Dubai: The Gulf Cooperation Council is looking for a single aviation market to ensure better quality of service and the highest level of safety, a top aviation officer said on Tuesday in the second Civil Aviation Navigation Services Organisation (Canso) conference.
On the sidelines of the second Canso Middle East ANSP Conference, Abdullah Al Rumaihi, president of GACA Saudi Arabia and Chairman of the Middle East Canso CEO Committee (MEC3), told reporters: "GCC with governments, military and security are working together to create a single open sky in the Gulf which enable GCC carriers to operate freely between cities without any commercial restrictions including restrictions on route, the number of flights and the setting of fares."
Currently, GCC skies are governed by constraining agreements that restrict the freedom of airlines, and consequently limit the choice of customers.
Al Rumaihi said: "Open skies across the GCC will bring more freedom to customers, remove all restrictions, transforming the aviation industry into a more efficient and safe one as well as create conditions for competitiveness."
The open GCC sky is expected to lay the foundations for a unified aviation security system, create additional capacity and increase the overall efficiency of the air traffic management system which will be able to cater to anticipated growth, he added.
Moreover, Canso, the global voice of ATM, announced yesterday its ‘Middle East Declaration', a statement committing the members of its Middle East Office and other aviation stakeholders in the region to work together to improve air traffic management across the Middle East.
Al Rumaihi said that the Middle East Declaration will reinforce the move towards open GCC skies.
Saif Mohammad Al Suwaidi, Director General of the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), said: "GCAA has recently joined the Canso family but we have already seen the benefits that come from being part of a worldwide network of ANSPs.
"As a progressive and leading ANSP, GCAA is working with our partners to take advantage of the best practices and new technologies developing in ATM and I am sure that in the spirit of this declaration, the Middle East ANSPs will lift their capabilities to a new level."
Alan Stealey, Division Senior Vice-President of Flight Operations for Emirates, said: "As the largest carrier in the region, Emirates recognises that it has a responsibility to work with its partners to improve the air traffic system."
