The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) says the newly inaugurated Ghana Civil-military Collaboration, Cooperation Coordination committee will see to the development of Civil-Military manuals and related Memoranda of Cooperation between the GCAA and the military.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) observed over the years that airspace traffic levels increase every 15 years.

However, with static airspace, ICAO has come up with regulations and modalities which will accommodate more aircraft in the air as the years go by, for which, creating a committee within each of the member states is part.

Deputy Director General, Technical at GCAA, Ing. Daniel Acquah said the committee’s mandate is crucial in the safety of the country’s aircraft for both civilians and the military.

“Work was supposed to be done up to the end of 30th June 2021, but we started a bit late and ICAO will definitely grant extensions and the final meeting will be held in November 2021. By that time, we believe everything will be in place with regard to the terms of reference for the committee”, he said.

Among other things, the newly inaugurated civil-military collaboration, cooperation Coordination committees across the globe will see safer airspace.

The committees are an outcome of the 22nd Africa and India Ocean Planning and implementation Regional Group held in Accra in 2019, at which member states agreed on its formation. They are at the end of their tenure, expected to provide guidance to States to establish and implement framework and procedures to facilitate civil-military collaboration, cooperation and coordination and Civil/Military Manual and Standard Operating Procedures.

Speaking to the media, Acting Director, of the Traffic Service at GCAA Thomas Kodjoe Duopah says a new National Airspace policy will soon be put together for the smooth running of the country’s airspace in line with international best practices once the committee fully realizes its mandate.

“Moving forward as a nation, we will be able to have a National Airspace and if we have to have a national Airspace Policy and with that, the civil counterpart alone cannot sit down and come up with that, we have to involve our military counterpart. Then as a nation, we have to decide what strategy do we want to use in running our airspace? So it becomes the National Airspace strategy.”

“ICAO has also developed a new manual known as Manual on Civil-Military Cooperation, document 128. It was developed only last year (2020) and it will form the basis for the committee to be able to establish a local procedure manual”, he said.

The Manual will provide guidance to States to implement or improve civil-military cooperation for air traffic management, for safe and optimal use of the airspace by both parties.