An analysis of Zambia's compliance with international legal aviation safety standards

Abstract

Air travel has been growing steadily worldwide, more rapidly so in Africa. Zambia too has experienced a rise in air travel, both local and international, in recent times. With the high dependency on air transport both for personal transportation and for trade, there is need, now more than ever, for uniformity, consistency and cooperation in the regulation of air transport to ensure safety and security for the travelling public. Further, with the interdependence of states, especially in the area of commerce and trade, each state must ensure that it plays its part by maintaining the minimum acceptable standards of aviation safety. These standards are laid down by the International Civil Aviation Organisation in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and its accompanying annexes. Zambia as part of the international community and a signatory to this Convention has an obligation to strive to ensure that its aviation laws and regulations are in compliance with the internationally accepted minimum standards. This requires constant updating, reviewing and amending of the national laws to accommodate the changes being made to these international requirements. This must be done to ensure compliance and therefore safety in aviation. For various but often similar reasons, many African nations have failed to attain the required minimum safety standards. Zambia's compliance with these internationally set aviation safety standards is what this paper seeks to investigate.