SOUTH SUDAN CIVIL AVIATION REFUTES ALLEGATIONS OF LACK OF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL

The Director General of South Sudan Civil Aviation Authority, Dr. Ayiei Garang Deng, has dismissed allegations that South Sudan lacks air traffic control services days after commissioning the country’s air traffic management system and Juba tower by President Salva Kiir. Dr. Ayiei says South Sudan gained sovereignty over its airspace in 2011 after independence but provisionally managed by Sudan due to limited human resources, infrastructure, and coordination capabilities at the time. He explained that South Sudan has now met the required standards through the establishment of Air Traffic Control systems, trained and qualified personnel, and improved infrastructure, enabling the country to fully manage its own airspace operations supported by three reliable power sources — generators, city power, and solar energy — to ensure uninterrupted Dr. Ayiei further states that the mandate of the International civil aviation organisation is to support aviation safety and does not involve issues of sovereignty.