A civil aviation search and rescue forum hosted by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) of the UAE opened today (June 21) in Abu Dhabi.

The two-day event is being held under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization (Icao), the aviation executing agency of the UN.

Search and rescue (SAR) is one of the aviation support services that is mandated by Icao, which administers the convention on international civil aviation to which the UAE is a contracting state.

As in 189 other contracting states, civil aviation operations are conducted in the UAE in conformity with the standards set by Icao.

Global operations are thereby standardized and, as a result, the worldwide aviation industry operates more safely and efficiently and in closer regard to the environment.

In recent times, the UAE GCAA has established a close working relationship with Icao in strengthening safety services throughout areas of the world in particular need, especially some parts of Africa.

The UAE is offering aviation operational and management training to African States and is managing an Icao SAR project in the 14 Southern African States that comprise the Southern African Development Community.

“It is an opportunity to find solutions to long standing issues of insufficiency that compromise effective worldwide SAR coverage,” said Omar Bin Ghaleb, deputy director general of GCAA.

“There are many gaps in the global system, some are technical, others are procedural and many are on account of a scarcity of resources.”

One of the options to be explored in the forum is a proposal for re-organization of global SAR services on the basis of need and capacity rather than along strict political lines, Bin Ghaleb added.

Speakers from many sectors of the aviation industry and key international, regional, and local organizations will be making presentations at the event. – TradeArabia News Service