IATA Regional Vice President – Africa & Middle East, Mr. Hussein Dabbas, accompanied by the new IATA Vice President – Africa, Mr. Raphael Kuuchi and his team met the AFRAA Secretary General, Dr. Elijah Chingosho, on 19 February 2014 at the AFRAA Headquarters to discuss areas of mutual support to African airlines.
Speaking on behalf of IATA at the opening of the meeting, Mr. Dabbas said, “Our intention is to work hand in hand with governments and Associations like AFRAA to assure the success of the aviation industry.” The meeting kicked off with an introduction of both teams and an outline of key focus areas for 2014.
AFRAA Secretary General presented AFRAA’s joint initiatives among its member airlines and underlined the importance of facilitating interconnectivity and cooperation among airlines. The joint initiatives being undertaken by the AFRAA Secretariat include: the Joint Fuel Purchase Project, Joint Ground Handling Task Force and Route Network Coordination.
Among others, AFRAA and IATA discussed at length the following areas for cooperation, setting out action plans and activities to be covered in 2014:
Safety and security
- Environment
- Liberalization
- Infrastructure
- Training
- Participation in forthcoming events: IATA AGM, IATA Aviation Day, Aviation Suppliers and Stakeholders Convention and AFRAA AGA
Also present from IATA was: Ms. Tanja Grobotek – Regional Director, Safety and Flight Operations, Africa, RSFO, Ms. Adefunke Adeyemi – Regional Head, Member and External Relations, Africa and the Middle East, RMER, Mr. Hassim Pondor – Africa Head – Airport, Passenger, Cargo & Security (APCS) and Ms.
Sally Osure – newly appointed Area Manager – East Africa. Present from the AFRAA Secretariat was: Mrs. Juliet Indetie – Deputy Director, Corporate Finance and Administration, Ms. Maureen Kahonge – Business Development Manager and Mrs. Pamela Radier, PA to the Secretary General.
Whilst in Nairobi, IATA held other meetings with Kenya Airways, ICAO, Kenya Association of Travel Agents and Kenya Civil Aviation Authority.
