Korea shares aviation knowhow with Cambodia

Lee Chang-sung, sitting center, a Korean air traffic control instructor, shares his knowhow with local air traffic controllers at the Civil Aviation Training Center in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Sept. 5. / Courtesy of Korea Airports Corp.

By Jung Min-ho

PHNOM PENH ― Civil aviation safety management requires sophisticated control both from within the aircraft and outside.

There are different types of potential threats such as misleading information, foreign objects, lightning and bird strikes. Risks are especially high when aircrafts take off or land. The job of those who manage such risks is critical, which can make a difference between life and death.

However, many developing countries are incapable of training people for the job because of a lack of knowhow and technology. Cambodia also had to send its people to other countries such as Thailand and Vietnam for training until recently when Korea started sharing its own world-class expertise based on decades of hard experience.

Cambodia’s Civil Aviation Training Center (CATC) is expected to open next month in Phnom Penh, the nation’s capital, with major help from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Korea Airports Corp., which have provided Cambodia with facilities and education programs to train its future aviation experts.

“The goal is to establish a system where Cambodians can train their own aviation safety managers and technicians without depending on training programs overseas,” said Cho Kwang-sik, who is in charge of the CATC project.

In recent years, tourism has grown into one of the most important sectors in Cambodia’s economy, drawing people from around the world to its cultural and natural attractions such as Angkor Wat. Meanwhile, the issue of enhancing its aviation management and educational systems has become increasingly important to maintain the upward trend.

At the request of the Cambodian government, the Korean government decided to support the nation’s efforts with Korea’s human resources and 11 billion won ($10 million) from January 2014 to May 2018.

Citing the $600,000 that Korea received from the United Nations in 1984 to build a civil aviation training center, Cho said, “It is about giving back, which is our responsibility as a beneficiary of such help.

“Korea used to send its people to countries like the United States for aviation management training, but thanks to support from the U.N., we began to train people on our own in 1999,” he said.

Lee Chang-sung, a Korean instructor of air traffic control at the CATC, came here this month to teach local air traffic controllers. He will stay with the organization until August 2017 for the mission.

With cutting-edge simulators developed by a Korean company, Lets Company, Lee helps trainees prepare for emergencies using highly realistic simulations.

“Cambodia had to send people, including myself, for training to countries such as Thailand, Singapore and Korea,” said Tan Sophondarith, deputy director of Air Navigation Standard and Safety Department at Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Civil Aviation. “With all the great facilities here, we don’t have to do so any more. The quality of training has improved a lot.”

After finishing the project, KAC said it will continue to help the CATC to stabilize its systems. It will also support other developing countries in Southeast Asia and Africa.