Rafic Hariri International Airport
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The Director General of Civil Aviation, Head of Rafic Hariri International Airport in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, Fadi Al-Hassan, denied to “Erm News” rumors about placing Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut on the blacklist, or closing it to air navigation.
The Lebanese official’s statements came against the background of a report prepared by the International Civil Aviation Organization and the European Safety Agency regarding the airport.
Al-Hassan said, “The team’s mission is routine and annual, and is related to security and safety issues, and aims to help all countries overcome crises related to air navigation, especially after the setbacks that the sector suffered at the global level due to the Corona epidemic.”
Fadi Al-Hassan
He added that in the event that “a team comes to audit, this does not definitively mean the closure of the airport, because its mission will be to ask the state to draw up a corrective plan, and to follow up on what Lebanon has accomplished within the framework of this plan.”
Al-Hassan talked about an active movement at the airport in terms of arrival and departure, which is mainly handled by major airlines in the world, such as Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways, Air France and others, asking: “Do these companies land at an airport that threatens security and public safety?”
He expressed his surprise at what he considered a “campaign” targeting the airport, stressing that “Beirut Airport is the sector that promotes the Lebanese state and supports it to stand on its feet.”
With regard to the shortage in the number of air observers, and their number being limited to about 13 observers, Al-Hassan explained that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has been conducting business since 2002, and it cannot appoint employees because its regulatory decrees have not been decided.
He revealed to “Erm News” that “24 air controllers who succeeded in the Civil Service Council in 2018 will be appointed in the next session of the Council of Ministers,” noting that they, along with 16 assistant observers from the batch of those eligible in 2010, will undergo training courses, for a final total of 40 air controllers.
Al-Hassan noted that “pending the completion of the training, and during the transitional phase, communication is underway with the International Civil Aviation Organization to nominate certified observers to seek the assistance of their expertise and contract with them,” noting that among the options offered is “cooperation with Iraqi or foreign observers for a period not exceeding two years.”
The air traffic controllers at Beirut airport had repeatedly threatened to stop working, as a result of their long working hours, as a result of the acute shortage due to the failure to fill vacancies resulting from reaching the retirement age. Because of the sectarian quota system in Lebanon, which until now prevents the employment of successful air traffic controllers in the Civil Service Council exams in 2018.
2023-09-02 20:07:21
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