The Arab Civil Aviation Organization organized the forty-third meeting of the Air Navigation Committee on 28, 29 and 30 September 2020, via telecommunication using the "Zoom" facility. Sixty one participants from 17 Arab Civil Aviation Organization member States and 6 international and regional organizations (ACAO, JPO, IATA , ICAO IFALPA, IFATCA) participated in this meeting.
His Excellency Eng / Abdenbi Manar, Director General of the Arab Civil Aviation Organization, opened the meeting. He welcomed the members of the committee, while highlighting its importance in a context oriented towards developing the organization´s technical work in the field of air navigation, the Air Navigation Committee being one of its main arms in that perspective. He reminded the audience that the Air transport, which is considered one of the basic economic sectors, is one of the civilian sectors most affected by the spread of the new Corona virus. On the other hand, the Director General emphasized in his opening speech that holding the committee´s meetings virtually is an opportunity for member states granted observers statute in the participating to the committee and adding value to the its discussions as well as its outputs.
His Excellency also stressed the importance of coordination and cooperation between regional and international organizations, and in particular considering a series of measures and recovery plans that would support the return of this sector to play its natural role in ensuring sustainable development and stimulating the rapid growth of other economic sectors. In his opening speech, His Excellency also extended his warmest congratulations to Mr. Ibrahim Bunyan Al Jabri, Chairman of the Air Navigation Committee and the representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, following his appointment to the Air Navigation Commission of the International Civil Aviation Organization´ Council, as a permanent representative of the Kingdom, wishing him every success.
On his side, Mr. Nasser Jassim Al-Khalaf, Vice Chairman of the Air Navigation Committee and the representative of the State of Qatar, welcomed the members of the committee. He also stressed the importance of the meeting while recalling the topics on the agenda and thanked the organization and the Director General for the efforts made, especially those supporting the restoration of the air transport activity in the region following the spread of the Corona Virus Pandemic. (COVID-19).
This meeting addressed several topics of importance in the field of air navigation in the Arab region, tackling several topics, the most important of which being the follow up of the latest developments, procedures and measures undertaken to ensure the return to normal operation of civil aviation activities. It also addressed the follow up of the recommendations of the committee in its 42nd edition held on May 18 and 19, 2020, i.e. Overflight permissions, Organizational Improvement packages and air traffic flow management project in the Middle East as well as expansion of satellite navigation coverage.
