Somalia’s government started importing air control system equipment as parts of new efforts aimed at commencing the implementation of the transition program which would transfer full control of Somali airspace to the central government.
The development is the culmination of years of long-running negotiations between Somali government the International Civil Aviation Organization which was finalized on late 2014 with the two sides signed an agreement which would transfer the airspace control from the Nairobi-based UN-funded caretaker authority to Somali government.
Ali Jama Jangali, Somalia’s aviation minister said that the advance equipment donated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) would help Somalia to run its own space and facilitate ‘safe’and ‘orderly’ movement of aircraft within and between Somalia and other countries.
“This is a turning point which reflects the considerable work we have done and the point from which we have set out to reach here.” He told reporters at the Mogadishu airport on Monday.
The United Nations took over responsibility for managing Somalia’s airspace 21 years ago following the collapse of the central government, and in May 1996, leading to the creation of the Civil Aviation Caretaker Authority for Somalia (CACAS) which had since been managing the country’s airspace and collected over-flight revenues for Somalia.
The collapse of Somalia’s central Somalia had dealt an irreparable damage to the country’s general infrastructure including the civil aviation sector, forcing the central government to start all sectors from the scratch.
