Dubai Air Navigation Services (Dans), the air navigation service provider for Dubai’s two international airports and the airspace of the Northern Emirates, has signed a co-operation agreement with Eurocontrol, an intergovernmental air traffic management organisation made up of 41 member-states from the European region and the European Union.

This is the first-of-its-kind in the Gulf region, said Dans chief executive Mohammed Abdulla Ahli after signing the deal with Eurocontrol director general Frank Brenner at a seminar hosted by Dans.

The event was attended by various national stakeholders from the aviation industry, and witnessed participation from International organizations such as Eurocontrol and the French air navigation service provider DSNA.

Dans is the first air navigation service provider in the GCC to sign a cooperation agreement with Eurocontrol. The agreement will provide new opportunities for mutual benefit and will also pave the way for collaboration on research and development, exchange of information and provision of support on specific activities between both organizations across various fronts.

The deployment of this agreement will also provide Dans with a significant edge through access to unique market intelligence, as well as the opportunity to collaborate on cutting edge concepts, stated Ahli.
 
Brenner said the ground-breaking agreement will allow us to jointly make an important contribution to the activities that are underway in ICAO to define improved international wake-based separation minima bringing safety and economic benefits to aircraft manufacturers, airlines and airports such as Dubai.

"We believe it is an excellent example of how the different regions of the world can cooperate to drive forward a common project of benefit to all," he added.  

According to him, Eurocontrol was committed to building, together with its partners, a Single EuropeanSky that will deliver the Air Traffic Management (ATM) performance required for the 21st century and beyond.

Dubai, he stated, leads the region in terms of air traffic movement and is set to see 665,000 yearly aircraft movements by 2020.

"The growth rate of aircraft movement clearly suggests that Dubai International and Al Maktoum International in Dubai World Central (DWC) are on a curve of exponential growth," he added.-TradeArabia News Service