As the aviation world celebrates the 100th anniversary of Air Traffic Control (ATC) in 2022, the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) honored its air traffic controllers (ATCs) in a well-attended ceremony held in a local hotel.

Senator Saleem Mandviwalla, the keynote speaker, focused on the overall aviation landscape and the challenges it faced in the aftermath of the pandemic. The Senator expressed concern about the continued flight restrictions imposed on Pakistan airlines, but praised Pakistan Civil Aviation authority tireless efforts to remove restrictions, expressing strong hope that our airlines would soon be flying to the European Union (EU), the United States (US), and other destinations.

The Senator stressed the need for more female representation to make air traffic control a more gender-balanced profession. He also suggested working toward ATC exchange programs with friendly countries for insights into their best practices for mutual understanding and more globally aware and adaptable ATCs.

In their keynote addresses, Director Operations Akhter Mirza and Director Civil Aviation Training Institute (CATI) Sumair Saeed discussed how technology is revolutionizing the ATC profession and how it is absolutely imperative that we keep pace with such developments to continue to be among the very best ones.