Collins Aerospace

Companies COLLINS AEROSPACE: Supporting Africa’s COVID-19 Recovery

Jens Ziesel is the new Regional Director for Africa for Collins Aerospace Avionics. One of his main tasks is to assist the African air transport industry in its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Aerospace's Jens Ziesel is committed to helping Africa through the Covid-19 crisis.

ZIESEL understands some of the unique challenges in Africa as prior to joining Collins Aerospace, he served in Chad and the CAR for the Austrian Armed Forces and he believes that Africa holds enormous potential for Collins Aerospace. He says that the growth potential in Africa is a great opportunity for Collins to grow its African customer and partner base.

For the recovery of the Covid-19 pandemic, Collins Aerospace has committed to making airports, aircraft and airspace safer. Ziesel believes that, from the time passengers begin their journey from their home or office to leaving the destination airport, only Collins Aerospace is able to deliver the range of technology that will enable end-to-end passenger security and safety.

Collins is a giant global player with over 16,000 engineers who have the industry knowledge and experience to enable Collins to understand the unique needs of airports, airlines and customers in Africa. Collins employs its expertise to deliver leading-edge, customised solutions that are focused on passenger safety and comfort, airport operational efficiency and aircraft availability, maintainability and sustainability.

Collins Aerospace has already established a strong presence in Africa, providing complete aeronautical solutions to aircraft manufacturers, integrators, airlines, airports and governments. Collins Aerospace has almost 200 employees spread over six locations in South Africa, Morocco, Tanzania, Egypt, Ethiopia and Kenya. And the company’s commitment to Africa is growing. In Morocco it has expanded by 40%, creating 60 new jobs, supplying components to Boeing and Airbus.

Ziesel is proud of the level of commitment shown by his company in support of the African air transport industry during the Covid crisis. He points out that their top priority has been their employees and customers. Collins’ dedicated Africa team has been available 24/7/365 in support of customers and is currently fully dedicated to support them for the return to operations, working on the technical and safety challenges, with specific focus on airworthiness, crew training, and maintenance work.

Ziesel states that Collins Aerospace is committed to increase its presence and market share in Africa. “Listening to our customers is part of our DNA. By showing this we strongly believe that we will enlarge our footprint across the whole continent,” he says.

As post-Covid travel resumes, passenger movements will require a ‘No-touch’ seamless experience and airports must adapt to address all passenger touchpoints. This includes curbside arrival, check-in, baggage drop, security access and screening, customs and immigration, self-boarding gates, the in-flight cabin experience and destination border control. “Each of these touchpoints provides an opportunity for passengers and airport staff to come into contact with each other and COVID-19. While no one can predict the future, what is absolutely clear is that until passengers feel safe to travel, the global airline industry will continue to struggle,” Ziesel says. To address this, Collins Aerospace offers, “integrated and intelligent solutions for passenger processing and facilitation, airport operations and baggage management. Our self-service solutions create a seamless travel experience for a high volume of passengers. We provide airports in Africa the solutions needed to improve operational efficiency and enhance the passenger experience.” 