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Civil Aviation Dept gets its long overdue radar system


Friday, 04 May 2007

By Armin Petzold - Staff Reporter
The radar site at the Philip Goldson International Airport.
In 1994, the United States/Federal Aviation Administration said that flight safety in Belize was rated as a category three, which meant that Belize failed to meet the minimum safety requirements.

However, the Department of Civil Aviation today, upgraded their navigational equipment by acquiring a long overdue radar from the Central American Corporation for Air Navigational Services (COCESNA) - an almost U.S.$2.5 million dollar radar tracking site that will enable air traffic controllers to view aircrafts from 200 air-miles away, as far as Cancun.

According to Regional Manager for COCESNA, Luis Ake, although the site was long overdue, the Civil Aviation did not see it fit to make an investment in the past because not only was it very costly to maintain, but Belize only had a maximum of about six flights per day.

However, with the expansion of our runway soon to be completed, will definitely see an increase in the number of incoming flights, from as far as Singapore and the United Kingdom.
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