Technical & Operations

AFRAA Technical and Operations Task Force

In line with the AFRAA Vision and Mission, the Technical and Operations Task Force provides a forum where airlines discuss and agree on the implementation of cost-reduction initiatives while efficiently enhancing safety.

AFRAA Line Maintenance Pools
Most African airlines operate similar types of aircraft at common airports across the continent. The pooling program engages and encourages participating air carriers to smartly support their line maintenance operations while reducing the cost of operations through the following:

• When pooling their resources, one of the member airlines positions a critical part, such as the main wheel assembly at a particular airport.
• The initiative grants access to all participating airlines to the said spare-wheel at modest fees; hence the availability of such a critical part enhances efficiency and contributes to enhanced passenger experience by eliminating disruptions and the following:
o No stranded passengers following a tire burst at an outstation;
o No additional costs for meals or accommodation while the airline awaits the arrival of a spare wheel
o Avoiding an AOG and enabling schedule integrity due to quick restoration of operations.

• Here is an example of commitment to environmental sustainability: for 3 400 flights operated by a B737 aircraft on an average distance of 3 700 KMs, the off-loading of nose and main wheels will avoid the emission of 107 metric tonnes of CO2 and yield an annual saving of USD 400,000.
Is your airline participating in the AFRAA Line Maintenance Pools? If not, click on Pool and get in touch with the AFRAA Secretariat to receive all the information you need to know how to reap the benefits of the pooling initiative.

Sharing Maintenance and Overhaul Tasks
The second cooperative approach in engineering and maintenance targets further productivity improvement through the collaboration of like-minded Base Maintenance Organizations.
The strategy of this initiative is in threefold:
• Share maintenance and overhaul tasks among the like-minded existing MRO facilities;
o One MRO with a landing gear overhaul workshop can access the landing gear maintenance business of the other partners through this initiative.
• Optimize and boost their respective efficiencies;
o Each partner could specialize in supplementary tasks while getting access to the other partners’ maintenance businesses.
o The respective economy of scales will strengthen each partner in its specialized domain;
• Attract the maintenance services of African airlines.
o The productivity gain through the process will assist these partners to win the maintenance businesses of other African airlines based on cost-effectiveness.
Does this cooperation make sense to you? In case it rings a bell, click on MRO to contact the AFRAA Secretariat.

Keeping Abreast with Regional Priorities Relating to Operations, Safety, and Security
The Task Force also provides a forum for the following:
• To update member airlines on regional priorities relating to operations, safety, and security coordinated by stakeholders such as IATA, AFCAC, and ICAO.
o Atlantic Ocean Random Routing RNAV Area (AORRA), located in South Atlantic between Africa and Latin America, allows airlines to navigate along flexible routes to entry/exit points along the contour of the AORRA.
o The practices of Continuous Descend Operations (CDO) and Continuous Climb Operations (CCO) are Africa set priorities to reduce fuel burnt in terminal areas of African airports safely.
o The awareness and support of the ICAO Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) is also paramount to address the increase in total CO2 emissions from international aviation above 2020 levels.
• To develop common positions, in African airline perspectives, so that the AFRAA Secretariat will be able to articulate the same stances at regional and or international forums such as the Africa and Indian Ocean (AFI) Air Traffic Service (ATS) Incident Analysis Group AIAG, the Regional Aviation Safety Group for AFI RASG-AFI, the IATA Regional Co-ordination Group for AFI RCG, and the AFI Planning and Implementation Regional Group APIRG.