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Cancun – South African Airways (SAA) must help to create a greater awareness of the existence of human trafficking, acting SAA CEO Musa Zwane told Fin24 on Monday.
He is part of a South African delegation attending the annual general meeting of the International Air Transport Association (Iata) in Mexico this week.
“Of the issues raised at the Iata AGM so far, there are two key ones that struck me,” Zwane told Fin24.
“The one is to increase awareness of human trafficking, and the other is the issue of cyber security.”
Zwane was struck by a presentation at the AGM about human trafficking and he wants to see that SAA staff are made much more aware of the issue, so that the airline can contribute to fighting it.
Chris Zweigenthal, CEO of the Airline Association of Southern Africa (AASA), told Fin24 he agrees with Zwane that airlines should get involved in helping to curb human trafficking. AASA is already actively involved in preventing the use of aviation for illegal wildlife transport.
As for the dangers of cyber security, he also wants to create greater awareness of the issue at SAA.
“We need to make an effort to talk about cyber security and its impact on the aviation industry. We welcome that Iata is doing something about it. It is a threat to the industry and people need to be aware of the impact of a breach,” said Zwane.
“Luckily there are plenty of measures that can be taken in this regard and we must also learn from each other in the aviation industry.”
SAA 'on the right track'
As for SAA itself, in Zwane’s opinion the state-owned airline is on the right trajectory.
“We are busy with a strategy, which our board is considering. Overall I am optimistic that SAA will turn the corner. Details of proposals will only be made known later, but I am confident in the proposed plan we submitted and which is going through a process of discussion,” he said.
He is also optimistic that a new CEO for SAA will be appointed soon.
Victor Xaba, new CEO of SA Express, is also attending the Iata AGM. He told Fin24 the airline has great potential for growth. This is despite the very competitive market and challenges regarding a skills drain and aircraft availability.
“My aim is to build a sustainable airline and then focus on growth. Deliberations on what a sustainable structure for the airline will be, are still going on,” he told Fin24.
“The domestic tourism market in SA is one of the areas we see potential growth in.”
* Fin24 is a guest of Iata at its AGM.
