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Afghan aviation wings clipped under US

A US audit says the Pentagon hasn’t trained enough air traffic controllers to transition the airspace safely into Afghanistan control.

The US has poured more than $500 million into the Afghan civil aviation since 2002 but the sector is unable to operate independently, an American audit has found. 

According to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), the US hasn’t trained enough air traffic controllers to transition the airspace safely into Afghanistan control.

The US is preparing to wind down its operations in the country and transfer control of the airspace to the Afghanistan government.

“However, despite a decade-long effort, the country doesn’t appear to be ready to take the controls and seems to prefer that the US keep picking up the tab,” the Fiscal Times quoted SIGAR as saying.

Afghanistan has at least 67 international and domestic airports—which generate about $30 million in annual revenue. But as of last year, there were only 36 number of air traffic controllers.

An Afghan air traffic controller at the Kabul airport. 

The report said at least 55 were needed at the two largest airports alone.

According to the report, he US’s air-traffic control contract with the Afghanistan government expires in September.

Most of the US money that’s been spent on Afghanistan’s aviation system over the years comes from the Pentagon.

SIGAR said one of the biggest problems appears to be recruiting and retaining students in the training program.

It said that the Afghan Federal Aviation Administration tried to train students abroad but ran into visa and passport issues.

It also said some students who did go through training never returned to Afghanistan after being schooled in other countries, including the United States.

HB/HB


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