David Smith
After the recent presidential election in Afghanistan, SkyLink Aviation was invited to join the country’s highest level of government to discuss key aviation infrastructure issues in Afghanistan.
David Dacquino, president and CEO of SkyLink Aviation, and Prakash Noronha, senior vice president of operations, met with newly-appointed Afghanistan CEO Dr. Abdullah Abdullah in late October to discuss the development of Afghanistan’s airports and related aviation services.
Dr. Abdullah said Afghanistan has prioritized work to bring airports up to international aviation standards, which he views as critical to the economic development of the country.
“SkyLink is proud to bring our 25+ years of aviation and logistics experience, and over a decade of on the ground experience in Afghanistan to work as a partner with the Afghanistan government in building and enhancing the country’s aviation capabilities as rapidly as possible,” Dacquino said.
SkyLink is prepared to invest in infrastructure and support equipment such as buildings, furnishings, rolling stock, material handling equipment and tools to support the public-private partnership.
SkyLink also looks to maximize local Afghan hires and provide training for all aspects of aviation and airport support services with the long-term goal of achieving 100-perent local control and self-sufficiency.
The company plans to provide a maintenance and repair organization, aircraft, passenger, and cargo handling, along with a full-scale business center that will work to attract commercial business clients to the Kandahar Airport and other international airports in Afghanistan.
