AIRPORT STAFF FROM BOTH ST. KITTS AND NEVIS ENGAGES IN AVIATION SAFETY AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT TRAINING

The training, which runs from October 09-12, at the Civil Aviation Conference Room, Bird Rock, is a joint operation with the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA) and the Caribbean Aviation Security and Oversight System (CASSOS), and is the first of its kind in the Federation.

Royston Griffin, Head of the local Civil Aviation Department, outlined the aim of the training, noting that it is of extreme importance.

“The joint operation is to enhance the capabilities within the OECS member states to ensure that there is safety of our airports throughout the region. We work jointly to ensure that we meet our mandates in keeping with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) doc 7300, which is the Convention on International Civil Aviation,” he said. “The training is important to ensure safety within the workplace, safety at the airport and to ensure that there are no accidents or incidents that can occur from mishaps, as most mishaps usually occur from human error. So the whole idea is to bring us up to speed in terms of what is required by the ICAO Standards and recommended practices.”

Mr. Griffin said that safety lies within everyone.

“We as a government, as a people, have a responsibility to ensure that there is safety, not only of passengers but the entire operations. If there is a problem it could affect our economy, our tourism product and the citizens on a whole,” said Mr. Griffin. “So as a state we have to do whatever it takes and ensure that we comply with all international standards and recommended practices.”

Donald McPhail, Director-General of ECCAA, said that he is looking forward to a very successful training and wished participants all the best, as they endeavour to help improve safety and security at the airports.

“We are hoping that at the end of this workshop that the employees form the airport will have a more in-depth understanding of safety, particularly safety management systems. And as a result of this, as you put everything together it would reduce the chances of any mishaps or incidence at the airports,” said the director-general. “It is always good to enhance your safety capabilities. As new aircrafts come on stream…it is good to ensure that measures are in place to reduce the likelihood of an accident occurring, and beyond that, should an accident occur, to enhance the responsive capabilities of the state in dealing with the accidents.”

Over the next four days a number of topics will be covered. These include runaway certification, runaway inspection, runaway safety and safety teams, as well as general inspections of the runaway with respect to pavements.