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All UAE Airports Win Aerodrome Licence Tests

ABU DHABI - All seven international airports in the UAE have passed the tests to receive the aerodrome licence to be issued by the General Civil Aviation Authority, or GCAA, in accordance with the global and domestic norms.

Five airports — Abu Dhabi International Airport, Al Ain International Airport, Al Bateen International Aiport (in Abu Dhabi), Dubai International Airport as well as the Sharjah International Airport—had received aerodrome licences earlier.

“Now we have completed the evaluation process for the other two airports in Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah also. Both these airports have also been found to be meeting the licence norms and we will be issuing their aerodrome licences early next week,’’ Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director-General of GCAA, told Khaleej Times here.

The GCAA developed and implemented comprehensive aerodrome licence programmes earlier this year to enhance safety and operational standards across the UAE’s international airports. “Apart from the norms set by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), we had introduced some criteria on our own for awarding licences to the airports in the country. Some of our norms were stricter than those set by international
 bodies,’’ he said.

“The norms related to the safety, service quality, navigational and, security aspects of the airports, and we wanted our airports to be above the interna tional standards, both in terms of the equipment and quality of manpower. Each airport has invested significant amounts to achieve those norms,’’ Mohammed Al Suwaidi said.

The GCAA itself has invested heavily in the aerodrome licence programmes by providing aviation specialists to conduct numerous inspections and audits to ensure that the highest level of safety and security standards is maintained.

The UAE’s international airports are growing in stature from airfields to top quality aviation hubs—thanks to the commercial success of local airlines and the influx of investment and tourism from around the world to the country. The GCAA has been at the forefront of regional aviation development through constant auditing, training and monitoring of the country’s aerodrome operators, he said.

The GCAA is also working closely with the ICAO and regional aviation authorities to advance existing air systems and operations adopt international aviation safety and security standards and programmes and focus on safety and security measures to prevent and reduce incidents and accidents,
he said. — ramavarman@khaleejtimes.ae