The Arab Civil Aviation Organization (ACAO) conducted virtually the Aviation training day on November 2, 2021 from 10:00 to 13:00 UTC. This event was attended by 29 participants from 11 Arab countries, in addition to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Arab Air Carriers Association (AACO).

The opening was held with a speech presented by the Director-General of the ACAO, in which he mentioned the critical importance of the training as one of the main challenges for the development of the civil aviation system, especially in light of the developments imposed by the Covid 19 pandemic, expressly the increasing use of virtual communication and the necessity of setting frameworks, regulations and procedures associated with that. In addition, the IATA and AACO contributed by presenting their current status of the Aviation training system and the future prospects for its development emphasising the new flexible approach they were setting up, as well as the strategic shift in their training policies, which will enable them to face the post Covid 19 ERA.

The ACAO presented its vision for the future of Aviation training in the Arabic region, as well as the first and second seminars conclusions held in 2015 and 2016 under the thematic: “for the development of the Capacity building in Aviation”. The ACAO also presented the outcomes of its survey on training, which revealed a clear distortion between Arabic States in their Training capabilities both in term of quantity and quality, which calls for the reinforcement of capacity-building policies, so that it can fit the upcoming needs.

The work of this Training Day concluded with a proposal for a comprehensive approach based on two pillars, Aviation training industry and its governance under the civil aviation authorities as regulator. These recommendations will be brought to the attention of the ACAO governance bodies for consideration.