The UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has revealed that there is a list of other aircraft which it is considering barring from the country’s skies, following its ban three months ago of the Antonov 12.
“Yes, there are some other types, which I cannot disclose now,” said GCAA director general Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi. “But yes, we have lists of those old aircraft that we are looking at. Of course, if we reach the same concerns as we did with the An-12, we will do the same.”
The Ukrainian-built An-12 freighter was issued with a temporary ban in January 2009 due to concerns over its safety record, and was barred again from 1 March this year.
The GCAA said that since the time of the initial ban it had set up a technical committee to conduct an audit on the Antonov Design Bureau, which determines the airworthiness of the type in the Ukraine.
“It is a permanent ban,” confirmed Al Suwaidi. “We are convinced that this aircraft should not use our airspace because it is very old, it is not maintained as it should be and there is no manufacturer support.
Although the GCAA has not revealed which aircraft it is considering whether to ban, speculation will centre on the various types of ‘Soviet-era’ cargo aircraft that are utilised either by operators based in the UAE, or who use the country as a transit point to deliver goods to other destinations.
“Since the beginning of last year, we have started a campaign of clearing up our airspace from those operators that do not respect our regulations or international regulation, and do not maintain their aircraft,” Al Suwaidi added.
“I think we have the total right and the responsibility towards our society to ensure the safety of the aircraft using our airspace.”