(Posted 12th May 2026)
The three-day program that convened civil aviation regulators from across
Southern Africa, focused on enhancing safety and compliance oversight,
knowledge exchange and future readiness.
Boeing, CAA International (CAAi), the Southern
African Development Community Aviation Safety Organization (SASO) and the Angola
Civil Aviation Authority co-hosted a Special Authorizations and Special Approvals Chain
workshop in Luanda from May 6-8, 2026. The workshop provided hands-on training and
shared best practices to strengthen regulatory oversight and further improve aviation
safety in Southern Africa.
Aviation regulators from Angola and across Southern Africa participated in interactive
sessions focused on practical procedures needed to issue special approvals and
maintain compliance.
“As regional regulator teams evolve, ongoing training and knowledge sharing help
ensure consistent safety and oversight,” said Kayode Ariwodola, Boeing director of
safety and regulatory affairs for Africa, the Middle East, Türkiye, Central Asia and
Europe. “This workshop, developed at the request of Southern African civil aviation
authorities, provided a practical forum to build skills, strengthen partnerships, and
support long-term capacity development across the region.”
Key topics included regulatory authorization procedures for specific operations such as:
– performance-based navigation (PBN)
– minimum navigation performance specifications (MNPS)
– reduced vertical separation minimum (RVSM)
– low visibility operations (LVO)
– extended range twin and multi-engine operations (ETOPS).
“In Southern Africa, issuing special approvals has been one of the least understood and
weakest-performing areas under ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program,
largely because technical training in this area has been scarce in our region,” said Kabo
Phutietsile, SASO executive director. “With support from Boeing and CAAi, this
workshop is the first step to equip specialists in our region with practical skills to
address those challenges. We hope that it will mark the beginning of a long-lasting
partnership, ensuring sustained capacity building and improved performance in aviation
safety oversight”.
Delivered by subjectmatter experts from CAAi and Boeing, the program offered a forum
for peer-to-peer exchanges that bolstered cohesiveness and resilience across Southern
African aviation ecosystem.
Matthew Margesson, managing director at CAAi, added: “It was a pleasure to
collaborate with Boeing, SASO and the Angola Civil Aviation Authority on this important
initiative. By providing practical, regulator focused training, the workshop will help build
sustainable capability in areas critical to ICAO compliance and long-term aviation safety
performance across the region.”
The workshop in Angola built on recent regulatory excellence programs organized by
Boeing and partners in Tunisia for North African civil aviation authorities and in Uganda
for East African regulators. Boeing also partners with African carriers to deliver tailored
employee training in safety, airline economics and leadership.
