Somalia Aviation Minister Visits ICAO Headquarter

Montreal : Somalia aviation minister Ali Ahmed Jangali has held wide ranging discussion with high ranking official from the international aviation body ICAO at its headquarter in Montreal Canada.

The minister met with president of the agency Alumuyiwa Bernard, general secretary Dr. Fang Liu and the outgoing general secretary Raymond Benjamin, and Mr. Jangali gave them an update about the current state of Somalia aviation affairs.

He touched that Somalia aviation has lost much treasured experts to terror attacks in the capital signaling the challenging situation they are working under.

He also made a point the significance of transferring the air control operation to Somalia so that the government could fully take ownership and accountable for the country’s airspace.

Somalia’s airspace has been under the control of United Nation’s Civil  Aviation Caretaker Authority for Somalia known as CACAS since 1996.

CACAS signed last year December to handover the airspace control to Somali government, but this is yet to be done for lack of necessary facilities and skilled staff in Somalia.

According to the government, CACAS generates $6 to $7 million dollars annually from Somalia of over-flight fees; this could be much needed injection to suffering budget for the Somali government.

Mr. Ali Ahmed Jangali on the other hand raised the issue of wrangles between federal government and semi-autonomous region of Somaliland over the control of airspace, and urged that this should not be politicized.

Goobjoog News