Rassamny announces the reactivation of the Civil Aviation Safety Center

Lebanese Minister of Public Works and Transport, Fayez Rassamny, announced Tuesday the reactivation of the Civil Aviation Safety Center (CASC) at Beirut International Airport (AIB), after years of inactivity, with the aim of restoring its “strategic role” as a hub for technical and professional training on a regional scale.

The minister specified that training programs will resume “in accordance with international standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).” He emphasized that training now represents “the cornerstone of the national civil aviation strategy.”

Rassamny stated that the center was “founded in 1962 with the support of ICAO and the United Nations and was one of the first aeronautical training establishments in the Middle East.” “It played a pioneering role in the field of safety and air training, before its activities were suspended due to the difficult circumstances Lebanon has gone through,” he added. “Today, we are relaunching it as part of national efforts and the sector's recovery plan, to place the country back on the region's aeronautical training map.”

In the first phase of the relaunch, 35 air traffic controllers will be trained: 23 had already joined the center since the beginning of 2023, while 12 others have been waiting for their license for more than 14 years.

“The activities of CASC, however, are not limited to the training of controllers,” the minister continued. The training covers a wide range of disciplines: flight operations, aircraft inspection and airworthiness, airport management and operations, rescue and fire-fighting team training, issuance of licenses for aeronautical personnel, accident investigations, aviation medicine, safety economics, and meteorology. The center also has a research role in the field of air navigation safety.

The Transport and Public Works Minister also appointed Ibrahim Abou Alaywi as president of the AIB on Tuesday. In March, Rassamny had removed Fady al-Hassan from his functions as acting director general of civil aviation, who also held the position of acting president of Beirut International Airport.

He had then appointed engineer Amine Jaber to the direction of civil aviation, Kamal Nassereddine to the airport presidency, and engineer Mohammad Saad to head the equipment maintenance service with the civil aviation. These were three provisional appointments pending the final appointments for these positions.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, along with Fayez Rassamny, had conducted an inspection visit to the AIB. They met with the head of airport security, General Fady Kfoury, and reviewed the security measures in place while evaluating efforts to facilitate passenger flow.