BEIRUT: Public Works and Transportation Minister Youssef Fenianos Monday opened a training simulator at the Beirut airport, designed to represent real-life air navigation scenarios. During an opening ceremony for the center, Kamal Nasreddine, the head of the airports air navigation department, described it as a qualitative leap forward in Lebanese air safety, the state-run National News Agency reported. He said the center simulates the reality of the observation tower and its radar equipment to bring air traffic controllers preparedness for scenarios in line with international standards.

The minister also spoke at the opening, saying that everyone knows about waiting in long lines before reaching security counters ... but it is the [air navigation employees] who work day and night to keep travelers safe.

Today, with the opening of this simulator, we are celebrating these unknown soldiers, the watchers of the sky, he added.

Fenianos then thanked all those involved in the creation of the training center, but said that we have not yet reached what we have aspired to in terms of airport safety.

In 2017, the International Civil Aviation Organization evaluated the extent to which Lebanon implements the institutions standards across a range of areas. It found that in the air navigation services category, Lebanon implements only 39 percent of those standards, compared with a global average of more than 60 percent.

But a decree to hire 110 new employees, including 25 air traffic controllers, aimed at helping resolve understaffing, has been held up because politicians argue that there is no sectarian balance in the employees that passed entrance exams.

The opening of the new center comes as part of a wider airport rehabilitation project, which includes the opening of additional passport inspection counters, the revamping of the security checks system and the removal of entry and exit cards for those traveling on a non-Lebanese passport.

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