East African Community (EAC) civil aviation authorities are to jointly tackle air safety and security issues in the sector in order to make air transport services in the region efficient, reliable and profitable.

Through the EAC Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (CASSOA), a regional safety organisation set up to regulate the industry, the aviation authorities contend that issues of aviation safety and security can not be handled in isolation.

While presenting CASSOA's five year strategic plan to Uganda's stakeholders during a consultative meeting in Kampala last week, CASSOA's Executive Director Mr Mtesigwa Maugo, said there is need to have major players who are safe in all states and operating on common standards as the region moves towards implementation of a free market.

"In the late 70s there were a lot of cries that states were not implementing the international standards as they were pretending to do. Everybody was saying, we are operating using the international standards, but the truth is they were not," Maugo said.

He said the truth about standards was found out when International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) started audit on implementation of standards.    

Maugo, said CASSOA's mission is ensure that civil aviation safety and security standards are harmonised and implemented consistently in all partner states.

Speaking at the opening of the consultative workshop, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of EAC Affairs Edith Nsajja Mwanje said the strategic plan has a clear purpose of where the industry wants to go and achieve in the next five years. Mwanje, said there was need to define clear terms on how the strategy will be made possible.