Mahmood Shah Habibi
With significant experience in civil aviation administrative management and technical roles, Mahmood Shah Habibi is currently working as the Head of Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority on a Minister rank and is reporting directly to the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Mr. Habibi has been serving as Deputy Minister of Operations of the Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority from September 2013 till June 2017. Multi-lingual, Mr. Habibi is now responsible for the whole civil aviation sector in the country, which includes Airports operations and Development of the 23 domestic and 4 international airports, Air Traffic Management including Afghanistan’s Airspace Control both for civilian and military aircraft, Aviation Security at the Airports, Flight Safety Oversight of both national and international airlines flying into Afghanistan, Communication Navigation Surveillance (CNS), Civil Aviation Institute, Meteorology Department of Afghanistan and other civil aviation related activities in the country.
Previous duty with the (US) Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) enabled Mr. Habibi to continue his lead role in counselling the Afghanistan Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation (MOTCA). Mr. Habibi holds Master degree in Aviation Management from one of the world top aeronautical university, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. He has completed the Airport Management Professional Accreditation Program and as a result has received as the first Afghan the International Airports Professional “IAP” designation from International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and Airport Council International (ACI). Mr. Habibi has also been certified as the Aviation Security Professional Manager (AVSEC PM) by ICAO and Aviation Management Institute-Concordia University, which is the highest level of certification in Aviation Security. Mr. Habibi has received Air Traffic Control and Aircraft Accident/Incident Investigation training from FAA Academy& Transportation Safety Institute (Oklahoma City) and Airports Executive Leadership Program from Concordia University-John Molson School of Business in Canada. He has received other aviation related trainings in France, Abu Dhabi, Jordan and as well as practicums with the Port Authority – New York / New Jersey (John F. Kennedy Airport, Newark Airport, Stewart Airport) and San Diego International Airport. While with the FAA, Mr. Habibi worked closely with multi-national, global and commercial organizations (United Nations, US AID, International Security Assistance Force, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Japan International Cooperation, and many others) to develop comprehensive programs for the restoration of civil aviation to the country.
Having achieved his undergraduate BBA (American University of Afghanistan) and during his multi-year tenure as Administrative Officer, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Mr. Habibi facilitated a multi-national team of aviation expert counselors to MOTCA in planning for the revitalization of Afghanistan’s civil aviation sector. The ICAO program included specific functional training for Afghan counterparts in airport operations, certification, security, firefighting, IT and information systems safety management systems, air traffic control, air worthiness, meteorology, communication, navigation and surveillance systems, flight safety, aviator licensing, aviation training programs, airfield engineering, and master planning. Mr. Habibi contributed considerable expertise in business management practices to facilitate consensus amongst the various stakeholders, facilitating development of critical infrastructure facilities, systems and equipment for Hamid Karzai International Airport (one of the busiest single-runway, joint-use airport operation in the world during the first part of the 21st century). This significant program involved coordination and monitoring of team personnel, logistics, and security during the ICAO implementation of life-cycle management best practices throughout construction, installation and implementation phases.