ICAO safety and security audits of Sierra Leone aviation

How ICAO audits work

ICAO runs two audit programmes. The Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme, USOAP, checks how a state oversees aviation safety ¹. The Universal Security Audit Programme, USAP, checks aviation security and the security parts of facilitation ³. Both measure eight critical elements of an oversight system ^1,3.

Awoko Newspaper reported that a USAP audit at Freetown International Airport covered 497 protocol questions over 10 days ³. It said the audit looks at Annex 17 on security and the security standards in Annex 9 on facilitation ³.

The 2006 safety audit

The Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority says ICAO carried out a USOAP audit from 8 to 12 May 2006 ¹. It says the audit found Sierra Leone completely deficient in all eight critical elements audited ¹. The Authority says this led to its creation by the Civil Aviation Act 2008 in April 2008 ¹.

A press release published on 30 May 2019 said Sierra Leone ranked 43rd of 46 states in the Africa and Indian Ocean regional safety group for effective implementation of ICAO standards ⁴. It said ICAO had appointed CAA International, the technical arm of the UK Civil Aviation Authority, to help fix safety gaps in air navigation services, aerodromes and ground aids ⁴. The work was funded by the ICAO SAFE Fund and planned to last 18 weeks from May 2019 ⁴.

An ICAO project document for 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2024 lists Sierra Leone among the states eligible for its Fundamentals of Safety Oversight project ⁵. The project was open to states with an effective implementation score below 50% or no USOAP audit ⁵. The document does not state Sierra Leone's score in its text ⁵.

Security audits at Lungi

In an undated report with no byline, Awoko Newspaper said a four-person ICAO team led by Aurelien Lavayssiere began a USAP audit at Freetown International Airport ³. It said the then SLCAA Director General, Moses Tiffa Baio, disclosed that the country's security rating was below the regional and global averages of 65% and 70% ³. The report named the Ministry of Transport and Aviation, SLCAA, the Airports Authority, airline representatives, Westminster Aviation Security Services, the armed forces and the police as taking part ³.

The Sierra Leone Telegraph, as reported by Abdul Rashid Thomas on 8 October 2020, said ICAO's West and Central African office in Dakar gave three days of remote help on the 2019 USAP corrective action plan ². It said the areas needing work were critical elements 4 and 6, on training and on certification and approval procedures ².

In March 2025 SLCAA hosted a European Civil Aviation Conference course on security equipment inspection at the airport under the CASE II project ⁹.

EU air safety ban

SLCAA says Sierra Leone was placed on the EU Air Safety List in 2008 for issuing air operator certificates without meeting international safety and oversight requirements ⁶. On 25 April 2024 SLCAA and the EU Air Safety Committee agreed a roadmap for removal ⁶.

In January, Premier News reported SLCAA saying it expected removal in 2025 ⁷. It reported that airlines holding a Sierra Leone certificate cannot fly into EU airspace ⁷. Euronews, as reported by Fakhriya M. Suleiman, said that after the EU update of 9 June 2026 all carriers certified in Sierra Leone remained banned from operating in Europe ⁸.