The Arab Civil Aviation Organization, took part in the Council Aviation Recovery Taskforce Webinar, Organized by the International Civil Aviation Organization Middle East Office on 18th June 2020.

During this Webinar, His Excellency Eng. Abdenbi Manar, ACAO Director General, stated that a significant momentum of the air transport industry in the Middle East marked the last decades as the air transport contribution to GDP is higher than the world average and the economic development plans for the next decade support this trend.

Although Covid-19 pandemic had a great negative impact on these development plans, affirmed Eng. Abdenbi Manar, lessons learned from civil aviation history have showed that whenever air transport is hit by a crisis, States provide financial support to their airlines. This is the case today in other regions like Europe and North America, and he added "I believe that it will be the same in the mid-region and in North Africa. It is important to recall that in this context, governments who are the main shareholder of airlines are convinced of the strategic role played by air transport in their economies. The geographic position of this area which is close to the main world markets, and the reduction of the carbon footprint will certainly favour the share of this region in world trade".

Concerning the financial strategies of the mid-states to support the aviation industry, His Excellency asserted that it will probably be based on the deadlines required for a return to the level of activity of 2019, which will result in an adjustment and restructuring of the fleet and staffing levels of airlines and airports, and a postponement of investments in the sector accordingly.

He also asserted that there would be no compromise on safety and security as underlined in the cart principals and recommendations. It is worth to mention that the mid-region States indicators have recorded high levels according to ICAO´s evaluation.