Somalia Gov’t to Take Over Airspace Control at the End of This Year

Mogadishu May 14, 2013 (SDN) – The minister of information, posts, telecommunications and transportation in Somalia’s federal government has announced on Sunday that government is preparing to take over the control of its airspace by the end of this year. The minister and other government officials met on Sunday in Mogadishu with officials from the United Nations Development Program and representatives from Civil Aviation Caretaker Authority of Somalia (CACAS) based in Nairobi.  The meeting officially declared transfer supervision of the country’s airspace to Somalia federal government in Mogadishu. “We have agreed that the federal government of Somalia to be prepared to take over its responsibilities of the control of its airspace by 31st December 2013.” Abdullahi Elmoge Hersi told reporters in Mogadishu after the Sunday’s meeting. He said before the end of this year, the government will relocate more than hundred airspace management staff based in Nairobi to Mogadishu. “During the time of preparation we will train our national staff and the capacity to handle such service.” the minister added. Government also noted that the airspace control office which will be based at Mogadishu main airport will have close collaboration with Nairobi’s civil aviation to exchange important aviation information during the relocation of the airspace control center to Somalia. Somalia’s airspace control has been under the Civil Aviation Caretaker Authority of Somalia (CACAS) which is a civil aviation authority programme created by the United Nations in 1996, with a mandate in Somalia. CACAS has served as a caretaker for Somalia’s airspace since the collapse of the central government in the early 1990s following the outbreak of the civil war. The organization has collected over-flight revenues on behalf of the country. Several attempts by previous Somalia transitional governments to take over the service failed because of lack of skilled and trained staff and the long time wars the country has plunged into.

SDN News Desk

Mogadishu