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The Civil Aviation Department, with the support of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, hosts the Aviation Language Proficiency Seminar today (November 30) and tomorrow in Hong Kong.
As an initiative to further enhance aviation safety, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) formulated the language proficiency requirements for compliance by aviation personnel (including pilots and air traffic controllers) from March 5, 2008. The key objective of this international seminar is to give the aviation regulatory authorities and industry an update on the latest development of the language proficiency requirements.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the seminar, the Director-General of Civil Aviation, Mr Norman Lo, said that the ICAO language requirements for radiotelephony communication serve as one of the most important aviation safety initiatives to be implemented. He also added that the air traffic service provider and airline operators in Hong Kong are implementing the new requirements step by step and would like to share their experience with other organisations.
More than 120 delegates from over 40 organisations attend the two-day seminar, including the civil aviation administrations, ICAO, International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Associations, International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations, airlines, air traffic service providers and linguistic consultants.
Ends/Thursday, November 30, 2006
Issued at HKT 15:00
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