Minister Pledges Relief for Overstretched Air Traffic Team

TDT | Manama

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Bahrain is in the final stages of bringing in and training Bahraini recruits for air traffic work after MPs raised concern over strain on staff in the Civil Aviation Affairs sector during Tuesday’s Parliament session on the 2024-2025 National Audit Office report.

Transport and Telecommunications Minister Dr Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said the ministry had already begun working with the Civil Service Bureau to recruit Bahrainis for air navigation roles, where staff shortages have meant long hours in one of the state’s most sensitive services.

He said MP Khalid Buanaq was right to raise the issue, describing the unit as one that handles more than 500,000 flights a year. That, he said, calls for ‘very high technical accuracy, strong concentration and the provision of all the necessary resources’.

Dr Abdullah said staff numbers in air navigation were limited, adding that this had added to the pressure on employees. He told Parliament that candidates had already been interviewed by a specialist committee in Civil Aviation Affairs and were now close to the training stage.

‘We are now in the final stages,’ he said. ‘They will be given the training needed to enable them to manage air traffic in Bahrain.’

He said Bahrain had a long record in the field and that expertise had been passed from one generation to the next. ‘Today there are young Bahraini talents we are proud of,’ he said. ‘The team will grow, and the pressure on this department will ease as the working team grows.’

The minister also answered remarks by MP Hamad Al Doy on management in government, saying ministries were built on institutional work rather than on people alone.

‘Work in government does not stand on people,’ he said. ‘People come and go, but the work is institutional.’

He added that he had not replaced any of the ministry’s senior staff since taking office, saying the ministry had kept its leadership team in place and continued to rely on its existing cadre.

Dr Abdullah also spoke up for Labour Minister Yousif Khalaf, who was absent from the sitting because of other meetings, and urged MPs not to treat the issue of jobseekers as the Labour Ministry’s burden alone.

‘Providing jobs in Bahrain is not the responsibility of the Ministry of Labour alone,’ he said. ‘It is a shared responsibility.’

He said helping Bahrainis into work remained one of the government’s main concerns, especially with young people making up half of Bahraini society. He called on all sides to play their part in finding jobs for citizens and said openings in the labour market would need to rise over time.

‘Work, as stated in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain, is a right and a duty,’ he said. ‘It is the right of every citizen to have a decent job, but it is also the duty of all of us to support this file.’

Dr Abdullah said the issue remained high on the government’s list under His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and urged Parliament to turn its concern into practical help for efforts to find jobs for Bahrainis.