Appointment of First Batch of Saudi Female Air traffic Controllers

22.03.2019 Aviation & Space
Appointment of First Batch of Saudi Female Air traffic Controllers

Appointment of First Batch of Saudi Female Air traffic Controllers

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Saudi Air Navigation Services (SANS) celebrated Wednesday the appointment and start of work of the first batch of Saudi female Air traffic controllers at air traffic control center in Jeddah.

SANS is responsible for providing air navigation services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where the company plays an important and vital role in the security and safety of airspace and aircraft movement within Saudi airspace.

The number of the first batch was eleven Saudi girls after completing a one-year study of the girls’ air traffic control program conducted by the company in cooperation with the Saudi Academy of Civil Aviation.

This is the first program to qualify girls to work in the air traffic control profession, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

In March 2018, a total of 12 Saudi women joined a training course for air traffic controllers, the first in the Kingdom for women.

The training course for the first batch was carried out by SANS in cooperation with the Saudi Civil Aviation Academy as part of an ambitious program to create more jobs for Saudi women.

Ryyan Tarabzoni, Chief Executive Officer of SANS, said SANS gives top priority to employing Saudi women in this profession in line with the goal of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 to support and empower Saudi women.

“The training program is being implemented with the support and follow up of Abdulhakim Al-Tamimi, President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA),” he said at the time.

Applicants must be between 18 and 25 years of age and have a high school diploma with high marks. They have to clear seven tests before being selected for the training program, which consists of both theoretical and practical training in the air traffic control sector.

The Saudi Civil Aviation Academy, which is implementing the program, is a specialized academy accredited by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and International Air Transport Association (IATA) with 7 international accreditations.

The air traffic control course includes physics, mathematics, aviation language, basic aerodynamic training course, tower control course, practical application program that includes an international flight definition of ‘cabins’, and practical training on simulators, as well as workshops and orientation visits.

The Saudi women employees at GACA play a major role especially in the sector of licensing procedures for airlines and their employees.

 



 
 

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