GCAA celebrates International Air Traffic Controllers Day

The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), under the guidance of Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director General, has organised a special event to mark the contribution and dedication of the UAE's Air Traffic Controllers. The dinner gala took place at Yas Links and was attended by Ahmed Al Jallaf, Executive Director of Air Navigation Services and a large number of air traffic controllers from all emirates. The UAE sky is considered one of the busiest in the region, and the growth in the industry is outpacing that elsewhere in the world. Air Traffic Controllers in the UAE are responsible for safely and efficiently guiding aircraft through UAE skies from the Sheikh Zayed Air Navigation Centre in Abu Dhabi as well as to and from the country's airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Sharjah, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah. The role of the Air Traffic Controller is ultimately to keep aircraft safely apart from each other using their unique skills and state of the art equipment. It is an area of the aviation industry that many of the flying public are unaware of and how important Controllers are in ensuring their flights are kept safe both in the air and on the ground. The GCAA and other Air Navigation Service Providers in the UAE have attracted a wealth of experience by recruiting highly skilled controllers from around the world in order to cope with the rapid growth in air travel in the region. The GCAA has heavily invested in a full and integrated Nationalisation Program since 1998 and are actively recruiting National cadets to fill positions on the tough training course presented at the Training School at the Sheikh Zayed Air Navigation Centre in Abu Dhabi. An Air Traffic Control Awareness campaign was initiated by the Sheikh Zayed Air Navigation Centre in 2011. So far, controllers from the Centre have visited a number of schools and universities throughout the Emirates to promote Air Traffic Control. Along with promoting ATC, the program aims to help select better candidates and strengthen ties between the GCAA and learning institutes.