12 June 2014 - Air traffic services were essential for the safe, orderly and efficient flow of traffic within the airspace, UNMISS Director of Mission Support Stephanie Scheer said in Juba today.

“It was against this background that UNMISS sponsored training for 30 air traffic controllers,” said Ms. Scheer at a ceremony where 22 controllers received certificates.

The graduates participated in a seven-month course at the East African School of Aviation in the Kenyan capital Nairobi at an all-inclusive cost of $450,000, she revealed.

Ms. Scheer said the training was vital due to “the strategic and economic importance of a strong civil aviation body as a regulator of national air operations and the critical gateway to the development of the economy in South Sudan”.

“UNMISS has been and seeks to continue to be an active partner as well as a stakeholder in civil aviation here in South Sudan,” she said.

Speaking at the same ceremony, Deputy Minister of Transport, Roads and Bridges Samuel Majok Majok said air transport in the country was particularly vital, given poor infrastructure and impassable roads in the rainy season.

“South Sudan is a young, landlocked country and transportation depends on roads and air transport,” he said. “Air transport drives economic and social progress.”

Noting that air transport had been a key means of reaching out to assist vulnerable people during the current crisis, Mr. Majok appreciated UNMISS’ efforts to develop the aviation industry.

Ms. Scheer expressed the mission’s commitment to continue to be a part of the development of South Sudan in the area of its air operations and safety programmes.

Previously, UNMISS has supported South Sudan’s aviation industry by assisting with development of air laws for the country’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). It has also provided training, aviation internal audit, quality management and safety management systems to CAA officials, said Ms. Scheer.

She listed other support activities like providing communication equipment to air control towers, as well as training hundreds of personnel in aircraft firefighting and rescue training.

The mission also supported South Sudan by rehabilitating and constructing airstrip facilities in several locations and providing fire prevention and firefighting vehicles, equipment, materials and manpower, she added.

“We are also in the process of constructing a dedicated apron at a cost of$3 million as a measure to decongest the Juba International Airport apron, given current increased air traffic,” Ms. Scheer said.