z AFRICA & Middle east // Regional Meeting News z Photo: The 30th IFATCA Africa and Middle East regional meeting
NEWS FROM AFM REGIONAL MEETING z by Fateh Bekhti, IFATCA Executive Vice-President for the Africa and Middle East (AFM) Region The 30th IFATCA Africa and Middle East regional meeting (AFM RM) was held in the city of Hammamet, Tunisia. The meeting took place at the Russelior Hotel in Hammamet from Nov. 13-15. This was the fifth time that the meeting was hosted in Hammamet.
mon issues on which we can work together, learn from each other, and develop solutions for the benefit of our members and the industry.
Attending the meeting, there were 144 participants, representing 25 IFATCA member associations (MAs). In addition, representatives from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia attended the meeting as observers. Six international organisations attended and are as follows; ICAO, IATA, IFALPA, IFATSEA, ACAO, and ITF. Three national organisations attended as follows; Tunisian ANSP (OACA), Tunisian CAA (DGAC), Tunisian Medical Centre of Aeronautical Expertise (CEMEDA), and the South African ANSP, ATNS.
The 2019 AFM RM agenda included panel discussions and presentations on the aforementioned theme. It also involved a joint ICAO/ACAO/IATA/IFATCA fatigue and risk management workshop, led by IFATCA President and CEO Duncan Auld, IFATCA’s ICAO ANC Representative JeanFrançois Lepage participated, and me.
This year’s IFATCA AFM RM focused on training as key enabler of air traffic controllers’ professionalism. The Federation strongly believes that we have many com-
14
The three day meeting covered various areas and key issues centred on the meeting theme: the training and strategic program of the Tunisian CAA (DGAC), IFATCA’s training initiative and TOC/PLC working program, IFATCA/ITF working together in conflict management and resolution, IFATCA’s Equality, Diversity, and Ethics Task Force (EDETF), ICAO support and cooperation/
training, ACAO training support for member states, IFALPA training initiative and challenges in pilot training, ICAO fatigue risk management system implementation by November 2020, and the current training allowed by the IFATCA budget. The first day of the AFM RM started with official opening remarks from Mr. Skander Khalfallah, Secretary General of the Tunisian Association – Association Tunisienne des Contrôleurs de la Circulation Aérienne (ATCCA), Mr. Lofti Mhicen, CEO of the Office de l’ Aviation Civile et des Aéroports de Tunisie (OACA), Duncan Auld, me, and His Excellency Mr. René Trabelsi, Minister of Transport and Tourism, who officially opened the meeting. The event then continued with two presentations from the Tunisian CAA (Direction Générale de l’ Aviation Civile [DGAC] de la Tunisie), an overview of the air navigation system in Tunisia provided by the national
THE CONTROLLER
