Operational Control Centre now controls Air Namibia

Air Namibia has set up an Intergrated Operational Control Centre (IOCC) which houses and monitors all local, regional and international air traffic control systems and is independent from the airline.
The centre is currently made up of four personnel with about 70 years of experience in aviation and is headed by Kate du Toit.
According to du Toit, the main aim of an IOCC is to find problems before they occur and have contingency plans in place. She said, the centre is the hype of the airline, and her team have to look at what is going on around the company and take control by informing people about possible set backs at the company before they happen whether it is maintenance, crewing, training, airport or weather problems. “To this end, we sit on a daily basis with a senior representative of each relevant department and agree on the schedule for the next three days. We are therefore able to reschedule flights in advance, if necessary, to leave enough time to notify passengers, agents and suppliers of any changes,” du Toit added. The centre was initially set up in March this year but became fully operational in April. She said the introduction of the control centre in March, had drastically reduced delays in flights, because of advance rescheduling, which allowed enough time to notify passengers, agents and suppliers.
Du Toit said, it is the centre’s responsibility to work out ways to improve the airline, avoid delays and enhance the services of the airline. IOCC reports on a daily basis to all relevant parties on the activities of the previous day, and ensure that data is taken to the Daily Operations Meeting to be discussed so as to find ways to further reduce delays.
“We also produce a report, on a monthly basis for EXCO and the Board of Directors on On-Time Performance,” she said.