Montreal: The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has voiced its support for the UAE’s concerns on risks facing civil aviation safety due to Qatari military operations.
In response to a request filed by the UAE government, the ICAO board stressed the importance of ensuring the safety of civil aviation and protecting the lives of civilian passengers.
This came during a special session held by the board in the presence of Fahd Saeed Mohammad Al Raqbani, UAE Ambassador to Canada, and Saif Mohammad Al Suwaidi, Director-General of the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
Qatari jets had been recorded dangerously intercepting civilian aircraft registered in the UAE since the beginning of 2018.
The board emphasised the importance of cooperation between civil and military bodies and respecting civil aviation safety principles concerning safe airline movement in the region.
ICAO called on military aviation operations ensure and take into consideration the relevant civil aviation safety measures, reaffirming that ICAO will continue to monitor the situation and implement the required technical solutions to boost aviation safety in the region.
Al Suwaidi welcomed ICAO’s decision, and expressed his thanks to the board for accepting the complaint and proposals submitted by the UAE.
Al Suwaidi pointed out that the Qatari military jets incidents are a clear and dangerous violation by Qatar of international civil aviation agreement, also known as the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, which calls for respecting the safety of navigation of civil aircrafts.
He emphasised that evidence provided by the UAE to ICAO proved that Qatar had failed to notify the UAE that it is carrying out dangerous activities, and that Qatar’s military units did coordinate with the UAE or Bahrain’s civil aviation services.
