Dubai: The General Command of the Armed Forces, represented by the National Service and Reserve Authority (NRSA), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Etihad Airways.
Under the MoU, the Etihad Airways Medical Centre will conduct examinations for the airline’s staff who are called on for national service. The airline will comply with the agreed guidelines and report the results to the National Service and Reserve Authority.
UAE nationals from the Etihad Airways staff have also been undertaking national service training since the end of 2014 and more are expected to join the programme during the year.
The ceremony at Etihad Airways’ Headquarters in Abu Dhabi also included a tour of the airline’s Medical Centre which has been certified to conduct the National Service’s medical examinations and screenings.
The MoU was signed by Maj Gen Pilot Shaikh Ahmad Bin Tahnoun, Chairman of National Service and Reserve Authority, and Mohammad Mubarak Al Mazroui, Chairman of Etihad Airways.
“The MoU will ensure close collaboration and coordination between all parties,” Shaikh Ahmad said, “especially in the area of medical examinations, which will be conducted at the world-class Etihad Airways Medical Centre.”
Etihad Airways announced last week that it had received accreditation from the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to operate the country’s first Aeromedical Centre (AeMC), allowing the Medical Centre to perform functions on behalf of the GCAA.
“We are delighted today to build upon the partnership with the National Reserve and Service Authority and cement Etihad Airways’ commitment to the UAE national service initiative, which has been approved under Federal Law No 6 of 2014, issued by His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE,” Al Mazroui said.
The federal law stipulates all Emirati men who have finished secondary school or aged between 18-30 will have to serve nine months, while those who have not will serve two years. The service will be optional for women, who may be trained for nine months, regardless of their education.
James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “Since the launch of our UAE national development strategy in 2007 the composition of our UAE national workforce has increased from four to 23 per cent, and we now employ more than 2,200 UAE nationals across the spectrum of our operations.”
Hogan stated that Emiratis are now the number one nationality group in Etihad Airways as well as the number one nationality group at the manager and higher management levels.
Currently there are more than 150 UAE nationals working in positions at the airline’s offices and airport destinations across the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas.
Many of them have also been placed on assignment with Etihad Airways’ partner airlines worldwide. More than 6,000 UAE nationals are set to join the airline by 2020.
