Ras Al Khaimah: The governments of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, including the UAE, appear no closer to solving the regions suffocating air traffic congestion issue.
An increasing number of aircraft are flying over the Gulf resulting in a back up of traffic that see’s passengers idling over airports, and on the ground, waiting for a slot to free up to take off or land.
The six GCC states have discussed, and are still discussing, adopting a system similar to Eurocontrol, which coordinates air traffic routes in Europe and works with national authorities, air navigation service providers, civil and military airspace users, airports.
“I cannot put a deadline for a political solution,” said Laila Al Muhair, Assistant Director General — Strategy and International Affairs at the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), last week.
Al Muhair was speaking at the Arab Aviation and Media Summit held in Ras Al Khaimah recently.
“Improving air traffic management would create additional slots at runways, besides the obvious fuel, time and environmental gains,” said Will Horton, senior analyst at CAPA — Centre for Aviation, by email.
Abdul Wahab Teffaha, Secretary General of the Arab Air Carriers Organisaiton (AACO) said summit the organisations 31 members will carry 299.6 million in 2026, double the 150.7 million they carried last year.
The three major Gulf airlines, Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, all have massive numbers of aircraft on order to meet expansion and fleet renewal plans. Other airlines are also expanding.
Teffaha said an air traffic management system for the entire Arab world, not just the GCC, needs to be implemented. He said the system could be rolled out regionally, first in the Arab Gulf, before being adopted by other countries in the region.
But regional governments are so far unwilling to handover control of there airspace to someone else or dilute the airspace occupied by their militaries. Nearly 50 per cent is thought to be reserved for the militaries across the Middle East, placing a strain on routes as more aircraft fly over the region.
