Sharjah Civil Aviation Dept. launches awareness-raising drive

SHARJAH: Sharjah's Department of Civil Aviation and Sharjah Aviation Services Company (SASCO) have a drive to raise awareness on the need for keeping the air traffic area at Sharjah International Airport free of strange objects.

Haitham Al-Remawi, Director of Aviation Safety at the Department of Civil Aviation said removing such objects from the airport is a high priority and aims to minimize any potential damage to aircraft.

He explained that the drive involves training all the staff of the Sharjah airport on making sure that no strange objects are left in any areas used and/or occupied by aircraft.

Khaled Al Qaisi, Director of SASCO, which manages the fuel systems and Into-Plane services at the airport, said ensuring safety requires keeping taxiways, the paths on an airport connecting runways with ramps, hangars, terminals and other facilities, and aircraft parking spots free of any objects that might be potentially harmful to aircraft or engines.

He cited a famous accident, caused by a metal object on the taxiway, in 2000 when a Concorde flight operated crashed killing 116 people.

The drive will run for the whole current year, he noted.