UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and Airbus ProSky signed an agreement starting the first phase of project to restructure the UAE airspace.
The study will be conducted by Airbus ProSky and deliver a comprehensive report in the summer of 2013. Airbus ProSky said its team will meet with all airspace users, navigation services providers and airports of the UAE and will analyze historical data to identify enhancement to the UAE airspace.
"It is very important to seek continuous enhancement of UAE’s airspace to better serve the increasing air traffic movement and to be at the forefront of air navigation services providers internationally," said HE Saif Al Suwaidi, director general of GCAA. "We will work closely with Airbus ProSky in the next few months to understand what changes we need to bring to our airspace and ATM systems to better serve airspace users."
"The success of the local airlines along with the global traffic going through GCAA airspace makes the UAE a strategic country in Air Traffic Management. GCAA is rightfully preparing for the future and we look forward to bringing Airbus ProSky expertise to support all UAE aviation stakeholders and the GCAA in its endeavor to safely encourage traffic growth in the region," said François Cognard, vice president of Middle East sales, Airbus. The UAE airspace is among the smallest and most important airspaces in the world due to the strategic location of the UAE being the link between East and West. Inaugurated in 2009, Sheikh Zayed Air Navigation Center aims at accommodating the growth in the aviation sector, soon receiving the Sheikh Khalifa Award for the best technical experience category, in recognition to the advanced technologies used at the center.
The center today handles more than 2,000 air traffic movements per day for the 8 international airports in the UAE as well as the over flying movements. The center hosts 9 air traffic sectors and the Approach air traffic services to Al Ain International airport.