Staff at Juba International Airport have conducted safety training as part of a programme to modernise South Sudan’s sovereign airspace.
Air traffic control officers have been trained under the supervision of NavPass, the modern airspace specialists, who provided a certified officer from the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to train staff in accordance with ICAO standards.
Working in line with ICAO standards is designed to ensure the smooth operation of air traffic, providing confidence for more international airliners and operators to use South Sudan’s skies.
Staff will also be trained on the detail of the operational protocols for South Sudan’s new airspace, called the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP), which will become effective in mid-June 2021. Containing details of new rules and regulations, this AIP will lay the groundwork for a safer and more modern sovereign airspace for South Sudan.
Tom Perkins, CEO of NavPass, said:
“NavPass is proud to partner with the South Sudanese government towards our joint goal of unlocking the economic potential of a safe, accessible and modern airspace.
“Working with the staff at Juba airport and the SSCAA, it’s clear this is a team that is dedicated to the safety of its aircraft passengers, and to opening up South Sudan to the world.”
The project to modernize the airspace, delivered in partnership with NavPass, will enable South Sudan to take full control of its airspace and collect overflight fees, a source of revenue, potentially worth millions of dollars per year.
NavPass partners with governments to optimise and monetise their sovereign airspace. This includes full airspace design, automated fee collection, comprehensive and AI-driven visibility of all flights, and full compliance with international standards and regulations.
Captain Stephen Rombe, director of general air navigation services at the South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority, said:
“Through our partnership with NavPass, years of work to modernise our airspace have taken off in a matter of weeks.
“This training will ensure our staff are among world’s best, putting the aircraft in our skies in the safest hands, and bringing more people to South Sudan, more often.”
Training of staff will continue in June, with the next phase targeting the air traffic control officers own supervisors, in ‘train the trainer’ sessions, as well as full Air Traffic control officer medicals for all controllers in accordance with ICAO regulations.
