For the first time EASA is managing a technical cooperation project funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the region itself.
EASA has launched a new project with the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), named PASTA-CO (Projet d’Appui au Secteur du Transport Aérien en Afrique Centrale et Occidental, or, in English, Air Transport Sector Support Project to Central and Western Africa).
This project aims to enhance aviation safety in the region by providing capacity building, through training of the technical personnel of both the Regional Safety Oversight Organisation (RSOO) and national Civil Aviation Authorities (CAA) of the region.
The project will particularly focus on those two levels: regional and national, with the purpose to reinforce the RSOO and move towards its operationalization. This project is complementary to the former EU funded project ATA-AC (Amélioration du Transport Aérien en Afrique Central, or, in English, Improvement of Air Transport in Central Africa), which ended in December 2017.
The region has embarked on the adoption of EU-based rules, which will facilitate not only regional integration, but also the process of keeping the rules up-to-date and in compliance with international standards. The newly launched project will provide initial and refresher trainings. It will also initiate the autonomisation of the region in terms of training, by training instructors and running workshops for CAA managers.
Its areas of activities will cover the domains of personnel licensing, operations, airworthiness and aerodromes. The project budget is €1.7 million.
More information on the PASTA-CO project and EASA’s technical cooperation activities.
