Airspace 32 Quarter 1 2016

journal of the civil air navigation services organisation

ISSUE 32 QUARTER 1 2016

THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF ANSP SYSTEM INFORMATION journal of the civil air navigation services organisation

ICAO Secretary General on global priorities AACO on Middle East challenges Interview with Airways’ Ed Sims

PLUS: System-wide information management, ATCO productivity, FAA on Caribbean airspace partnerships, Japan’s modernisation of Tokyo airspace, meteorology improving weather reporting and the latest news

TRAFFIC JAM AhEAD. PLAN ACCORDINGLy.

Transforming the air traffic management (ATM) system is essential for improving safety, efficiency and the environment around the globe.

Boeing is fully committed and uniquely qualified to help make ATM transformation a reality. It’s the right time and Boeing is the right partner.

CONTENTS services organisation journal of the civil air navigation

ISSUE 32 QUARTER 1 2016

THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF ANSP SYSTEM INFORMATION

IN THIS ISSUE

services organisation journal of the civil air navigation

priorities ICAO Secretary General on global AACO on Middle East challenges Interview with Airways’ Ed Sims

y, FAA on management, ATCO productivit PLUS: System-wide information airspace, s, Japan’s modernisation of Tokyo Caribbean airspace partnership reporting and the latest news meteorology improving weather

Front Cover Image © pingingz

Director General

focus on AACO

5 Jeff Poole highlights the role played by air navigation’s most precious asset; its people.

22 Sustaining the rapid growth of the Arab air transport industry requires an immediate look into the airspace capacity challenges of the region, says Abdul Wahab Teffaha, Secretary General of the Arab Air Carriers Organization.

SPOTLIGHT: AIRWAYS 6 Ed Sims, Airways’ CEO, tells Graham Newton about the ANSP’s pursuit of excellence in safety, efficiency and environmental responsibility.

ATCO PRODUCTIVITY

Airspace No. 32 ISSN number 1877 2196 Published by CANSO, the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation Transpolis Schiphol Airport Polaris Avenue 85e 2132 JH Hoofddorp The Netherlands Telephone: +31 (0)23 568 5380 Fax: +31 (0)23 568 5389 Editorial content:

Quentin Browell Quentin.browell@canso.org Advertisement Manager:

Gill Thompson gill.thompson@canso.org Telephone: +44 (0)1273 771020 Design:

Mark Chivers

The entire contents of this publication are protected by copyright, full details of which are available from the publishers. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any other means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the publishers. The views and opinions in this publication are expressed by the authors in their personal capacity and are their sole responsibility. Their publication does not imply that they represent the views or opinions of CANSO and must not be interpreted as such.

The reproduction of advertisements in this publication does not in any way imply endorsement by CANSO of the products and services referred to herein.

10 The latest CANSO Global Air Navigation Services Performance Report takes a detailed look at air traffic controller (ATCO) productivity across participating ANSPs. Alexander Robertson from Helios and Paul Cripwell from NAV CANADA investigate continuing improvement and explain some of the anomalies.

ICAO 14 ICAO Secretary General, Dr Fang Liu, says keeping an open mind about ATM evolution will be critical to success.

SWIM 19 System-wide information management will create common ground within and between ANSPs.

Letter from America 24 Teri Bristol, Chief Operating Officer of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic Organization explains the need for regional collaboration.

FOCUS ON JAPAN 26 Japan Air Navigation Service is exploring every opportunity to increase flight capacity in the congested skies above Tokyo.

METEOROLOGY 30 The dissemination of meteorological information is being transformed by industry advances.

ATM NEWS 33 The latest news from CANSO Members and the industry.

The CANSO Executive Committee APC3: Asia Pacific CANSO CEO Committee EC3: European CANSO CEO Committee MEC3: Middle East CANSO CEO Committee LAC3: Latin America and Caribbean CANSO CEO Committee AFC3: Africa CANSO CEO Committee

Paul Riemens

Chair, CANSO and Chief Executive Officer LVNL

Micilia AlbertusVerboom

Miroslav Bartos

Teri Bristol

Morten Dambaek

Thabani Mthiyane

Kevin Shum

Ed Sims

Marc Viggiano

Chair, LAC3 and Director General DC-ANSP

Chair, EC3 and CEO LPS SR š. p.

Member at Large and Chief Operating Officer FAA ATO

Member at Large and CEO Naviair

© Copyright CANSO 2016

Rudy Kellar

civil air navigation services organisation

Member at Large and Executive Vice President NAV CANADA

Chair, AFC3 and CEO ATNS

Chair, APC3 and Director General CAAS

Member at Large and CEO Airways New Zealand

Associate Member Representative and President Emeritus Saab Sensis Corporation

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NAVCANatm is a subsidiary of NAV CANADA

FROM THE DIRECTOR GENERAL

civil air navigation services organisation

People are our most important asset. Air traffic controllers (ATCO), who are on the ‘front line’ each day, supported by other staff, ensure that air travel remains the safest form of transport. Being a controller is one of the most responsible jobs in the world and this is reflected in their thorough and rigorous training.

It is therefore important that in an industry seeing huge changes in technologies and procedures that we always take full account of the ‘human element’. This means evaluating the impact of change on ATCOs and other staff and importantly, ensuring they play a full part in the change process.

The new technologies changing the ATM industry and the role of ATCOs include: system wide information management (SWIM) allowing better information exchange between stakeholders; improved surveillance through ADS-B; and more efficient routes through performance-based navigation. One of the latest developments that will change the way that ATCOs do things is remote air traffic control towers. Remote towers offer huge possibilities, particularly in enabling ATS at remote airports and keeping those airports open and viable through the cost savings made.

Remote towers are a genuinely game-changing technology. The day in April last year, when the first remote tower went operational in Sweden, marked a significant moment in the development of ATM. For the first time, controllers were able to carry out their duties and provide air traffic services 150 km away from the airport.

The key to its success has been the involvement of ATCOs and unions throughout the process. The ANSP, LFV, fully understood the attachment that ATCOs have to traditional towers where controllers can see, hear and smell the traffic; and LFV handled the concerns and questions of ATCOs sympathetically. The project moved forward one step at a time, ensuring all parties reached a common understanding. As a result, ATCOs felt they were fully part of the process. Controllers reported that the training was easier than expected; they soon adapted to seeing their airport virtually and quickly built trust and confidence in the system.

Partnership is one the three pillars of Vision 2020, CANSO’s strategic framework for the ATM industry, and the implementation of the first remote tower is a good example of effective partnership with ATCOs and unions producing an excellent outcome for all stakeholders. This is the message I recently took to the remote towers conference hosted by the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) and will shortly take to the annual conference of the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers (IFATCA).

Through these meetings with ATCOs, associations and unions, I have been encouraged by the constructive and open attitude, while pertinent questions have rightly been asked about the impact of the new technology on safety, operations and jobs. We all need to work together to ensure the system is fit for purpose.

It is still early days and there are many hurdles to overcome as other countries develop remote towers and we move from single to multiple remote towers controlled from one centre. But I am optimistic that careful change management by ANSPs, true consultation and working in partnership will enable our industry to embrace this exciting change.

Jeff Poole CANSO Director General

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SPOTLIGHT: AIRWAYS In people we trust

Ed Sims, Airways’ CEO, tells Graham Newton about the ANSP’s pursuit of excellence in safety, efficiency and environmental responsibility.

What was the rationale behind the ‘Making a New Airways’ transformation strategy and what do you hope will be the end result?

Making a New Airways (MANA) is our transformational strategy designed to build a bigger, stronger, Airways between 2012 and 2020, with growth achieved through the delivery of outstanding customer service. We are now at the halfway point of the strategy and have consistently hit all major safety, efficiency and commercial goals so far.

Airways Global Services (AGS) is an integral part of the MANA strategy and we are confident that this innovative partnering business model supports long-term growth for our wider industry.

Airways Training, for example, reached a significant milestone in May 2015 with the first students starting at the new air traffic control training campus in the United Arab Emirates, provided in partnership with Emirates Aviation University.

Are your innovations in training working and do you have any concerns about attracting enough good quality/ skilled staff?

We are now taking our ATC training programmes to our international customers as well as training students in New Zealand. This has evolved over the last 18 months and Airways now has ATC training academies established at Emirates Aviation University, InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico and the Civil Aviation Management Institute of China.

ATC learning has to be as progressive and accessible as any other form of education. Just as today’s student has replaced blackboards and books with iPads and apps, tomorrow’s ATCO needs simulation, accessible anywhere.

For this reason, Aviation Knowledge Online (AKO) is a critical innovation for Airways Training. While AKO supports mainstream learning, it has also facilitated the shift from traditional classroom based learning to e-learning – online training resources designed for ‘net generation’ learners.

AirBooks is the first of a series of new learning tools recently 6 QUARTER 1 2016

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released as part of the AKO platform, which comprise a range of interactive resources that covers the entire ICAO syllabus.

Tell us about the New Southern Sky programme and what Airways has to do to make it a reality?

Airways is an integral part of the New Zealand Government’s New Southern Sky (NSS) national airspace and air navigation programme, led by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). NSS is our industry’s response to ICAO’s vision of a globally operable aviation system and entirely in line with the current Aviation System Block Upgrades (ASBU) timetable.

NSS is a prime example of the close collaboration between ANSP and regulator that can be achieved in a small, progressive industry and is genuinely pioneering in the speed and efficiency within which procedures like performance-based navigation are being rolled out.

The NSS programme is expected to deliver environmental and economic benefits through the reduction of CO2 emissions and contribute billions of dollars to the national economy through fuel savings, lower aircraft operating costs and efficiencies for airlines.

Does the pressure of posting a strong financial performance involve compromising Airways’ service levels and long-term investments?

Safety is always Airways’ top priority. In the last financial year, we reported no high-severity safety incidents and retained our top CANSO quartile safety performance rating. Our focus on safety and customer expectations means we would never allow financial performance pressures to compromise safe skies.

Financial performance for our core business is, in fact, inextricably tied up with maintaining high levels of service resilience and efficiency, both of which require long-term investments.

We discuss the levels of service and investments required to sustain services openly and transparently with our customers at a triennial pricing consultation, currently in progress.

What more can be done to improve safety – both at Airways and globally?

Our people are the heart of Airways’ safety programme. They create and manage safety in accordance with sound, robust and structured safety management systems. We believe therefore in investing in safety training for all our people to ensure Airways maintains its top safety record.

One important factor to reflect on is that the event demonstrated the strength of our relationships with our customers and stakeholders. We received many offers of support from customers and colleagues around the world, which spoke volumes about the importance of relationships.

How important is regional collaboration and what is Airways doing to facilitate this?

We are particularly proud of our Professionals (Us) Leading Safety Everywhere (PULSE) professional development programme. PULSE is a two-day operational safety course primarily for air traffic controllers and flight information officers.

It is designed to equip them with knowledge of threat and error management as well as to make the group aware of practical tactics to manage threats and errors.

Regional collaboration and building strong relationships with our partners is very important to Airways.

Unusually among ANSPs, at Airways we keep occupational health and safety (OHS) in the same reporting line – and with the same high profile – as operational safety. We also take a similarly leading role in cross industry education and development regarding OHS as we do through the CANSO Safety Standing Committee.

Our goal for the Pacific is to achieve the same standard of infrastructure, service, customer value and safety as is provided in New Zealand and required by CAA regulations.

What did the outage in June 2015 teach you about business continuity and emergency response?

The event highlighted just how valuable our regular desktop crisis and emergency response management simulations had been in preparing us to handle such an unusual event.

The simulations are conducted by an Airways’ cross-functional executive team and are designed to ensure business continuity.

The simulations also proved their worth back in 2011 in the Christchurch earthquake when we needed to secure the operation of the main trunk centre.

We are pleased that in both situations, all our people performed well and to a predictable pattern. There is no doubt that regular rehearsal of varied scenarios significantly reduces the system downtime that would otherwise be experienced by our customers.

We are actively strengthening our support and commitment to the Pacific Islands with a long-term vision to enhance aviation safety and develop sustainable and efficient services that make a difference to the region.

From a crisis response perspective, we also meet periodically with regulators, governments and private agencies to discuss and clarify roles and responsibilities and participate in group crisis and emergency response management simulations. It is important that there is agreement on a co-ordinated response plan.

We are also very proud to be hosting the CANSO Asia Pacific Conference 2016 in Queenstown in May and we hope as many of our neighbours as possible will come along. We look forward to sharing our knowledge about PBN implementation and other Airways developments, such as our world-leading work implementing ADS-B and MLAT around southern parts of New Zealand.

When delegates fly in to Queenstown through those mountains, we hope they will be equally as impressed by the scenery as they will be in our capability in landing them safely.

Is environmental responsibility a strong driver of performance at Airways?

New Zealand is a relatively isolated country and our national carrier flies some of the longest sectors in the world. In line with this, and our country’s clean, green image, Airways’ commitment to reducing aviation’s footprint has to be authentic and measurable.

Credit: Airways

We were founding members of the Asia & South Pacific Initiative to Reduce Emissions (ASPIRE), a joint venture between Airways, Airservices Australia and the FAA designed to lessen the environmental impact of aviation across Asia and the South Pacific. And we are proud to work with partners like the FAA to pioneer ‘perfect’ long haul flight paths, as we did in 2008.

Queenstown is the venue for the CANSO Asia Pacific Conference 2016.

Working with Auckland Airport and the Board of Airline Representatives New Zealand (BARNZ), we helped to deliver new satellite-guided flight paths into Auckland in 2015. The revised flight paths feature wider approach curves allowing aircraft to reduce thrust, speed and use of brakes, making them quieter and more fuel efficient, and reducing carbon emissions.

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345°

0°

15° 30 °

0° 33 DLT1445 B777 410 490

31 5°

° 45

JFH6752 B738 390 450

° 60

30 0°

OPG3256 A388 400 520

YGD1723 A350 380 425

75°

285°

CKR8976 B744 350 415

APH6388 A321 370 485

XVX6211 B748 300 490

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MAG7521 E190 270 410 PVP0786 A320 310 400

AQP6800 BCS3 280 400

ZTV3309 A332 360 420

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MKJ5509 B789 390 470 KNH2006 B748 400 500

0° 15

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0° 24

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YGD1723 A350 380 425

SPOTLIGHT: AIRWAYS Our investment in collaborative flow manager technology is also generating fuel efficiencies with a reduction of approximately 37,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per annum.

Overall, what are the main challenges ahead for ATM, both regionally and globally?

One of our biggest challenges regionally, as part of the Asia Pacific Region (APAC), is the dramatic growth in air traffic and ensuring Airways continues to manage that traffic efficiently and safely.

We expect New Zealand and the APAC region will continue to experience high single figure growth until 2030 and beyond, driven by, for example, the burgeoning Asian middle classes who are travelling more. International airlines from America, Asia and Australia are meeting this demand by increasing their services in and out of New Zealand, stretching airports and airspace management.

We look forward to contributing our knowledge and experience in managing traffic growth to ensure safety and efficiency throughout the APAC region.

At a global level, we are actively contributing to the debate on creating long-term sustainable business models, in a world where ANSPs are every bit as competitive, commercial and safe, as our airline customers.

As an ANSP charged with ensuring the safe passage of all air traffic in our airspace, we felt ignoring or prohibiting UAV airspace access was not the right approach. The significant opportunities for New Zealand’s economy will drive these aircraft into our airspace and drones will become commonplace.

At Airways we manage UAVs via airshare.co.nz – New Zealand’s one-stop-shop for all the information UAV users need to fly safe. It has an efficient online workflow that enables flyers to submit a flight request, which the relevant ATC tower reviews and approves or declines. We also work closely with the CAA to educate people about safe flying.

The growth in the number of UAVs in our airspace will challenge Airways as will the speed of drone development technology – challenging traditional thinking and how we manage these new aircraft. The safety of our skies is our priority and that means we will continue to review how we manage these new aircraft and evolve our solutions in partnership with aviation agencies and stakeholders.

Is there any one technology that you believe holds the key to more efficient ATC operations?

How should ANSPs handle the increasing challenge of unmanned aircraft?

While it is tempting to think that newer state-of-the art technology will deliver improved ATC efficiency, there is no one thing that will meet all our objectives. Instead, we believe it is the mix of technological solutions, new procedures and processes and quality people, training and efficiencies that will return the most benefits.

There is no question that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or drones are here to stay, and while there are some challenges with the technology it also brings major commercial and public benefits.

Being surrounded by oceans however, it is hard not to get excited about the prospects for space-based surveillance creating a safer and more efficient operating environment for all our customers.

What does it take to be a leader in the modern ATM industry and how would you describe your leadership style?

Something that has always stuck with me is American economist Theodore Levitt’s quote: “People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole.”

As ANSPs we love technology and applications and sometimes it is easy to lose sight of the customer benefits. Coming from an airline background, it is second nature to me to constantly check and recheck that investment levels always deliver on stated benefits.

Credit: Airways

What is also key to leadership is trust; trusting people to get on with the job without interference. I have assembled a team who have much more deep seated experience than me, people who know far more about areas like air traffic control and asset management. I let them give me advice and I trust them.

Control room at the Christchurch radar centre.

I also define leadership by the energy I see and experience throughout my organisation. I aim to transmit and build energy in other people around me and encourage people to make good decisions. Boeing’s Neil Planzer once described me as “an energiser bunny” which I took as a great compliment!

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ATCO Productivity

Benchmarking for success The latest CANSO Global Air Navigation Services Performance Report takes a detailed look at air traffic controller (ATCO) productivity across participating ANSPs. Alexander Robertson from Helios and Paul Cripwell from NAV CANADA investigate continuing improvement and explain some of the anomalies.

The CANSO 2015 Global Air Navigation Services Performance Report is designed to provide insight into worldwide ANSP performance using a series of common key performance indicators (KPI) – thereby encouraging communication between ANSPs and driving global improvements.

Common KPIs enable more accurate comparison between different air navigation service providers (ANSP), and help to track global air navigation services (ANS) trends.

It is positive to note that, this year, the majority of the participating ANSPs reported an increase in ATCO productivity.

In other words, cost efficiency in the vital area of ATCO employment costs has improved.

A vehicle for change One ANSP that is embracing the report as a vehicle for change and improvement is AEROTHAI. Its spokesperson explains that improving performance is a constant challenge

Credit: ŠLars Lindblad

As in previous years, the focus of the latest CANSO report is on cost efficiency. Non-staff operating costs, depreciation and capital costs all contribute to the overall cost efficiency

calculation. But with ATCO employment costs representing 27% of total ANSP costs, ATCO productivity is an area of particular attention.

The majority of the participating ANSPs reported an increase in ATCO productivity.

10 QUARTER 1 2016

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for any ANSP as comparison with other competitors is difficult given that most ANSPs are the sole service provider over a national airspace.

“CANSO’s annual Global Air Navigation Services Performance Report allows an ANSP to identify industry best practices; collaborate with other ANSPs to improve performance; view its global standing in a number of areas; and increase understanding of global trends in terms of benchmarking an ANSP’s cost effectiveness,” she says.

“Through close collaboration with members of the CANSO Global Benchmarking Workgroup (GBWG), AEROTHAI has been able to use the KPIs in the report to better understand the areas of our operation that need attention for performance improvement and – by comparison with other similar ANSPs – explore what can be done differently to produce effective outcomes,” she adds. “The invaluable information from the report has served as an input to help set goals and drive future programmes since the report started in 2010.”

Benchmarking is an important tool to demonstrate to stakeholders and customers that AEROTHAI provides the best possible service at the most reasonable cost.

In an industry where cost flexibility is difficult to manage due to the need for a highly skilled labour force with a lengthy training process, and the added difficulty of supplying service for traffic demands beyond the control of the ANSP, being able to demonstrate the delivery of effective human resource and support cost management is essential.

Global Benchmarking Workgroup Update The annual CANSO Global Air Navigation Services Performance Report has reached a new level of maturity and is expected to continue to be published with the same structure for the foreseeable future.

With a stable report structure, the group is able to concentrate on the development of new KPIs that will make the report even more relevant to CANSO Members. New areas of importance, such as an increased focus on nonATCO costs, will also feature.

The benchmarking framework of critical KPIs allows for comparison between ANSPs, and the development of the new underlying KPIs will also assist an ANSP in understanding which elements of any KPI require their attention.

For example, the cost per IFR hour metric has three underlying measures: ATCO employment cost per ATCO hour, IFR hours per ATCO hour and costs excluding ATCO employment cost per IFR hour. By examining their own values and trends for these metrics an ANSP is able to determine which areas are most affecting their overall cost per IFR flight hour.

CANSO’s annual Global Air Navigation Services Performance Report allows an ANSP to identify industry best practices; collaborate with other ANSPs to improve performance; view its global standing in a number of areas; and increase understanding of global trends in terms of benchmarking an ANSP’s cost effectiveness.

While safety is the number one priority for every ANSP, AEROTHAI also wants to emphasise cost efficiency and productivity. In 2016, AEROTHAI will develop plans for improving organisational cost effectiveness and ATCO employment costs. It will utilise the CANSO report’s top level KPI of cost efficiency and investigate its drivers through the underlying productivity KPIs. “The goal is not just to reduce cost, but to allocate cost more effectively while improving productivity,” says the spokesperson. “AEROTHAI has set up teams of experts to study and analyse these contributing factors, identify initiatives for improvement and set the milestones for long-term goals.”

AEROTHAI’s longer term goal is to develop plans to improve support costs, looking into these costs relative to ATCO employment costs.

Meaningful comparisons The CANSO report reveals there are many different factors affecting ATCO productivity and measuring these more accurately is the goal of future reports.

Some factors relate directly to the ATCO workload. ANSPs with larger airspaces will, in general, have a higher measure of ATCO productivity, for example. This is due to the longer sector times and increased frequency of flights.

Another factor that may affect the ATCO productivity figure is the proportion of ATCO work in arrivals and departures. ATCOs in smaller countries will have a higher proportion of such work, which can distort the figures.

Future CANSO reports will attempt to properly differentiate between the different ANSPs to further assist meaningful comparisons. “The representation of ATCO productivity used in the CANSO report is IFR Flight Hours/ATCO in operations (OPS) Hours and this metric has a number of known issues that the GBWG has been investigating to create a more meaningful set of measures,” says the Chair of the GBWG, Paul Cripwell.

The GBWG has already started developing a series of new measures that will be available in future reports. One will serve AIRSPACE

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ATCO Productivity to separate out en-route ATCOs to calculate the IFR hours per en-route ATCO hour.

In concert with this, a second measure of IFR movements per approach/tower ATCO is under consideration, which would reflect the ratio of the workload between each controller type.

The GBWG also recognises that there is ATCO workload associated with visual flight rules (VFR) flights, though this varies considerably between ANSPs. The workgroup is discussing this topic, with the expectation that secondary KPIs will be developed that include the impact of VFR traffic where appropriate.

Airspace complexity Other factors affecting ATCO productivity are more to do with the nature of the airspace. The metric needs to be understood in terms of airspace complexity, the collective effect of the many variables that make up ATM. EUROCONTROL’s ATM Cost-Effectiveness (ACE) Benchmarking Report has made an interesting contribution to the debate. It divides air traffic control centres (ACC) into four sections: dense upper airspace; fewer than seven sectors with low complexity; greater than seven sectors with low complexity; and lower airspace with high structural complexity.

There are several interesting results from this data collection.

The first is simply the average productivity of the different groups. Lower airspace with high structural complexity has very low average productivity, consistently the lowest productivity of the four groups. By contrast, the productivity of dense upper airspace is consistently high. This would suggest that airspace complexity significantly affects ATCO productivity.

MUAC Case Study An interesting case to consider is the performance of Maastricht Upper Area Control Centre (MUAC), which is significantly more productive than similar ACCs. Several suggestions have been put forward as to why this might be the case: • An advanced ATC system and procedures mean that all MUAC ATCOs receive the same information from the human-machine interface, which increases situational awareness and reduces co-ordination times among air traffic controllers.

• Enhanced airspace and capacity management through the progressive introduction of the tactical capacity manager role improves the co-ordination of capacity delivery sector-wide.

• The implementation of much more flexible roster arrangements allows for better staff deployment to match traffic demand.

• The work environment produces highly motivated staff.

There is nothing here that is unique to MUAC, however, so its performance is more likely to be related to its airspace.

Any results from further investigation will be fed back into deliberations about the CANSO report methodology.

It is also interesting to note that, while lower airspace with high structural complexity has reasonably consistent productivity from ACC to ACC, the other three have huge variance between ACCs. This reveals that while the airspace is a factor, other drivers must be involved and future work needs to determine what these might be.

Airspace density is clearly an issue though. The CANSO report indicates that ANSPs with the highest ATCO productivity, in general, have the densest airspace. An analysis of different area control centres (ACCs) confirms this fact.

The capacity of the ANSP is also relevant. An ANSP operating at close to capacity will have much better ATCO productivity than an ANSP that is not.

High seasonal variability and – for small regional airports – staff requirements for an airport with mimimal movements per day illustrate the point. These types of capacity challenge can lead to inefficiencies and a high cost per movement.

Credit: ©Saab

In such circumstances, technology could improve ATCO productivity. For example, remote towers may allow the same workload – in terms of IFR flight movements – to be handled by a smaller number of ATCOs, which could help with the capacity problems for smaller airports.

Remote towers could be a solution to capacity problems at small airports.

To support efforts to increase the number of contributing ANSPs to the CANSO Global Air Navigation Services Performance Report, AEROTHAI will be hosting the spring meeting of GBWG, 30 March – 1 April in Bangkok, Thailand.

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ICAO

A positive attitude

Credit: ENAIRE

ICAO Secretary General, Dr Fang Liu, says keeping an open mind about ATM evolution will be critical to success.

ANSPs must find new ways of controlling and managing traffic.

What is your view of the ATM industry? What are the main challenges and what do you see as the priorities for air navigation?

Aviation’s ATM challenges are significant today. Technologies in this domain tend to evolve very rapidly, which presents our community with a continuous need for new or amended standards, procedures, regulations and training.

And there is also the matter of ANSPs having to operate at times in environments characterized by regulatory gaps or conflicts, which may have been ongoing for substantial periods of time.

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These types of issues present a range of concerns to ICAO, both from the technical and political standpoints, and post2014, I think the entire world has become more attuned to our Organization’s unique role in serving as a forum for increased multilateral cooperation toward their resolution.

In addition, our recent internal evolution toward placing greater focus on tailored ATM solutions under the ICAO Aviation System Block Upgrades (ASBU), and on providing greater implementation assistance through our iKits or the ICAO iMPLEMENT tool, have been of tremendous assistance to both States and industry where new ATM and air navigation developments are concerned.

Space Regulations For example, performance-based navigation (PBN), which is still one of ICAO’s highest air navigation priorities, has currently been implemented on over 60% of international runways and we expect further and rather significant expansion of PBN benefits over 2016.

ICAO has also been extremely encouraged to date by the investments in terms of financial and human resources, which States and ANSPs have committed toward the implementation of collaborative decision making (CDM) and air traffic flow management (ATFM). These solutions will be critical to ensuring system-wide safety and efficiency as our sector continues to expand.

But in the case of ATFM specifically, we must also be careful that it isn’t looked on as some form of panacea with respect to outdated airspace design, a lack of operational flexibility, or closed minds in general with respect to new ways of controlling and managing traffic.

And for those who do take action on this paradigm shift in ATS provision, a refocus on training – whether ab initio, specialized, or recurrent – will be critical.

Credit: ICAO

The ability of the ATM community to keep an open mind and positive attitude to the changes that must occur will be critical to overall success with this evolution. Many of the tools, procedures and guidance material suitable to today’s ATM world have been available through ICAO, other standardsmaking organizations and vendors for quite a number of years, including provisions for data link communications, ADS-C, ADS-B and multilateration, AIDC, reduced separation standards, arrival/departure management tools, PBN/CCO/ CDO, and so forth.

ICAO Secretary General, Dr Fang Liu.

I would also take a moment to compliment CANSO in this context, namely for its efforts in backing the African ANSP peer programme. This work furthers the initiative which was instigated by Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, President of the ICAO Council to address some of the air navigation services (ANS) challenges in the Africa (AFI) region.

You have talked a lot about the economic benefits of aviation and how the industry can help with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. What more can ICAO do, and what should CANSO be doing, to persuade States that investing in air navigation infrastructure enables the connectivity and increased capacity that boosts GDP growth, enables tourism and provides access to markets?

It is recognized around the world today that quality assurance can be enhanced through enhanced ANSP cooperation, and any mechanism permitting multiple providers to work together using a regional cooperative framework in the AFI region must be applauded.

It was my great honour this past September to participate on behalf of ICAO at the UN Sustainable Development Summit where the sustainable development goals (SDGs) were adopted, under the ambitious and transformative Agenda 2030.

Performance-based navigation, which is still one of ICAO’s highest air navigation priorities, has currently been implemented on over 60% of international runways and we expect further and rather significant expansion of PBN benefits over 2016.

ICAO used that opportunity to make all in attendance clearly aware of the importance of aviation development and global connectivity to the attainment of so many of the SDGs. On our public website we have cross-referenced how 13 of the 17 SDGs are supported through ICAO’s Strategic Objective work programmes, and we are proud to be able to participate in their achievement to this extent.

Our Organization’s hope in the near- and longer-term is to foster new partnerships and new possibilities, for both aviation and the societies it serves. States first and foremost will play an essential role in this process, and we will be looking to governments for significant investments in new technologies, AIRSPACE

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ICAO The ability of the ATM community to keep an open mind and positive attitude to the changes that must occur will be critical to overall success.

a suitably skilled workforce, and the modernized aviation infrastructure that will be so critical to their future airport and ATM capabilities.

In this regard, ICAO will actively participate in the Global Infrastructure Forum that States agreed to establish under the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (adopted at the United Nations Third International Conference on Financing for Development in July 2015). Through this Forum, ICAO will highlight the economic impact and benefits of aviation infrastructure, expand opportunities for aviation infrastructure investment, and strengthen cooperation with financial institutions and economic planners. The expected results of the collaboration through this Forum include the attainment of the SDGs and safer and more efficient air transport and air navigation services to the travelling public.

In addition, ICAO will provide a comprehensive and reliable data set and a proprietary cost-benefit analysis tool to promote financing for air transport infrastructure development (including the implementation of ASBUs). We already have a similar tool, which assists States in analysing the economic benefits of safety improvement investments, and this new version will be designed to reduce infrastructure investment risks, set clear goals and targets, and monitor the projected returns.

But we must also be clear that the first and perhaps most important step in this process is for all States in our global network to be effectively implementing ICAO’s Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and relevant policies. This is not only about developing States but all States. Simply stated, the safety, efficiency, security, economic and environmental performance of air transport services must be properly resourced to ensure that the significant socio-economic benefits of aviation growth remain within reach.

CANSO and other industry organizations can assist this evolution by proactively sharing data, experiences and success stories with ICAO which reinforce the importance of aviation development and its socio-economic impacts, and by using their respective interactions with governments as an opportunity to reinforce this message.

Virtually all public agencies today, whether national or international, are facing budget concerns. In this context would you see greater collaborative efforts with industry partners such as CANSO being more or less important to ICAO? Greater collaboration is always a prerequisite for civil aviation progress, and where the public and private sectors are concerned ICAO has been doing better at bringing industry to the table in recent years, noting that this is now where the bulk of technical innovation now occurs.

Our Global Air Navigation Industry Symposium (GANIS, 2011) was a landmark in this regard, and I would not foresee this evolution abating any time soon. The realization of the ASBUs would not have been possible without close industry cooperation, and the success being seen with the block upgrade approach, in addition to the iKits which so importantly support them, have been a testament to how effectively States and industry can work together when we approach our challenges in a coordinated manner.

With respect to how these interactions can be systematically improved, and any associated best practices we could look to, one model which shows particular promise is the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) example. It has some 700 industry sector members that participate in their process, along with their member States.

But that being said, we still have many discussions ahead of us with our own State Members, as well as our existing industry partners, before any actions could be considered. Over 2016 we have a great deal on our plates with the 39th Assembly, and in light of that I would expect that this topic may likely be explored further in 2017, whether through a new symposium or similar type of event.

How is the implementation of ASBUs going? What are the current priority areas and where are the gaps?

The ASBU methodology allows all Member States to advance their air navigation capacities based on their specific operational requirements. The overall goal is to realize the increased capacity and improved environmental efficiency that air traffic growth demands in every region around the world, in a cost effective manner.

Credit: Špeshkov

But we never intended to achieve this by forcing States to take on capacities and expenses which were inappropriate to their operational profiles.

The focus is on ensuring RPAS meet existing standards.

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Based on operational requirements, the determination of solid supporting business cases, and our goal of maximizing benefits to all stakeholders, various elements of the ASBUs are now

Space Regulations being implemented in all ICAO Regions. Regional groups, with the participation of States and industry, have already defined priorities and they are being published in their respective regional Air Navigation Plans.

A key aspect to this progress is our ongoing dialogue with ICAO States, whether here at headquarters or through our regional offices. Some countries are not always clear on their operational needs and it is important that ICAO helps the local regulators and policy makers to understand what standards and technologies are available to help them deal with their specific ATM/ANS challenges, with feedback going both ways.

CANSO can certainly assist this process by actively participating in our regional planning meetings, by helping all stakeholders to collaboratively define national and regional needs, and by helping to define the best solution for each particular national and/or regional operational environment.

Do you think that the industry is doing enough to address cyber threats? Is the Civil Aviation Cybersecurity Action Plan effective?

The Civil Aviation Cybersecurity Action Plan sets out a roadmap and joint commitments to ensure that industry and States establish coherent cybersecurity approaches and responses.

This was a logical and prudent first step.

And in light of the fact that all security risks are constantly evolving, our cooperative approaches in this area will be reviewed and adapted.

This monitoring responsibility is fundamental to success in this area, and one which is equally shared by governments, airlines, airports, air navigation service providers and manufacturers.

Given the need for all of these stakeholders to cooperate towards any realistic assessment or solution, the critical role of ICAO as aviation’s highest-level cooperative forum becomes increasingly important to both cybersecurity preparedness and cyberattack response.

One cybersecurity risk, which is perhaps not fully appreciated at present, is the potential disruption and economic loss posed by related threats, not only to the aviation industry as a whole but to many other areas of the economy, which air transport so directly and daily supports.

Air transport is increasingly dependent on information communication technology infrastructure for flight management systems, reservations, payments and billing … virtually everything we engage in sector-wide.

And we’re also increasingly linking ourselves to other areas of government and economic activity through electronic means – for instance with e-freight and the cargo supply chain. This too highlights the need for intensified cooperation.

Credit: ©tashatuvango

At the moment all modules in Block 0 are priorities for ICAO and its States, considering both the availability of provisions to support their implementation and the fact that they provide the critical first steps toward achieving global interoperability.

ICAO plays a critical role in cybersecurity preparedness and response.

All things considered, the aviation community recognizes the benefits of effective cooperation, continuous vigilance with respect to the evolving nature of these threats, and the timely sharing of information. These are logical areas which have been suitably prioritized in the Cybersecurity Action Plan by ICAO and the air transport Industry High-level Group (IHLG). In taking a leadership role, ICAO will prioritize this subject along with the requisite resources, in cooperation with other stakeholders, including CANSO. Lastly, given that cybersecurity risks are far from exclusive to aviation, we are also continuing to reach out to other sectors to share and benefit from the latest developments and best practices. The responses made by the US banking sector, subsequent to the 2014 attack which saw the personal information of 76 million households and 7 million businesses compromised, is one such example.

How can remotely piloted aircraft systems be safely integrated into airspace?

There are many types of unmanned aircraft, with many levels of piloting control and equipment capability built into the system.

Some are fully pre-programmed and don’t allow real-time intervention in the flight trajectory, others require full-time manual control, and most are somewhere in between.

After studying the diversity of such systems, ICAO has reached the conclusion that to be integrated alongside manned aircraft in non-segregated airspace and at aerodromes, unmanned aircraft must be remotely piloted, meaning that a licensed remote pilot has control and can intervene as necessary on a real-time basis to adjust the trajectory and interact with air traffic control and other pilots.

Furthermore, the remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) must also meet the equipment and capability requirements specified for the airspace, aerodrome or operation in question.

It is therefore incumbent on RPAS operators to meet civil aviation safety standards and to avoid fostering new risks in the well-established manned aviation system. The focus then becomes how we ensure that RPAS meet existing standards, including, in many cases, identifying new methods for how they can do so.

AIRSPACE

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Space Regulations SWIM

Managing the information lifecycle

Credit: ©viperagp

System-wide information management will create common ground within and between ANSPs.

SWIM is a concept based on an open architecture and readily-available technologies that will assist in bringing together disparate systems and processes.

Aviation is often described as a fragmented industry. It is little wonder when so many of the systems that have developed over time only work in isolation. Whether they exist in an airline back-office, in the cockpit or in an air traffic control centre, interfaces are customised and information exchange impossible.

Each system is effectively self-contained and adept purely in a point-to-point environment.

System-wide information management (SWIM) is changing all that. Envisioned as far back as 1998 and adopted by ICAO in 2005, SWIM is finally gaining traction. Described as being “net-centric”, the concept allows ANSPs to control the entire information lifecycle, sharing it internally and externally as required.

“A lot has been said about the need to challenge traditional business models within ATM,” says Paul Bosman, Head of ATM Strategies at EUROCONTROL. “SWIM is key to this transformation and the move to a new service-driven business model, which will ultimately shape the future ATM market.”

Push and pull The common situational awareness SWIM engenders brings a variety of benefits.

Foremost for any new system or process is safety. For SWIM, the safety benefit comes from providing a consistent set of data to all stakeholders, from dispatchers to pilots to controllers, in real-time. Reacting to the same input will support stakeholder decision making and facilitate a safer ATM environment.

And as SWIM automation takes hold, data entry errors will reduce and controllers will have their time freed up to focus on monitoring their airspace, improving safety further.

Efficiency will likewise be improved by SWIM. The push and pull of information across multiple systems helps decisions on how to circumnavigate bad weather or reduce delays, for example. All parties become part of the same process and able to contribute to optimal solutions.

“SWIM… allows changes to be designed quicker and cheaper than before,” says Bosman. “The use of SWIM standards, governance, and mainstream technology has proven benefits in terms of reducing IT costs. It improves outsourcing, buying and re-use capabilities. The improved interoperability reduces time and effort for design, development and deployment for connecting legacy systems.”

SWIM’s environmental potential cannot be ignored either in light of the recent Paris (COP21) agreement on climate change and the impending ICAO decision on a global market-based measure that will enable aviation to offset its carbon emissions.

The greater accuracy in forecasted airspace and airport capacity usage made possible by SWIM will help keep the industry’s environmental footprint to a minimum.

Open architecture A better understanding of SWIM and best practice in its implementation will enhance these many benefits.

SWIM is not a single system or technology. Rather, it is a concept based on an open architecture and readily-available technologies that will assist ANSPs in bringing together disparate systems and processes. As such, SWIM will be an important driver for new and updated standards in a number of domains. This methodology also means each ANSP can follow whichever business path is appropriate while still adhering to SWIM principles.

Aside from the notions of open architecture and standardisation, another SWIM principle, according to AIRSPACE

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SWIM EUROCONTROL, is the separation of information provision and consumption. The argument goes that in the ATM network, almost every participant is a producer as well as a consumer of information. Deciding in advance what information somebody needs, when they will need it and who they will get it from, is too restrictive. The aim of SWIM therefore is to decouple producers and consumers so that the relationships can evolve over time without barriers.

Linked to this is the idea of loose system coupling, which basically means one system should not rely on another one to function, the independence generated effectively furnishing improved compatibility across the network.

Elements of success Putting all of this into place is not easy. To adhere to these principles and build them into the existing infrastructure, SWIM implementation will need to include an ATM Information Reference Model (AIRM). This is a neutral definition of all ATM information, so such fundamental modelling concepts as time and geometry will have a common description.

Then there is the Information Service Reference Model (ISRM), a means of information exchange and determining service quality and another way to describe the SWIM infrastructure. This will differ in scope for each ANSP. As much as possible, off-the-shelf products should be used although bespoke solutions – as long as they are based on harmonised standards – are possible.

Information management, including governance, is another building block. This covers the practicalities of using SWIM systems, such as authentication, encryption and authorisation.

Rules and responsibilities specific to a user or a particular function need to be defined and overriding policies developed.

EUROCONTROL suggests that there is an increasing requirement for the definition and application of service level agreements between the different parties.

Close collaboration Although the benefits of SWIM are numerous and open-ended as the concept matures, its implementation will not be easy and will take time. Organising and validating the commonly shared information and developing the various access protocols for a plethora of systems and applications is resource hungry.

ATM stakeholders will need to work together closely to resolve technical and governance issues to their satisfaction.

“Implementing operational changes is seldom easy and SWIM is no exception,” says Bosman. “People need to believe in the new ways of working and promised benefits.”

Hard evidence helps. The SWIM enablement of the Network Manager (NM) ATM data via its business-to-business (B2B) web services is used by more than 200 organisations across the ATM stakeholder community and in 2015 reached 1.5 million interchanges per day. That rate is already increasing in 2016.

“The cat is out of the bag – SWIM implementation is now starting to happen at a speed we had hoped for but never dared to speak about,” Bosman notes.

He adds that, looking ahead, ANPSs have a need for a more private and dedicated IP network. For this, Pan-European Network Services (PENS) are being upgraded to NewPENS, through a joint procurement process with a few dozen other organisations. And, where relevant, all centralised services currently being procured are designed to be SWIM-enabled applications. “A further boost will arrive from the inclusion of Initial SWIM (iSWIM) in the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 716/2014 on the establishment of the Pilot Common Project and the associated support set-up through the Innovation and Networks Executive Agency funding and SESAR Deployment Manager.”

As SWIM data has become available, uses for it have multiplied and cover a variety of topics from integrated flight operations to civil-military co-operation and remotely piloted aircraft systems. The SESAR Joint Undertaking SWIM Master Class has provided numerous live demonstrations of these SWIM services and applications, hinting at what the future might bring. The next showcase is pencilled in for June 2016.

Recently, SWIM has facilitated a demonstration of the SESAR Virtual Centre concept and also underpins SkyFusion – a system developed by IATA and Harris that allows stakeholders to share operational information across flight information regions.

While imagining where a SWIM future might take ATM is a guessing game, the one certainty is that it will speed up innovation. New ideas – and the means to put them into practice – are taking months to develop as opposed to decades thanks to the commonality of SWIM principles. ATM progress is becoming ever quicker.

What kind of information needs to be shared?

Aeronautical – information resulting from the assembly, analysis and formatting of aeronautical data.

Flight trajectory – the detailed route of the aircraft defined in four dimensions, so that the position of the aircraft is also defined with respect to time.

Aerodrome operations – the status of different aspects of the airport, including approaches, runways, taxiways, gate and aircraft turn-around information.

Meteorological – information on the past, current and future meteorological conditions.

Air traffic flow – the network management information necessary to understand the overall air traffic and air traffic services situation.

Surveillance – positioning information from radar, satellite navigation systems and aircraft datalinks.

Capacity and demand – information on the airspace users’ needs of services, access to airspace and airports and the aircraft already using it.

Source: EUROCONTROL

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FOCUS ON AACO

Improving Arab airspace Sustaining the rapid growth of the Arab air transport industry requires an immediate look into the airspace capacity challenges of the region, says Abdul Wahab Teffaha, Secretary General of the Arab Air Carriers Organization.

The Arab air transport industry has grown exponentially during the past two decades.

The number of passengers in the direct Arab air transport market grew 220% between 2006 and 2015 alone, fuelled mainly by the development of Arab airlines, which on average increased their RPKs by double digit amounts every year.

A focus on developing Arab airports as the hubs of the 21st Century, combined with the fleet and route plans of Arab airlines, the booming air transport industry in Asia Pacific and expected growth in Africa, would indicate that the growth trends of the Arab air transport market will be maintained for the coming 10 years at least.

ICAO actually forecasts a 125% growth in aircraft movements in the Middle East between 2015 and 2030, and the manufacturers foresee that the fleet of Arab carriers will grow 175% between 2014 and 2034.

AACO is working with States, airlines and ANSPs, as well as regional and international organisations, to formulate regional plans that would ensure the sustainable growth of the Arab air transport industry.

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Gulf congestion While long term plans have been put in place to accommodate the increase in traffic on the ground through an expansion of existing airport facilities and building new ones, the development of airspace infrastructure has not unfortunately followed at the same pace.

This lack of progress in airspace infrastructure is putting pressure on the general development of the air transport industry in the region, with bottlenecks beginning to manifest around the high growth areas, especially in the Gulf.

Although several individual upgrade projects are being undertaken to renovate the airspace infrastructure in the region, the number of flight information regions within the Arab world means a holistic approach to ATM and airspace capacity is vital.

Regional solutions would take into account traffic flows to, from and across the Middle East region, ensure the safe growth of aviation and prevent the movement of congestion points from one place to another.

This is why the Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO) considers the development of ATM and airspace capacity in the region as its number one priority. We are working with States, airlines and ANSPs, as well as regional and international organisations – such as the Arab Civil Aviation Commission, the International Air Transport Association, CANSO and ICAO – to formulate

regional plans that would ensure the sustainable growth of the Arab air transport industry.

The AACO General Assemblies of 2013, 2014 and 2015 accordingly adopted resolutions on ATM and airspace capacity. Through those resolutions, the CEOs of Arab airlines call for collaboration between all stakeholders to alleviate bottlenecks from the region as a whole through three major milestones: • The renovation of air traffic systems (which includes processes and regulations) and equipment where required.

• Increased coordination on a national level with military authorities for the flexible use of airspace by civil aviation when national security does not require it to be limited to military use.

• The development of traffic flow management units on sub-regional / regional levels, which should evolve to cover the whole region, and without which individual investments will only result in relocating bottlenecks within the region.

The milestones summarise the priorities of Arab airlines, which begin by expanding the available airspace to civil aviation through the review of current and future traffic flows and the implementation of operational concepts that support airspace optimisation and availability, such as the flexible use of airspace and performance based navigation.

Through harmonisation, integration and collaboration among aviation

stakeholders we can realise the full potential of projects in air and ground infrastructures.

Different challenges It is acknowledged, however, that the implementation of the above priorities presents a multitude of challenges.

The introduction of PBN presents regulatory, operational and training challenges, for example, which need to be discussed within the aviation community.

The flexible use of airspace brings a different set of issues. In spite of the fact that civil military collaboration is a much needed requirement for civil airspace availability in the region – more than 50% of airspace is currently reserved for military operations – such collaboration is very weak in the region with few specific exceptions. Accordingly, efforts across all levels from all stakeholders are needed to gain the endorsement of civil and military authorities on governmental and operational levels.

This is why the 2015 AACO General Assembly directed AACO to work with all stakeholders to advocate civil-military collaboration to Arab governments.

Regional air traffic flow management (ATFM) is also a priority for the region that will be needed in the coming few years. The implementation of ATFM will require harmonisation and integration at national and regional levels. Work should

therefore begin today to implement ATFM in the medium term.

In the short term, the collaborative decision making aspect of ATFM must be considered an immediate priority.

The efficiency gains that can be derived from its implementation are significant compared with the implementation requirements.

Better relationships On the ANSP side, customer relationship management continues to be an important tool to enhance the relationship between the airline and service provider, including the proper consultation and communication of requirements and building trust.

Enhancing the airline-ANSP relationship would result in a win-win situation for both stakeholders. But this relationship can only be optimised when the ANSP is an independent entity making decisions on investments through proper budgeting and consultation to justify charges as a cost for service.

The separation between regulators and ANSPs is essential for the optimal performance of both entities. The ANSP can then act as a true service provider while the regulator focuses on its natural role of developing regulations and overseeing their implementation.

This separation has proven to be the correct way forward, as seen in the

European experience; the calls in the United States to implement such separation; and in the development of all service-oriented industries within and outside the air transport industry across the globe. It is important that CANSO material and documents be tailored to Middle East needs to ensure the best possible outcome of any intended separation between regulators and ANSPs. For the time being, though, in our region, the majority of ANSPs are part of the civil aviation authorities. The positive aspect of this is that ANSPs can leverage the close relationship with their respective regulators and civil aviation authorities to push forward the implementation of airspace infrastructure priorities in the region.

As such, ANSPs are able to play an important role in reaching the right solutions in each situation.

Going green Finally, it is important to mention that the benefits of airspace infrastructure development are equally vital for the environment. The efficiencies gained through optimising operations will result in significant environmental rewards that will support the industry target of carbon neutral growth from 2020.

Arab airlines are fully committed to environmental mitigation, operating the youngest fleet in the world and continually optimising their network. This has led to Arab airlines registering impressive ratios of carbon emissions per RTK compared with the industry averages.

Credit: NATS

Air traffic controllers in the region should also consider the impact of their work on the environment and strive to provide airlines with the best routes for the environment. This can be achieved through the education of controllers, which ANSPs can integrate into the training of their personnel.

Air traffic flow management is a priority for the region.

We have a lot of work ahead of us in the Arab world with regards to airspace infrastructure. All aviation stakeholders are aware of the urgent need to move forward as we are all working hard to ensure the safe, sustainable and environmentally-friendly growth of air transport in the region.

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Letter from America

Partnering to improve Caribbean air traffic performance Teri Bristol, Chief Operating Officer of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic Organization explains the need for regional collaboration.

The FAA is committed to working with our international partners to make aviation safer, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly.

This year, we will work with our Caribbean partners to improve air traffic performance in that region. The Caribbean airspace extends from the State of Florida’s panhandle to South America and is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

We have a vested interest in working with our Caribbean partners. In 2014, more than 7 million passengers originating in the US flew to the Caribbean, accounting for 17% of all US outbound

An interoperable network approach for the Caribbean region would lead to system-wide demandcapacity balancing, which would enhance safety and optimize the efficiency of airports and available airspace – essential as air traffic continues to grow.

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passengers. Nearly half a million aircraft annually cross one of six adjacent flight information regions in the Caribbean: Havana, Santo Domingo, Piarco, PortAu-Prince, Kingston, and Curacao. Also, US outbound flights to Central and South America frequently fly over the Caribbean, adding traffic volume and complexity to this airspace.

We expect air traffic in the Caribbean region to grow 5-6% over the next two decades, second only to the Middle East. Along with that, Caribbean airspace is challenging due to highly varying tropical weather patterns and the complexity of numerous airports; factors that contribute to air traffic schedule uncertainty and delays within the region. As we know, delays in one country’s airspace can negatively affect the airspace of surrounding countries.

Regional standards The US and our Caribbean partners recognize the need for regional airspace improvements to address these challenges. In 2014, 22 States and nine international organizations and members of industry from North America, Central America and the Caribbean signed the Port of Spain Declaration. This document emphasizes the need for collaboration to achieve common goals and harmonization of regional standards and procedures.

The Declaration also called for prioritizing regional implementation of ICAO standards aligned with the Global Air Navigation Plan and sets regional performance targets for improvements in air navigation.

The FAA’s Caribbean Initiative includes proposals for redesigning FAA-controlled airspace (from our Miami and San Juan control centers) and for working with our Caribbean partners to improve air traffic flow management (ATFM) through collaborative decision-making (CDM). An ATFM/CDM Caribbean network would support cross-border demand-capacity balancing in the region.

The FAA also recommends greater implementation of system-wide information management (SWIM), which would provide the Caribbean region with greater ability to exchange real-time information (via a single interface) with regional ANSPs, aircraft operators, and other stakeholders on airport capacities and traffic flow constraints, such as ground delays and ground stops.

SWIM also provides the ability to automatically distribute weather-related pilot observations to controllers, which will further enhance safety and capacity.

Through this kind of information exchange, entities have a common traffic picture and are able to collaboratively manage traffic.

Asian example An ATFM/CDM network has long been an ICAO goal for the Caribbean region.

However, the perceived need for a central command authority combined with the cost and political ramifications of establishing such an authority has impeded progress toward this capability.

Recent success in Southeast Asia on the development of a multi-nodal, or decentralized, ATFM/CDM network could potentially be a model for the Caribbean. The Southeast Asia initiative makes use of commercial off-the-shelf networking capabilities potentially suitable for SWIM standards and global ATFM messaging standards.

In partnership with ICAO and key regional stakeholders, the FAA will jointly champion the development of a regional ATFM/CDM network across the Caribbean, encompassing elements of the mature US ATFM system, along with the decentralized ATFM concept being developed in Asia.

We are also making improvements to the FAA’s existing Traffic Flow Management System (TFMS). These improvements will provide greater support for programs like the Caribbean Initiative.

This year, we will implement remote capabilities for existing participants – primarily NAV CANADA and SENEAM – based on SWIM standards. This enhancement will eliminate the need for software exchange or expensive dedicated interface capabilities in order to access TFMS functionality.

An interoperable network approach for the Caribbean region would lead to system-wide demand-capacity balancing, which would enhance safety and optimize the efficiency of airports and available airspace. This optimization is essential as air traffic continues to grow in the region.

We expect that airline operators would also benefit from increased situational awareness, improved air traffic control system predictability, increased on-time performance and improved

utilization of aircraft, crew, and maintenance resources.

This year, we will be working to establish partnership agreements with key stakeholders and Caribbean service providers and developing initial implementation plans. I look forward to these efforts, and to seeing the benefits we will be able to bring to the region.

Caribbean airspace is challenging due to highly varying tropical weather patterns and the complexity of numerous airports; factors that contribute to air traffic schedule uncertainty and delays within the region.

Caribbean airspace extends from the State of Florida’s panhandle to South America and is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

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TOKYO CAPACITY

Credit: JANS

An extra dimension for Tokyo metropolitan airspace

Innovative solutions to capacity challenges are being considered by Japan Air Navigation Service.

Japan Air Navigation Service is exploring every opportunity to increase flight capacity in the congested skies above Tokyo.

It has always been busy in Tokyo. Its two airports – Narita and Haneda – are among the world’s largest and together account for 747,000 aircraft movements per year.

Recent expansion at both airports only served to increase the pressure on airspace capacity. Haneda, which has a downtown location, was once used exclusively for domestic flights but in summer 2014 opened up to international traffic.

Together with some domestic increases, this added 30,000 frequencies to the mix. By 2020, Haneda will increase its capacity further – the current 447,000 aircraft movements per year supplemented by an additional 40,000 movements.

Narita, meanwhile, is in the midst of a $1.3 billion expansion programme that has delivered a new low cost terminal. It, too, will seek to improve capacity by 40,000 movements per year by 2020.

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Japan’s mature and growing air travel market is not the only consideration for these developments. In 2020, Tokyo will host the Olympic Games, inevitably the source of a huge influx of visitors and a demand for more air services.

Already, the airlines are crying for more capacity. Yoshiharu Ueki, President, Japan Airlines, has said that “in the long-term, Tokyo will need more runways – a fifth at Haneda or a third at Narita”. In the short term, however, it is the airspace that must be adapted to accommodate the increase in traffic.

Haneda flights The problem is most acute at Haneda. The airport is sandwiched by Narita to the east and military air bases to the west, leaving Haneda flights with only a narrow corridor in which to operate.

Innovative solutions being considered by Japan’s ANSP, Japan Air Navigation Service (JANS) could overcome that limitation, however. JANS is the service provider for the Civil Aviation Bureau of Japan (JCAB), part of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and provides air navigation services within the Fukuoka Flight Information Region (FIR).

One option being reviewed by JANS is the introduction of independent simultaneous parallel approaches to Haneda runways 16L and 16R, which would improve aircraft movements from 80 to 90 per hour – a significant percentage increase – in south wind conditions.

The US Yokota Air Base, about 60km northwest of Haneda, provides approach control service in the skies to the west of Haneda up to 23,000 feet (7,000m). There are multiple air bases in Yokota Approach airspace and the new Haneda routes would therefore conflict with aircraft operating in and out of these air bases.

JANS is working closely with the military authorities to find ways to implement the new Haneda routes without affecting safety. Any resolution will also assist Haneda departures, which are forced out over Tokyo Bay to gain the altitude necessary to fly over densely populated metropolitan areas and Yokota Approach airspace.

While the implementation of the new routes is a major technical challenge for pilots and controllers, there is also a noise issue to combat as the proposed new flight paths would overfly densely populated downtown residential areas that have previously been unaffected by aircraft noise.

To resolve this problem, JCAB has been heavily involved in liaising with the local communities to mitigate the impact of noise. “JANS has implemented a range of measures to assure not only safety but also environmental protection for our airport projects in Japan,” says Hitoshi Ishizaki, Director General, Japan Air Navigation Service.

“In the past five years, we have increased the total amount of movements at Haneda and Narita from 523,000 to 747,000 and safety and environmental protection have not been compromised.

In the past five years, JANS has increased the total amount of movements at Haneda and Narita from 523,000 to 747,000 and safety and environmental protection have not been compromised.

Credit: JANS

These parallel approaches have already been implemented for runways 34L and 34R in north wind conditions but an identical solution for runways 16L and 16R would necessitate flight paths through Yokota Approach airspace to the west.

Hitoshi Ishizaki, Director General, Japan Air Navigation Service.

“JANS is committed to continuing this stance with the airport expansion projects in Tokyo,” he adds. “We will continue to provide safe, smooth and efficient ATC service, with an appropriate number of ATC personnel, harmonising with environmental protection for the community around the airports.”

CARATS All work undertaken by JANS aligns closely with the Collaborative Actions for Renovation of Air Traffic Systems (CARATS) programme. CARATS is a major Japanese ATM project, along the lines of SESAR and NextGen, and aims to deliver new technologies and procedures throughout Japan by 2025.

It is hoped CARATS will ultimately double capacity in congested airspace, reduce fuel consumption and cut emissions 10% per flight. At the same time, airspace safety will be dramatically improved.

The implementation of trajectory-based operations (TBO) is a major element of CARATS. TBO covers an entire flight path and requires aircraft to cross certain points at precise times using their flight management systems. This will eventually lead to fully 4D trajectories, real-time flight-path changes when necessary and a smoother traffic flow.

Meanwhile, another solution to airspace congestion, multilateration, has also been deployed in Japan.

Multilateration uses a triangulation method to determine an aircraft’s position rather than GPS. From an airline point of view, it does not require additional avionics while controllers benefit from greater situational awareness of airport runway and taxiway movements. Both Haneda and Narita are using multilateration.

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TOKYO CAPACITY In fact, at Narita, wide area multilateration (WAM) is being used for the terminal control area. Industry supplier ERA was responsible for the installation of the ground stations, working alongside Toshiba.

Each ground station can withstand a wide range of temperature (minus 40 to plus 60 degrees Celsius) as well as possible vibrations and movements caused by earthquakes.

ACC reorganisation

The Fukuoka FIR comprises four area control centres (ACC) – Sapporo ACC, Tokyo ACC, Fukuoka ACC and Naha ACC – but this will change once a plan for the airspace to be split into upper and lower portions comes into effect.

New Fukuoka ACC will control the upper portion and the oceanic airspace, while new Tokyo and Kobe ACCs will control the lower portion. The adjustment will allow the new Fukuoka ACC to handle what is anticipated to be a significant increase in the number of overflights in the years ahead.

The ACC reorganisation is an ambitious project, particularly considering the challenges associated with the schedule and process management. For instance, for more than a decade, the growth in the number of air traffic controllers in Japan has fallen behind the increase in air traffic.

Recruiting an appropriate number of suitably trained air traffic controllers to ensure safe and efficient flight operations – during

Credit: JANS

While new technologies are essential to operational improvements, in the coming decade JANS will also enhance airspace efficiency through a reorganisation programme.

Multilateration offers controllers greater situational awareness of airport runway and taxiway movements.

and after the reorganisation – is therefore a major challenge.

JANS is closely working with various stakeholders to ensure the success of the project.

Money matters Despite the constant innovation, other challenges remain.

Missed approaches as well as general aviation and VIP helicopter flights all factor into an extremely complicated equation, for example.

And as a governmental agency, JANS has to request its budget on a yearly basis, meaning the Tokyo airspace projects as well as the wider Japanese airspace programme could be modified according to the economic situation.

The monetary aspect is already complicated. From a business perspective, it is difficult to be precise about the financial requirements of CARATS given the unknown of emerging technologies and projects that are a decade away from completion.

Moreover, JANS takes the view that all solutions that deploy new technology must undergo a continual review process under the CARATS programme to accommodate the future operational requirements of various airspace users.

Credit: JANS

Nevertheless, the Director General of JANS is confident that the various issues will be resolved. “The continued expansion of ATC capacity at Haneda and Narita is one of the main pillars of our government’s national growth strategy,” concludes Ishizaki, “JANS is proud to be a part of such a significant government programme and we will proactively implement technical innovations through the CARATS programme.

Haneda’s new control tower with the old tower behind – the airport was opened up to international traffic in summer 2014.

“We are committed to continued efficiency in accommodating air traffic increases not only in the Tokyo metropolitan areas but also throughout Fukuoka FIR airspace to meet the expectations of the airspace users.”

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The winds of change The dissemination of meteorological information is being transformed by industry advances.

The weather is a fundamental part of air traffic services.

It can cause delays, affect safety and drive flight optimisation decisions.

Getting crucial meteorological information to the relevant stakeholders is fulfilled by a variety of products and services.

Be it routine or special reports, a thorough assessment of the weather is likely to include visibility, cloud cover, surface wind, temperature and atmospheric pressure.

Some of the information is immediately significant, such as strong gusts or a thunderstorm in the airport vicinity. The remainder, however, can become quickly out of date.

Rectifying this to allow a pilot to modify his flight path if necessary is usually down to verbal updates from air traffic control or text message weather updates, known as SIGMET or AIRMET information, via an aircraft’s ACARS (Aircraft Communication and Reporting System).

Harmonised future But it is not only the weather patterns that change. ATM is in a period of dynamic transformation with skies getting busier and technological upgrades delivering fresh possibilities.

System-wide information management (SWIM) and the ICAO Aviation System Block Upgrades (ASBU) are driving a new era 30 QUARTER 1 2016

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of harmonisation and will govern how weather information is reported and exchanged in the future.

SWIM will enable the global air transport system to better manage air traffic under all meteorological conditions by facilitating common situational awareness.

The extensive sharing of information across different systems will improve decision-making in flight planning and flight execution.

Recently, EUMETNET – a collaboration between European national meteorological service providers – won an award for its 4D WeatherCube, which provides detailed weather information via a SWIM-compliant portal.

Importantly, SWIM and ASBUs signal the end of proprietary codes. ICAO is already pushing forward with this concept and has amended Annex 3 (Meteorological Service for International Air Navigation) so that some meteorological messages can be transmitted digitally using the open, XML language.

It is likely that Annex 3 will continue to be updated until XML standards cover all weather reporting.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), another agency of the United Nations, plays a role in ICAO’s deliberations. WMO provides recommendations for the aviation meteorological service and has a formal working arrangement with ICAO.

Credit: ©Leon Forado

Meteorology

The two organisations are assisting States by providing guidance material and online training resources that will be updated as required. Work was boosted by the 2014 ICAO Meteorology Divisional Meeting, a coming together of ICAO States and WMO members typically held once every eight or twelve years.

Peter Lechner, Chief of Meteorological Services for the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand asserts that there is a strong mandate for the continuing development of aviation meteorological services and systems.

“States know that this work is an essential part of maintaining the integrity and confidence needed in the international civil aviation system, the safety of flight in general, and the realisation of economic benefits,” he says. “With the continuing expansion of conventional aviation and the development of new aircraft systems, the nature and supply methods of meteorological information will need to rapidly adapt to a more data-centric and global approach.”

Increasing predictability Major ANSPs are involved in their own efforts to improve weather reporting. The exchange of meteorological information through SWIM using Common Support Services – Weather (CSS-Wx) is one of many elements in the US NextGen programme, for example.

The FAA has awarded two contracts to put the weather element into place. Harris has a $48 million contract to build CSS-Wx while Raytheon was awarded a $77 million contract to build weather processing technology and display infrastructure for use throughout US national airspace.

Michael Espinola, Managing Director, Raytheon Air Traffic Systems notes weather is the most disruptive factor with which the FAA has to contend. “Increasing the predictability window by eight hours will allow air traffic specialists to better manage flights and make the most efficient decisions to support the traveling public and business operations,” he says. “Improving the quality and accuracy of aviation weather data products will significantly improve the efficiency and safety for all stakeholders within the system.”

The FAA has been working closely with European partners in support of the global harmonisation of weather reporting. In late 2015, a Weather Resilience Forum was held in Brussels that brought together the various players in the European arena.

The discussion revolved around the development of a strategy that would allow the sharing of forecasts, alerts and local action plans and thereby enhance decision-making and capacity recovery. Given that 69% of airport arrival delays were attributed to bad weather in the first two months of 2015, this is timely work.

The forum was organised by EUROCONTROL’s Network Manager, which aims to facilitate improved collaboration, giving ANSPs support in developing, coordinating and executing mitigation strategies, fully in line with collaborative decisionmaking (CDM) processes.

The shift from a reactive response to a managed one, will be supported by the Network Manager’s efforts, including tools such as the Network Resilience Tool and the massive diversion tool (MASSDIV), which will assist during weather disruptions and the recovery phase.

Pilot paper Getting the right information to pilots – in effect the end user – will obviously be central to the various weather informationrelated projects. Many commercial flights still lack optimised weather documentation, being confined to black and white paper documents, verbal communication and text messaging via ACARS. The challenge will be get the authoritative stream of weather content now available thanks to vastly improved predictive models and computing power into the hands of pilots in real time in a format that is readily understood and easily transferred to trajectory calculations.

“The present method of in-flight weather-information relay does not take advantage of any graphics, nor are satellite or radar pictures transmitted to pilots,” says Captain Klaus Sievers of the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA) ATS Committee.

“Depending on arrangements between the airline and the met office, satellite pictures may be in the briefing package. Mostly, all of this is provided in printed form, for each flight, however, at some airlines, provision in electronic form is under development.”

Sievers says pilots would prefer to have information appear in easy to interpret form on the screens of their electronic flight bags. The information should be displayed in a way appropriate to its content, with SIGMET-areas being shown as overlays on navigation charts, for example. “Colourful, high resolution graphics and satellite pictures are required to help with interpretation of complex meteorological situations,” he adds.

As present-day weather information is highly standardised, it can be transmitted and used on a global scale. This applies to basic data, such as the temperature and winds at an airport, or at altitude. There is also a standard set of basic charts that is standardised at ICAO level.

“Weather is global and information has to be transmitted in standard form so all participants in aviation can use it,” Sievers notes. “Within the framework of ICAO, standards and concepts such as SWIM are being promoted to help achieve just that.”

Better quality weather information in the hands of pilots will improve air safety and efficiency by helping pilots to avoid adverse weather.

Suppliers are stepping into a perceived void. Honeywell has released a mobile app that alerts pilots to potentially severe weather. Pilots can use their tablets to get vertical views of storm clouds, for example, or clear air turbulence predictions.

Wind speed and direction is also available to help pilots choose the optimum route.

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ATM NEWS Reduced lateral separation over THE North Atlantic Aircraft flying over the North Atlantic can now be spaced closer together as part of a project to increase airspace capacity, cut fuel burn and reduce carbon emissions.

The project, called reduced lateral separation (RLAT), is an ICAO initiative being jointly introduced by NATS and NAV CANADA.

Credit: NATS

Currently, the tracks across the North Atlantic are separated by one degree of latitude – the equivalent to 60 nautical miles – but these can now be safely reduced to half a degree. This reduction will allow more aircraft to achieve their optimum route and flight level, helping to cut flying times while reducing fuel burn and emissions.

The tracks across the North Atlantic are separated by one degree of latitude, equivalent to 60 nautical miles.

EU funds Free Route Airspace study The EU has signed an agreement to provide funding for FAB Central Europe’s study on “Free Route Airspace from the Black Forest to the Black Sea”.

The study contributes to the deployment of flexible airspace management and free route, one of the six ATM functionalities identified in the Pilot Common Project.

The study supports the goal of the seven FAB CE ANSPs: the defragmentation of airspace to implement the Single European Sky. By 2019, FAB CE aims to fully implement the free route airspace (FRA) concept. This will offer opportunities for airspace users to improve the efficiency of plannable direct routes, trajectories both within the FAB CE airspace and between neighbouring FABs.

Registration of drones in Ireland and US The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has successfully rolled out the world’s first online drone registration module with the IAA ASSET© System.

This system supports the

introduction of IAA’s new drone regulation, which requires the mandatory registration of all drones weighing 1kg or more with IAA. The new legislation is intended to further enhance safety within Ireland and specifically addresses the safety challenges posed by drones.

Similarly, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) registration rule applies to small unmanned aircraft that weigh between 0.55 lbs. and 55 lbs. Owners of these aircraft must register before they fly them outdoors.

Nearly 300,000 owners have registered their small unmanned aircraft in the first 30 days after the FAA’s online registration system went live.

SESAR partners trial satellitebased navigation in Greek islandS Airbus, Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA) and Novair have successfully achieved a flight trial on required navigation performance (RNP) procedures in Corfu, Iraklion and Santorini.

This is a key milestone in the two-year project, which will help Greece to improve

Once fully implemented, the change will save an estimated 52,000 tonnes of carbon a year, the equivalent to 14,000 transatlantic flights. airport access and enhance operations.

1,000 DCTs in this highly frequented airspace.

More than 160 flight trials will be conducted in collaboration with the partner airlines and ANSPs through September 2016. These trials will capture feedback from flight crew and air traffic controllers on the procedures in terms of fly-ability, safety, crew and ATC workload, as well as assess savings in CO2 emissions and reduction in fuel consumption.

These new routes will allow airlines to save up to 785 tonnes of fuel per year and reduce CO2 emissions by 2,616 tonnes.

Direct routes expand across Europe IN 2016 Some 47 new plannable direct routes (DCT) came into operation in continental Europe, covering the northwest-southeast axis between the United Kingdom and Hungary.

In February 2016, more DCTs will be added that stretch through the UK to the Eastern borders of Ireland.

The new route options stem from an initiative of FABEC (FAB Europe Central), which aims to optimise the central European DCT network along the European main traffic flow in close cooperation with EUROCONTROL. Today, airspace users can avail themselves of well over

New Zealand flight path trial does not deliver noise benefits A 12-month trial of a new flight path for Gold Coast Airport southern departures did not deliver the intended noise improvement for residents. Airservices will reinstate the former flight path by June 2016.

The flight path change for southern departures (for jet aircraft travelling to southern ports) on Runway 14 was instigated at the request of the community and directed jets further to the south-west, maximising flights above the golf course rather than surrounding residential areas.

The noise monitoring data demonstrated that the actual noise improvement of 1-1.8 decibels delivered by the changed flight path was not a noticeable level for the human ear. A Post Implementation Review has been published on Airservices website.

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ATM NEWS Aviation CO2 emissions to be dealt with this year at ICAO

blocks, including support for international carbon markets and the use of forestry as a source of offsets.

At the conclusion of the COP21 Climate Talks in Paris, the aviation sector, represented by the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), said the Paris Agreement provides an ambitious and far-reaching response by governments to dealing with climate change.

It will provide momentum for discussions on aviation market-based measure in the lead up to the 39th Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in September. ATAG appealed to governments meeting at ICAO to redouble their efforts to progress a global marketbased measure for aviation.

South Africa to deploy space-based ADS-B in 2018 Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) will implement space-based automatic dependent surveillancebroadcast (ADS-B) to enable real-time visibility throughout their airspace.

Increased visibility, coupled with real-time air traffic surveillance, will improve safety and the efficiency of air travel and give air traffic control the ability to optimise airspace with more accurate, predicable data.

Eastern Europe implements longrange crossborder direct route options across six States Five ANSPs, SMATSA, Croatia Control, Slovenia Control, BHANSA and BULATSA, have established 11 long-range cross-border direct route options (LRDs), across their areas of responsibility and which are recognised in six States. The new routes came into force on 4 February 2016.

Credit: NATS

The Paris Agreement provides important building

The aviation sector will need access to high-quality offsets as it develops the global market-based measure.

Through space-based ADS-B, ATNS will have 100 percent air traffic surveillance of the Johannesburg Flight Information Region (FIR) and the Cape Town FIR, which cover approximately 10 percent of the world’s airspace. It is scheduled to be operational in 2018.

progress toward SESAR virtual centres SESAR members demonstrated the first multi-vendor collaboration in compliance with the SESAR Virtual Centre concept at several European sites and the Frequentis headquarters in Vienna. The demonstration is an important milestone in air traffic management modernisation since it marks progress towards greater service orientation, interoperability, service provider independence and remote service provision.

The demonstration presented a number of open standard service interfaces in various multi-vendor scenarios. The services include surveillance, correlation, flight data distribution, flight data management, coordination and transfer. The services were demonstrated through remotely-connected sites in Brétigny, Fareham and Geneva. This illustrates how separate sites will work collaboratively across different flight sectors.

Airservices celebrates Australia’s civil aviation heritage

NATS aims to reduce air traffic related CO2 emissions 10% in 2020.

NATS signs up to emissions standard NATS is the first ANSP to sign up to an international voluntary framework committing to transparently report its greenhouse gas emissions performance.

NATS was one of the first aviation organisations to make this commitment and is the 170th signatory to the Paris COP21 initiative on climate change. The Climate Disclosure Standards Board and the United Nations Environment Programme are leading the initiative.

NATS is implementing the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol to standardise how it identifies and calculates greenhouse gas emissions and will also voluntarily report this information using the Climate Change Reporting Framework.

NATS aims to reduce air traffic related CO2 emissions 10% in 2020; to decrease inefficiency in UK airspace using a world first 3Di metric; and to reduce its estate CO2 emissions.

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Airservices has launched a portal to tell the story behind Australia’s rich aviation heritage and enable the public to access widely-dispersed heritage collections for the first time in a digital format.

The portal provides a wealth of research into sources of aviation heritage and links to the collections of museums, surviving aviation infrastructure, aircraft and technical equipment, as well as to the vast amounts of archival and pictorial material that is often cared for by volunteers or individuals.

www.connectingthenation.net.au

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