RIYADH — The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) granted the Air Navigation Meteorology Services Provider license to the National Center of Meteorology (NCM), allowing it to provide meteorological services in the field of air navigation. GACA President Abdulaziz Al-Duailej handed over the license to the CEO of NCM Dr. Ayman Ghulam. This is after confirming that the NCM has fulfilled the requirements of the Executive Regulations (GACAR Part 179) with regard to safety standards and quality of services. The license is the first of its kind in the Middle East, which in turn enhances the GACA's endeavor to ensure service providers' commitment to implementing the highest safety standards, in accordance with its executive regulations and standard rules issued by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The authority's granting of the license comes as part of the effort to continue ensuring the highest levels of safety and quality in the aviation sector, as well as to consolidate the regulatory and supervisory role of the authority, and achieve regional leadership, in addition to applying the best international practices in the aviation sector. It is noteworthy that the GACA is working on the National Air Navigation Plan, which will determine the roadmap to achieve integrated and comprehensive progress for the Saudi aviation sector through anticipating the upcoming challenges, such as drones, advanced urban air transport, airspace capacity, and performance-based navigation. It is working to address these challenges through packages of improvements to infrastructure and regulatory frameworks for human competencies, which ensure sustainable growth of civil aviation activities in the Kingdom.
