The three-day program that convened civil aviation regulators from across Southern Africa, focused on enhancing safety and compliance oversight, knowledge exchange and future readiness.
Boeing, CAA International (CAAi), the Southern African Development Community Aviation Safety Organization (SASO) and the Angola Civil Aviation Authority co-hosted a Special Authorisations and Special Approvals Chain workshop in Luanda from May 6-8, 2026. The workshop provided hands-on training and shared best practices to strengthen regulatory oversight and further improve aviation safety in Southern Africa.
Aviation regulators from Angola and across Southern Africa participated in interactive sessions focused on practical procedures needed to issue special approvals and maintain compliance.
“As regional regulator teams evolve, ongoing training and knowledge sharing help ensure consistent safety and oversight,” said Kayode Ariwodola, Boeing director of safety and regulatory affairs for Africa, the Middle East, Türkiye, Central Asia and Europe. “This workshop, developed at the request of Southern African civil aviation authorities, provided a practical forum to build skills, strengthen partnerships, and support long-term capacity development across the region.”
Key topics included regulatory authorisation procedures for specific operations, such as:
- performance-based navigation (PBN)
- minimum navigation performance specifications (MNPS)
- reduced vertical separation minimum (RVSM)
- low visibility operations (LVO)
- extended range twin and multi-engine operations (ETOPS).
“In Southern Africa, issuing special approvals has been one of the least understood and weakest-performing areas under ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program, largely because technical training in this area has been scarce in our region,” said Kabo Phutietsile, SASO executive director. “With support from Boeing and CAAi, this workshop is the first step to equip specialists in our region with practical skills to address those challenges. We hope that it will mark the beginning of a long-lasting partnership, ensuring sustained capacity building and improved performance in aviation safety oversight”.
Delivered by subject‑matter experts from CAAi and Boeing, the program offered a forum for peer-to-peer exchanges that bolstered cohesiveness and resilience across the Southern African aviation ecosystem.
Matthew Margesson, managing director at CAAi, added: “It was a pleasure to collaborate with Boeing, SASO and the Angola Civil Aviation Authority on this important initiative. By providing practical, regulator focused training, the workshop will help build sustainable capability in areas critical to ICAO compliance and long-term aviation safety performance across the region.”
The workshop in Angola built on recent regulatory excellence programs organised by Boeing and partners in Tunisia for North African civil aviation authorities and in Uganda for East African regulators. Boeing also partners with African carriers to deliver tailored employee training in safety, airline economics and leadership.
