UAE admitted into the SAFA programme for Europe

The deal was finalized during the visit of European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) executive director, Patrick Kym to UAE last week where he announced the qualification of the UAE as a full member of the SAFA program. The announcement sets an unprecedented achievement for the UAE .

H.E. Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, director general of the General Civil Aviation Authority  (GCAA) said: “over the past years several far-reaching, co-operations and initiatives were taken which helped in the transformation of the UAE aviation sector and in the establishment of a robust and coherent safety oversight system in a very short time span.”

“The GCAA in cooperation with its strategic partners and in particular EASA has built an efficient and safe air transport system to support the economic growth of the UAE and improving the quality of life and safety of UAE citizens,” Al Suwaidi added.

Ismail Al Blooshi, assistant director general, aviation safety affairs  said  that the GCAA is determined to continue to be a key player and active  partner of EU and EASA with the irrevocable objective of improving and promoting safety in the UAE. He confirmed that the adoption by the UAE of the EU SAFA program will facilitate the ability of the UAE to address some of its future aviation challenges.

UAE membership in EU-SAFA program will enhance GCAA’s safety inspection procedures. Under this membership, the civil aviation authority will increase the number of inspections to reach 300 inspections a year. It will also share inspections findings with the EU states and have access to the their inspections’ results as well.