By By Mohamed B. Kallon
Information Attaché Embassy of Sierra Leone
The Head of Chancery of the Sierra Leone’s Embassy in Cairo, Mr. Samuel Alie Kargbo, has commended three staff of the SLAA for their outstanding performance in the just concluded training on Performance Based Navigation.
Delivering his statement, the Head of Chancery, Mr. Samuel Alie Kargbo applauded the participants in the training and urged them to dream big. He said that they should put into use knowledge acquired from the training to give back their respective countries what it takes to improving the Aviation standards.
The ceremony took place in Obour City 16 Second, Cairo and was attended by a number of high ranking officials from both United ATS and Embassy of Sierra Leone.
Four participants, three from Sierra Leone Airport Authority (SLAA); Abu Bakarr Kallon ATS training manager, Abdul Thorlu Bangura SATCO Chief of Air Services, Bolajeh Josephus Bendu Control Tower Supervisor, and Ahmed Habib from United ATS Aviation Company benefitted from the five-day training on Performance Based Navigation organized, a global navigation procedure implemented by many states and it was organized by the United ATS, the first Egyptian private company to provide Aviation Technology Services in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
The Head of Chancery added that it is the responsibility of states to promote aviation within their areas of responsibility. Therefore, he said that the course has equipped them with knowledge and understanding which will help CAA in regulating airlines as well as providing safe aviation environment.
“The training is beneficial because it offers significant advantages over the current sensor specific methods to develop airspace, ATS routes, instrument flight procedure obstacle clearance criteria and will increase safety through continues climb operations and continues decent operations procedure that reduce the risk of controlled flights into terrain and loss of control, improve airport and airspace access in all weather conditions , reduce delays at airport and certain dense airspace through the application of new parallel routes, newly enabled points around busy terrain area. Improve flight rerouting capabilities and making better use of closely spaced procedure and de co fluctuating adjacent to airport flows etc,” he stated.
Speaking on the importance of the training, the General Manager, Shawky El Azab said the program provides specifically for the people in air traffic control sector to be able to deal with the new concept of ICAO initiatives on how to manage and expand the limited airspace for the many aircrafts by the air traffic controllers through satellite system which is used globally to reduce flight duration. Shawky advanced that for Sierra Leone to fully implement the concept, there is need to capacitate key staff that are responsible for the management of air traffic control in order to measure up to ICAO Standards.
Mr. Samuel A. Kargbo further commended the achievements of the graduates and expressed his hope for a brighter future in the Aviation sector of Sierra Leone. The training, he said, solidifies the bilateral relationships between Sierra Leone and Egypt and also between United ATS and SLAA. He fairly conveyed the greetings of His Excellency Ambassador Morie Fofana, the out-going Ambassador to Egypt, the Government, and people of Sierra Leone. The Head of Chancery also underscored the Embassy’s commitment to fulfilling its mandates to citizens, the host nation, and accredited countries of Tunisia, Chad, Sudan, and Libya.
In a speech at the honoring ceremony, the training instructor congratulated the participants from Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority (SLCAA) for their exceptional efforts in successfully completing the training program. He said the trainees were interested in the training which made the sessions look more like a workshop than training.
“I found them eager to search for knowledge and I hope they will support their departments upon returning to Sierra Leone,” the instructor said.
While giving the vote of thanks, he said the training is historic for SLAA, adding that the ceremony comes at the time that the out Embassy representatives are present. He thanked Mr. Jack D.K Massaquoi, General Manager of SLAA for giving them the opportunity to access the skills and the attendants for making the occasion significant and memorable. He said the occasion was special in a way that four graduates received certificates for the short course in Aviation.
“The evidence of hard work is the result of hard work which has been conferred on us and gratitude is the attitude that takes you to your altitude,” Ibrahim Kallon said. He thanked the management of ATS for extending an olive branch to SLCAA and looked forward to more training programs and cooperation in the Aviation industry.
