CHUKS OKOH
Air traffic controllers across Africa and the Middle East continue to operate under severe institutional neglect, substandard equipment, and arbitrary persecution, threatening the core stability of global aviation safety, the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations (IFATCA) has warned.
In a powerful message marking the 2026 International Day of the Air Traffic Controller on October 20, IFATCA Executive Vice President for the Africa and Middle East (AFM) Region, Ahmad Abba, highlighted the severe conditions facing controllers who safeguard thousands of lives daily across the regional airspace.
While commending the resilience and professionalism of air traffic personnel, Abba called urgent attention to colleagues who have been arbitrarily arrested, detained, imprisoned, abducted, assaulted, or intimidated in connection with their official duties and legitimate demands for safer airspace standards.
Abba emphasized that no air traffic controller should be forced to choose between personal freedom and aviation safety, warning governments, civil aviation authorities, and Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) that safety cannot thrive in an atmosphere of fear, harassment, or systemic neglect.
Across Africa and the Middle East, personnel routinely navigate severe operational challenges, including obsolete infrastructure, inadequate equipment, critical staffing shortages, overwhelming workloads, and widespread insecurity.
Despite these severe handicaps, controllers continue to maintain an uncompromising commitment to flight safety under conditions that push human endurance to its limit.
Demanding immediate policy reforms and institutional protection, the IFATCA regional head asserted that modern technology alone cannot ensure safe skies without adequately equipped, properly trained, fairly treated, and psychologically supported professionals who can execute their duties without fear of state or administrative reprisal.
Reaffirming the federation’s solidarity with persecuted controllers and their families, Abba pledged continued advocacy for improved working conditions, professional dignity, and justice, while honoring the memory of personnel who lost their lives in the line of duty across the region.
