UAS Mitigating Operator Challenges in Africa

UAS Mitigating Operator Challenges in Africa: Operators are facing more challenges than ever planning tech and night stops throughout the continent of Africa.

Key issues include where tech-stop and crew rest are available in line with the mandatory hours.

To assist in flight planning and enable operators to organize successful missions, UAS recommends Angola, Ghana, Cameroon, Kenya, Mozambique, Senegal, and Niger as the best options for crew rest.

Here are the details:

Angola

• Airport: FNLU
• Permits: Available through UAS
• Diplomatic authorization: Business, humanitarian, repatriate, cargo – must be obtained via Diplomatic channels
• Review date: May 25
• Crew transfer: Available. UAS can offer crew transportation disinfections on both arrival and departure.
• Supervision:UAS Africa can monitor all your movements.
• Accommodation: Available.

Cameroon 

(tech-stops only)

• Airports: FKKD, FKYS
• Permits: Self application for operators.
• Diplomatic authorization: Required for all flights embarking or disembarking passengers.
• Review date: June 1 (yet to be confirmed)
• Crew transfer: Not applicable as no night stops are allowed.
• Supervision: UAS Africa can monitor all your movements.

Ghana

• Permits: Self application for operators.
• Diplomatic authorization: Emergency/ humanitarian flights, cargo flights, technical landing for refuel only, Medevac flights. All flights need special authorization as well as the normal request.
• Review date: May 31
• Crew transfer: Safe crew transport is available.
• Supervision: UAS Africa can monitor all your movements.
• Accommodation: Crew will be quarantined in their hotel rooms, but no hotel has been designated a quarantine base for crew yet.

Kenya

• Permit: Available through UAS.
• Diplomatic authorization: All flights require diplomatic authorization except ferry flights where there are no passengers embarking or disembarking and technical stops where passengers will not leave the aircraft.
• Crew transfer: Available with strict guidelines set.
• Supervision: UAS Africa can monitor all your movements.
• Accommodation: Available.

Senegal 

• Permits: Available through UAS.
• Diplomatic authorization: All other types of landings like crew rest, passenger flights, cargo etc. must be obtained by via diplomatic channels.
• Review date: May 31
• Crew transfer:Sanitized buses with drivers fully protected are available through UAS.
• Supervision: UAS Africa can monitor all your movements.
• Accommodation: Available, although there is no crew rest allowed unless permission is achieved via diplomatic channels.

Mozambique 

• Permits: Technical, fuel and night stops available and be applied for directly through the CAA. No passenger flights allowed unless they are repatriation flights.
• Diplomatic authorization: Repatriation, cargo and humanitarian flights must be applied for through diplomatic channels.
• Review date: May 30
• Crew transfer: Available It’s suggested that crew also take their own safety measures in addition to that of the transportation.
• Supervision: UAS Africa can monitor all your movements.
• Accommodation: Available for crew night stops and rest. Permission to move around the city must be granted by the hotel.

Niger

• Permits: Available through UAS.
• Diplomatic authorization: Required for all passenger flights and any flight picking up or disembarking passengers.
• Crew transfer: Available.  UAS can offer safe and efficient crew transfers.
• Supervision: UAS Africa can monitor all your movements.
• Accommodation: Available at the only designated hotel for crew in Niamey, the Radisson Blu Hotel.

UAS Africa is also seeing a demand for repatriation flights, medevacs and cargo flights, particularly in Ethiopia, Senegal, Niger, Kenya, Mali, and South Africa.

UAS is working with airports throughout the continent to support our clients and provide onsite supervision, transportation, and accommodation.

For more insight on African Airport Stops during COVID-19, visit our blog.

For support with your flight operations in Africa, contact UAS