife and in particular bird strike risks, partially because they find themselves near large bodies of water or along global bird migration routes. Some airports face the added challenge of major rubbish dumps nearby which attract scavenger birds in large numbers, which then pose a danger to aircraft during their final approach or immediately on and after takeoff. Fastjet earlier in the year was hard hit when the airline suffered several birdstrikes at Dar es Salaam’s Julius Nyerere International Airport in rapid succession.
AviAssist helps airports and airlines pro-actively manage wildlife risks at and around airports. The Foundation works hard to make best safety practices available to aviation professionals in the region at or near their home base.
The courses will host a cross section of all stakeholders’ whose understanding and co-operation is crucial for the practical implementation of an airport wildlife management plan. The training will follow international guidance for its structure from the International Civil Aviation Organization and leading regulators such as the United States Federal Aviation Administration.
‘Fastjet is pleased to host and sponsor this Airport Wildlife Management Workshop in our Head Office in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’ said Fastjet’s General Manager for East Africa, Mr. Jimmy Kibati. He went on to say: ‘Despite the bountiful and attractive wildlife in the East Africa region, the presence of wildlife in and around airports poses a significant hazard and a challenge to aviation. All airlines must take measures to mitigate the hazards, and in order to ensure operations of the highest safety standards, Fastjet continues to engage with aviation safety stakeholders, including AviAssist Foundation, to promote safety management in our operations’.
When announcing the news about the deal did Mr. Kok then say: ‘As a contract from one of Africa’s newest and most exciting airlines, it underscores the growing market reputation that AviAssist is building across Africa for the quality, cost-effectiveness and on time delivery of safety promotion services for which there are currently no feasible commercial alternatives. We trust this will create more business for the Foundation, business that in turn directly supports AviAssist’s products such as our free SafetyFocus magazine to aviation professionals in 42 African countries and free Facebook safety promotion groups for African aviation professionals’.
