April 3rd 2012 - Dubai, UAE: UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) organized the first regional conference on Fatigue in Safety Aviation. The conference, which took place in Raffles Hotel, Dubai, was attended by HE Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director General of GCAA, and around 150 of civil aviation experts from the local and the international level.
The conference aimed at providing clear understanding on the risks of fatigue in aviation and elaborated the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS). FRMS is one the latest programs recommended by ICAO for implementation within civil aviation authorities and operators.
In his opening speech, Al Suwaidi emphasized on the GCAA's commitment to lead a safe aviation system by means of complying with ICAO's recommendations and best practices. He added that "this conference is a testimony of UAE's vital role in leading regional initiatives".
The issue of fatigue risk in aviation is tightly related to UAE's civil aviation industry due to the increasing number of long flights operated by the national carriers as Emirates Airline and Etihad Airway, where a trip to New York or Australia could take up to 15 hours.
A group of experts from the local and the international field participated as guest speakers in the conference. Capt. Alan Stealey, Divisional Senior Vice President Flight Operations from Emirates Airline, and Capt. Richard Hill, Chief Operations Officer from Etihad Airways gave speeches about implementing FRMS from their operators' perspectives. Dr. Michelle Millar, Technical Officer (Human Factors) for the International Civil Aviation Organisation, provided details on ICAO FRMS during her presentation.
The conference will be followed by three training courses about implementation of FRMS, addressed for regulators and operators.
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© Press Release 2012
