GCANS extends Air Traffic Control Services contract with Serco

Courtesy Serco

With its over 50 Serco employees on the ground, the company is also providing operational Air Traffic Control staff and instructors, as well as key advisors in AIS, CNS training and management. 

As part of the partnership, Serco will continue to provide operational support, On‐the‐Job Training Instruction (OJTI) including the certification training of OJTIs and Examiner duties in the areas of Area, Approach and Tower Control. Serco’s remit also includes management mentorship programmes in Safety, Quality Assurance and ATC Training along with management support to all areas of Air Navigation Services.

Serco has been providing  air navigation services in the Middle East for over 70 years and the extension to the contract is testament to a number of key milestones that have been reached during the eight-year tenure, including:

• Meeting the commitment of the Government of Iraq to transition and transfer Iraqi sovereign airspace and sectors from the US military to the Iraq Civil Aviation Authority
• Implementation of Reduced Vertical Separation Minima as well as reduction of longitudinal separation (miles in trail) from 40 Miles to 20 Miles to accommodate growth in traffic.
• Training and certification of Iraqi air traffic controllers from Ab Initio to Specialists (over 120 certified controllers trained by Serco to date)
• Working closely with Iraq Civil Aviation Authority to separate its service provision function to the General Company for Air Navigation Services
• Several Air Traffic Services courses including English Language and Aviation English delivered to over 450 Iraqi ATS students
• Over 10 individual pulse awards given to Serco staff in Baghdad (including one Global award)
• Over five contract pulse awards won since 2011 (including one Global award)

The contract was signed following a visit by CEO of Serco Middle East, Phil Malem who met with stakeholders and staff from Serco. Commenting on the extension, Malem said: “We are honoured to have been awarded with an extension of our partnership with the General Company for Air Navigation Services (GCANS) to deliver the best possible air traffic services and highest standard of aviation training to support Iraq’s aviation sector.

“Over the past eight years, the Iraq Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA) has had many notable strides forward and Serco is proud to have played an important role in these successes. We have now taken another key step towards establishing a structured, modern and safe air traffic control environment capable of producing the revenue streams to support the development of aviation in Iraq. However, both the Government of Iraq and Serco fully understand that there is still much work to be done.”