In line with meeting International Airlines Operation Standards, different African Airliners are gathered in Kigali to train on safety and quality standards.

The four-day training sponsored by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) gathering 24 Airliners among them; Kenya Airways, Rwandair-express, Nigeria Aero Contract, Air Namibia and Civil Aviation Authority.

According to Eng. John Gwaseko, the flight operations and IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) Project Manager, the objective of the training is to enhance safety and quality of services in the Airline operations.

He added that participants will mainly be trained on customer service, flight safety and quality management in airline operations.

"The training has been ongoing. We have to remind the staff on issues related to customer service, flight safety and quality systems because they are core in the Airlines business,” said Gwaseko.

He also said that the selected participants are people who impact passengers in one way or another from purchasing tickets, baggage handling, load control and cabin services of which most are supervisors.

The Chairman Rwandair express, Gerald Zirimwabagabo, said that the training is part of the Airlines vision to become an Airline of choice of which to achieve the goal best services that meet international standards.

"Rwandair’s topmost objective is safety and quality as set by IATA, that’s why in order to achieve our goal, we applied to host this training,” he said.

Zirimwabagabo said that other areas that are upgrading the Airline include acquisition of new equipment, Aircraft acquisition and its profitability.

It’s expected that after the training, participants will be able to know the elements which are necessary to implement a comprehensive and practical quality system, understand the benefits and value of a strong quality systems and advise senior executives in order to initiate the development of quality systems.

John Kayijuka, a trainee from Rwandair-express, said that though it’s not the first IATA training, it’s the first in quality systems.

"It’s a good exposure because we interact with different airliners from Africa whom we share experiences and challenges,” he said.

Rwandair-express has been undergoing IOSA since last year and is expected to be complete this year to meet the 24 months stipulated by IATA.

IOSA is the emerging global airline standard which aims at reducing the number of overlapping audits by use of a single standardized system that will be accepted worldwide.

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