Monuc

MONUC's Aviation Section is a major aircraft operator and has managed nearly 150,000 hours of safe operations. The service has grown into an integrated civilian and military operation with a current fleet of 86 aircraft and 1, 647 personnel, an operation supporting over 60 airports and airfields, as well as over 150 landing sites across the Mission... area. Aviation began operations with four staff and three aircraft, servicing a country almost equivalent in size to Western Europe. The Section was one of the first to be created when MONUC commenced in October 1999. MONUC Aviation has evolved into the Department of Peacekeeping Operations' (DPKO) largest air operation and is accordingly the most costly Mission anywhere in the world. MONUC's Aviation Section rapidly extended operations into all provinces to build a robust infrastructure with bases at critical points in the DRC despite continued instability. During an outbreak of violence in June 2004, four military aviation units were deployed to stabilise the situation.Read More