The association’s remarks follow two separate air crashes involving Nigerian commercial airlines which left more than 200 people dead recently.

Iata director-general and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said: “Africa is a big, big issue on safety. Although Africa accounts for only about 4% of global air traffic, its accident rate is 25%, which is six times less safe than the world rate.”

Iata, which represents 265 airlines or 93% of global air traffic, said only three airlines in Africa — South African Airways, EgyptAir and Kenya Airways — had completed an operational safety audit. Iata has 39 African airlines as members. “I am worried and disappointed,” said Bisignani.

A total of 140 international airlines would undergo an operational safety audit by the end of this year.

About $3m had been set aside to help struggling airlines meet the required safety standards free of charge, said Bisignani.

The idea was to ensure that all member airlines were audited by 2007, when an operational safety audit certificate would become a condition of Iata membership.

Iata vice-president for safety, operations and infrastructure, Gunther Matschnigg, said: “We are no longer in the numbers game. Iata must move to being a quality association where its membership must be synonymous with safety commitment.”

Matschnigg said the month of August this year was “the worst period ever” when 417 passengers died in five accidents. Two of the accidents occurred in Africa with another two in South America and one in Europe.

He said human error accounted for 71% of all accidents while poor weather and deficiencies in safety management systems were also contributing factors.

Iata plans to reduce the accident rate 25% to 0,49 hull losses (currently 0,68) by 2008. A hull loss is an accident in which an aircraft is destroyed beyond repair.