MONTEGO BAY, St James — Director General of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA) Nari Williams Singh, is maintaining that a safe air traffic system is in place amidst claims by controllers that they are working with faulty equipment.

“Both the air traffic controllers and ourselves have identified the challenges with… some of the equipment that we do have in place. I would want to ensure the public though that we do have a safe system. Our equipment is being maintained to the necessary standards as we roll into the upgrade of our new systems over the next 21 to 24 months,” Williams Singh assured.

“We continue to work with the traffic controllers to ensure that we provide the type of service that we are required to do,” Williams Singh told journalists Monday during lunch break at the Regional Air Transport Conference hosted jointly by the JCAA and at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) at Ibersostar Hotel in St James..

Last week, the JCAA closed the island’s airspace between the hours of 11:00 pm and 7:00 am, resulting in the forced cancellation of some international flights. But, Williams Singh disclosed that since Saturday the air space had resumed 24-hour operations.

He also noted that a 21-month programme to improve “our radars or automation voice communications control system” had commenced.

“We also have an instrument landing system that will be installed at the Sangster International Airport by early next year. We have other developments that we are planning, but we do them on a phased basis. So we look at the priorities and we address those,” he remarked.

In the meantime, Williams Singh was quick to point out that even as the current upgrade programme is on in earnest, “we are also working on our current systems to make sure that they are maintained to carry the service and to transition into the new systems”.

— Horace Hines