The Twentieth Meeting of the Middle East Air Navigation Planning and Implementation Regional Group and The Tenth Meeting of the Regional Aviation Safety Group (MIDANPIRG/20 & RASG-MID/10) was held at Kempinski Hotel, Al Muj, Muscat from 14 to 17 May 2023. The meeting was generously hosted by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Sultanate Oman in close coordination with ICAO’s Middle East Regional Office.
His Excellency Eng. Naif bin Ali Al-Albri, President of the Civil Aviation Authority, delivered the opening speech on behalf of Sultanate of Oman. He emphasized that global and regional developments in aviation safety are essential for ICAO’s work programmes and working groups. These programmes focus on developing rules, recommendations, procedures, and updates that serve as outcomes for the 41st General Assembly meeting.
Mr. Mohamed Abu Baker, Regional Director of ICAO MID Office, welcomed all participants and expressed his sincere gratitude to the sultanate of Oman and H.E Eng. Naif Ali Al-Abri President of The Civil Aviation Authority for hosting this important meeting in Muscat. “Oman hosts these meetings to support the aviation industry and the work programme of the ICAO MID Office,” said Mr. Mohamed.
“States within the MID Region are popular destinations for business trips, religious and recreational vacations, and global events like FIFA World Cup and Expo. Despite the challenges for the aviation industry to safely handle the movements and enhance the airspace capacity to allow for efficient operations, the region has been successful.” Mr. Mohamed emphasized.
The MIDANPIRG meeting was chaired by Mr. Ahmed Al Jallaf, Assistant Director General Air Navigation Services (UAE, GCAA), while the RASG meeting was chaired by Mr. Mubarak Saleh, Superintendent ATS (Oman, CAA). The meeting was attended by more than 140 participants from 11 Member States, 8 International and Regional Organizations.
The meetings took place over four days and covered eight working sessions, focusing on various tasks, including reviewing the Middle East air traffic report for the past year, regional air traffic plans with new amendments and additions based on regional and global developments, discussions on relevant regional air route network schedules, the assessment of the regional air navigation service provider, and related issues and standards to enhance and sustain safety levels.
Discussions encompassed the Civil Aviation Safety Regional Plan for the Middle East for the period 2023-2025, focusing on safety improvement initiatives, safety performance standards, and strategic safety management priorities specific to the Middle East region. National plans for civil aviation safety, national safety programs, as well as challenges and priorities at airports in the Middle East region, were also addressed.
The meetings highlighted several conclusions and decisions; The MIDANPIRG/20 meeting adopted fifty-six Conclusions and Decisions while the RASG-MID/10 meeting adopted fourteen conclusions and decisions.
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