IFATCA The Controller - 3rd quarter 2000

R

L JOURNAL

Conference

2001

OF

AlR

TR AIFIF lC

Privatisation/Commercialisatio

CONTRO

n of ATC

L

Single Skies

3/ 2000 3rd quarter 2000 volume 39 ISSN 0010- 8073

THE S O UL OF FLIGHT Fl y in g to th e end s of th e earth .

Ful fillin g a d rea m. Surfin g on je t stre am s. Goin g beyond one 's limit s.

In co mpl etin g th e fir s t non -s top ro und-th e-wo rld balloon fli g ht aboard BREITLING ORBIT ER 3, Be r tra nd Pi cca rd and Brian Jon es w e re reca ptu ri n g th e v ery soul of th e gr e a t pio n eers o f aviati on .

Thi s n obl e cha ll en ge witn esse d th e t ri u mp h o f d a rin g and p erse:' era n ce. B_REITLING pl aye d a pr e m ie r rol e In th is fant as ti c hum an and sc ie n ti fic a dv entur e ju s_t as _it h as sh ared a ll th e hi gh p omt s 111 th e conqu es t o f th e ski es fo r ove r a centur y.

0 1:e ~impl y d oes n o t b eco m e a n a v 1a t1on s uppli e r b y chan ce .

~ "-uv~i~d; ~f Hope THE ESSENCE OF BREITLING EMERGENCY. Th e fir t to fea tu re a built -in s ~v~ r wa tch rnitt er. BREITLINGO mi ci o-tr a n sse ries of 1,999 in Rt~ItTER_ 3 iimit ed eac h wa tch so ld anium . Fo r 路 11w 1路1l b e m ade to th e, al,yd.o11a t 10 found a tion, es tabJi 5 1ds of Hop e a tr on age o f B , ed und er th e P 路 Bri an Jon es and eBrtr _a n d p 1cca 1路d , REITLJNG.

t

PUBLISHER I FAT CA. Internationa l Federation of Ai r Traffic

Controllers' Associations.

THE CONTROLLER

EXECUTIVE BOARD OF IFATCA

JOURNAL

OF

AIR

TRAFFIC

CONTROL

Samuel Lampkin President and Chief Executive Officer

Paul Robinson Deputy President

ln This lssue

----~---

Uni t ed Kin gdom , Octobe r 2000 Vo lum e 39 No 3

Jean Robert Dumfries Executive Vice President Americas

4

The Regulation Paul Robinson

s

Editorial Chris Stock

6

IATA Discusses ATS Incidents in Africa Henry Nkondokaya

8

Flight Safety meeting in Buones Aires Rosanna Baru

9

USE - The United Sky of Europe Luc Staudt

10

Commercialisation Derek Mclaughlan

12

Thirteen years On - The New Zealand Don Curry

14

The Commercialisation Bill Semple

18

GATCO and the PublicPrivate Richard Dawson

20

The Liberalisation Phil Hogge

Albert Taylor Executive Vice-P resident Africa/ Middle East

Philip Parker Executive Vice- President Asia/Pacific

Marc Baumgartner Executive Vice-President Europe

Steph Simmonds

of Air Traffic Services

Execut ive Vice -President Finance

Doug Churchill Execut ive Vice-P resident Professional

Andrew Beadle Executive Vice-P resident Technical

of ATC-The CANSO View

Terry Crowhurst Executive Board Secretary/

Confe rence Manager

EDITOR Ch ris Stock, 25 Springfie ld Lea, South Q ueensferry. West Loth ian, Scotland . EH30 9X D .

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22

Edge Green O .B.E.

and privatisation

of Air Traffic Services

Partnership

of ATS

- Four years from Lift Off

NAV CANADA

John W Crichton

CMG CHAIRMAN AND ACCOUNTS

4 The Rookery .

Experience

26

The 40th IFATCA Conference

31

Book Review

31

Human Factors meeting in China

32

The Importance Bert Ruitenberg

33

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3

Foreword The Regulation of Air Traffic Services Paul Robinson, Deputy President

The princip le topic of discussion in this edition of "The Control ler" is t he privatisation and commercialisat ion of air traff ic services. One aspect of t he pro vision of air traffic services that has increasingl y come under the microscope in recent years is the regulation of t hese serv ices.

Unt il t he late 1980s, the predomina nt pract ice w or ldwi de w as that air traff ic services were provided by a department of govern ment.

W hile t he over-riding object ive of such government departments was normally to provide a coordina t ed approach to the count ry 's tran sport serv ices, the funding of th ese departments and the serv ices they provi ded was a political issue and th us the scope and level of services pro vided we re fr equen t ly subject to po lit ical direction and exp ediency. W it h the collapse of comm unism , and th e rise of capita lism dur ing this pe riod , w estern governmen ts moved to w ard less involv eme nt in providing serv ices to their citize ns in areas w he re it w as perceived that the privat e sector cou ld pro vide an equa l or better servi ce fo r less cost t han the go vernme nt In relation to air t raff ic serv ices, the cost of upgra di ng to the new t echno logy of t he 1990s was quite daunting fo r many countr ies, and some dec ided to remove th is cost from t he taxpayer and place it clearl y on the users of these serv ices.

In most cases, this w as achieved by the creation of corpor at ions ow ned solely or principall y by the state, coup led w ith the devoluti on of serv ices to these commerc ially focused ent ities.

This conce pt was also ut ilised in a numb er of other indu stries such as telecommun ications , posta l services, gas and elect rical po w er provi ders, and airlines, and t he inclusion of air traff ic serv ices has genera lly onl y been a minor aspect of t his practice w hen compa red w it h the other "ente rprises" Usually thes e new corp orat ions were charged w ith oper ating as a successf ul business, and tasked w ith raising the ir revenu e t hrou gh charges for t he serv ices they prov ided and w ith meeting their ow n cap ita l requir ements fo r equi pment. buildi ngs, and operat ing costs . In many cases, the business w hich they "bo ught" fro m the state had been significa ntly deva lued by the fai lure of the prev ious "manager " to consistent ly upgrade technology , and the new operator w as faced w ith having to raise sign ificant funds on

4

the open market to meet the costs of bringing the business into a form in w hich it could be considered viable .

Generally the philosoph y behind many of these state-owned bodies was the creation of a successful business fo r eventual outright sale into the private sector. Although this has not occurred to date with many commercialised ATS pro viders, it was prevalent especially among airlines, and public utilities such as te lecommunications companies and power provider s.

Of course, when you create a corporation and send it out into the big, bad, business wor ld

THE SEPARATION OF THE REGULATOR FROM THE SERVICE PROVIDER IS A LOGICAL AND APPROPRIATE EVOLUTION w ith new managers whose focus is the creation of profit. and who possess little or no ope rational ATS background, you need to ensure t he protect ion of th e public interest and the international conventions to w hich the state has committed. Thi s includes the Chicago Conventio n, w hich governs international air t ransport operatio ns. In order to be a full part icipant in the wor ld commun ity, each state undertakes to ensure certain fr eedoms and guarantee s in respect of the movement of cit izens. In aviation, th is means that a citizen w ho buys a ticket on a flight into and out of your country must be reasonably assured th at this journey can be undertaken safely and eff icient ly. For a state to feel comfortable that these commitments can be met by an "arm's length " service provider , it needs a regulatory aut hority w ith the necessary expertise to build rules for the purpose of meeting the state's aviation obligat ions, and powers of enforc ement to ensure the ATS prov ider meets t hese requirem ents.

Thu s those states w hich have separated the ATS provider out of the government service have most ly cho sen to retain within

government a body with the role of regulatory authority. In my opinion. the sepa ration of the regulato r from the serv ice provider is a logical and appropria te evolution. It eliminates th e potential conflict of int erest betwee n the government as th e regulator and the government as the provider of the service.

Inasmuch as the Federation has no policy in this area, it seems timely for IFATCA to study the role of the regulator in respect of ATS providers. Some senior exec utives in CAN SO have proposed the sale of air navigation services to the private sector and the development of competition among ATS provider s, leading eve ntually to the formation of alliances between service providers and the promotion of consolidation around the globe.

If this occurs, the role of the reg ulator w ill be critical. Thi s is not to say that this role is unimport ant in th e absence of competition, but simp ly that pri vate sector practices in a competit ive environment will give rise to far greater possibilities of changes in our current methods of operation.

What then should t he role of a regulator in civil aviation encompass? In my v iew , the regulator operates in much th e same way as th e gatekeepers of old. Their prim ary respo nsibilit y must be to the public, w ith a mandate to ensur e the appropriate leve l of safety in aviation. Th eir role should include • the control of entry into t he indu stry, norm ally through a system of aviation docum ents; • setting rules for th e purpose of achiev ing a targ et level of safety in the industr y; • auditing each operato r in the indu stry to ensure compliance w ith the se ru les; • enforcement of the rules, as there is no point in setting rul es and checking for comp liance if the defaulters face no pena lty; • the control of exit from t he industry , the ultim ate penalty for non -comp liance ; • the invest igat ion of incidents and accide nt s; • the production of aviation charts and publications; • representing the state in respect of ICAO matte rs;

Cont inued on foo t of nex t page

fHE CONTROLL ER

Editorial Editorial Chris Stock, Editor A major proportion of thi s issue is devoted to the important and, sometimes, emotive subject of ATS commercialisation and privatisation . I am most grateful to those guest contributors w ho have w ritt en articles specifically for this magazine to give an insight into th e thinking and proc esses that drive the move towards commercialisation. It was a little disappointing that the response from MAs and individual controllers was less than enthusiastic. I hop e that the content of the articles may provoke a response that can be published in the next issue of th e magazine. Having said that, I am sure that many MAs will find th e experiences of NZALPA, as described by Don Curry, as extremely useful guidance if the y are faced with the move to commercialisation. The tran sition from a government service organisation to one that is business-driven bring s about a cultural change of immense proportion s that present s a huge challeng e to both management and staff.

W hat is clear that ther e are benefit s as we ll as disadvantages to the individual controller and Don Curry gives an illuminating insight to both sides of the coin.

Th e other message, which come s through loud and clear in every art icle, is the overriding need to establish a strong and ind epe ndent safety regul ato r. In his foreword, th e Deputy President, Paul Robinson, discusses the role of th e safety regul ator , w hich should not be confused w ith ot her regulators such as economic, and airspace and propo ses th at it is timel y for the Federation to look for IFATCA polic y in this area. On a slightl y diff erent but relevant not e, I am organisin g a works hop for the upcomin g ATC Asia Pacific Conference and Exhibition in Singapore, which w ill be an "Introducti on to Safety Management System s (SMS) in ATM". The mand atin g of SMS for ATM w ill become an important issue for MAs and it will have a dir ect imp act on the way t hat ATM is safety regulated. On the same th eme, there w ill be a poli cy paper being presented in Committee Con Safety Management Systems at the next annual conference in Geneva.

A lthou gh t he commerc ialisation and pri vatisation articles have taken up a large proportion of t he magazine, I am pleased that I have been able to includ e items on regiona l

Continu ed fr om page 4 • assistance with the preparation of govern ment policy for internal and inte rnational aviation issues; • the facilitat ion of indu stry safety programmes ; • the dissemination of know ledge for th e purpose of raising t he overa ll standards of industry participants; • and the provision of advice and inform ati on for new entrants.

As you can see, the nature of their responsibiliti es means they are the public' s agent for the promot ion of safety. In the past, many government bodie s filling the role of regulator have also been tasked w ith the general responsibility of promot ing the development of aviation . In my op inion, these roles are mutua lly exclusive . It is difficult for one body to be the public "watch-dog " and to act in the pub lic interest, while coincidentally try ing to promo te new participants and initiat ives in the industry and represent the ir interests.

THE CONTROLL ER

In contempl ating the role of the regu lator in aviation , some ATS-specific issues arise.

Generally an ATS pro vider shou ld tr eated in the same way as any other operator in the aviation industry by the reg ulator. Howeve r desp ite the move towards the provision of services on a commerc ial basis, most countr ies have retained the "natural " monop oly of the previous gove rnm ent depart ment . In my op inion, a monopoly is the optimum method of provid ing a coo rdinated and integrated service with uniform levels of training and standards. Whi le commerc ial ope rators have to provide an effective service and value-fo r-money, a strong focus on training and standards is the most successful way of promoting safety. I have yet to be convi nced that comp etition in ATS is either practical or viable. How ever, if the sole service provider refuses to comp ly w ith directions from the reg ulator, w hat enforcement optio ns exist? W ith on ly one operator , suspension or cancellation of their operat ing certificate is hardly practicable.

issues as we ll as our regular columns.

Unfortunatel y, I have had to leave some very interesting pieces due to lack of space but these w ill be included in the next issue. Also , I hope to establish regu lar column devoted to Corporate Member news and other industry views. I wou ld repeat that I welcome contributions, large and small, including any inte resting photographs that readers wo uld like published. DEADLINEFORTHE NEXT ISSUE IS 1 DECEMBER in order that that w e can circulate the magazine before the holida y period.

On a fin al note: Editors are not infallible (part icularly on aircraft recognition' ) and my tha nks go to all those readers w ho picked up my "d eliber ate" error in the caption to the British A irways picture - yes it w as a 757 and not a 777! I w on't be sending a cop y of "Janes Aircraft Recognit ion Handbook " to anybod y but thanks to the first tw o to notic e - R Grant Price (ret ired Canadian cont roller) and Stephan Berger (active controlle r at ATCC Vienna)

Secondly, in a monopo ly environm ent shou ld th e regulator be responsib le fo r determining w hether or not an air traff ic service is essential at a location? If we believe th is shou ld be a role for the regulator, w hat facto rs other th an safety shou ld be includ ed in the dete rmin ation of such a decision?

Thirdl y, how doe s a state incorporat e a statutory ob ligatio n upon an ATS prov ider to provide services at locations where the operators do not want it if the regu lator dete rmin es it is necessary?

These are quest ions for members to th ink about, and perhap s for our Standing Committee s to contemplate Clearly a stro ng and respected regu latory author ity, such as the UK Safety Regulation Gro up , is an essent ial compone nt of our soph isticated indu stry , particularly in view of the growth in aviat ion wh ich has been achieved in recent years and wh ich is forecast to continue .

5

Regional lssues

AFRlCA

IATA Discusses ATS Incidents in Africa Henry Nkondokaya

Mr. Albert A. Taylor, EVP-AFM and Mr. Henry P Nkondokaya, a member of the IFATCA Africa/Midd le East Regional Support Group (RSG) attended the th ird meeting of IATA AFI ATS Incident Analysis Meeting wh ich was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 27 to 29 March 2000.

The IATA AFI ATS Incident Analysis Working Group (IAA IA/W G) is a task force whose responsibi lity is to review ATS incidents reported to the IATA AFI Office, or otherwise known to the Group, w ith a view to identifying causes, trends and remedial actions that may be required . Previous meetings of the group were held in Geneva and Nairobi.

The third meeting was attended by represe ntatives from IATA, ICAO , Lufthansa , KLM, TAP, South Afr ican Airways/ALPA, ATNS, ASECNA and Ghana CAA. Mr. Ruriani, Chairman of the Kenya Air Traffic Controllers' Association attended some of the worki ng sessions.

In his open ing speech, the IAAI A/WG Chairman, Mr. M. Schmitt of Lufthansa expressed his satisfaction at the strong presence of air traffic controllers for th is year's discussions. For this, he hoped t hat their participation w ould facilita t e a more balanced analysis of the incidents. M r. Schmitt also applauded th e excellent work ing relations hip existing between IATA and IFATCA, especia lly in the IFATCA/A FM Region.

The Secretariat of the Work ing Group presente d the ir pre limin ary report of analysis for discussions. The report indic ated that since t he last (second) IAA IA/WG meeting , technical missions visited a number of states in Africa to assess the performance of air traffic services, procedures and equip ment. One positive result from t hese missions was that a group of 7 ATCOs from the Democrat ic Republic of Congo are to be sent fo r further ATC t raining in Nairobi .

The analysis showe d a gen eral decrease in the number of reported ATS incident s in 1999 as compared to 1998 . Significa nt imp roveme nt in ATC provision was recorded in the N'Djamena Flight Info rmation Region (FIR) It was, how ever, noted t hat as w as t he case in 1998 , there w as a low level of participa t ion in incident reporting by airlines; and many reports were incomplete or impre cise. A lso, many ATS Aut hori t ies did not prov ide any results of investigations or informa tion on corrective action taken , if any Some Author ities simp ly did not respo nd to inquiri es.

The meet ing observed that Hum an Factors in ge neral, and contro ller proficiency in part icular, remained the most importa nt causes of

6

incidents. Furthermore, lack of proper coordination between ATS Units due to failure of ATS/DS circuits or AFTN and inadequate procedures contributed significantly to the occurrence of incidents .

Less than optimum airspace organization, unreliable mobile communications and pilots' failure to comply with established communication procedures were also cited as contributing factors.

During discussions on the preliminary IATA report, IFATCA made significant inputs aimed at making the viewpoint of ATCOs known. The attention of the meeting was drawn to the apparent misconception by pilots of procedural (non-radar) separation standards applicable in some circumstances. For example in one incident, the pilot reported an airprox JUSt because another aircraft descended through his level "only 10 NM ahead of his aircraft" .

However, 10 NM longitudinal DME separation for aircraft climbing and descending on the same track is perfectly legal according to !CAO Doc. 44441 Furthermore, IFATCA stressed the need to pay more attention to improving the established systems rather than overemphasize the reliance of back up systems and contingency measures.

It was also stated t hat pilots often diverted offtrack without informing ATC. On many occasions details provided by pilots did not conform to !CAO specifications. The info rmation was so scanty that no conclusive analysis could be made of the alleged incident.

It was suggested that in future, incident analysis should include the ICAO class of the airspace invo lved in order to determine whe ther air traffic control or only flight information service should have been applicable.

The occurrence of many incidents late at night stro ngly suggested that staffing and other human factors issues needed to be addressed.

The meeting unanimously condemned the adoption by some States of punitive measures in dealing with alleged lack of controller proficiency leading to an incident.

ICAO was request ed to design a more ATCOfriend ly ATS Incident report form in order to encourage adequate processing of the reports

by ATCOs. IFATCA also requ ested IATA to facilitate familiarization flights and travel for ATCOs especially whe n joining missions related to assessment of ATC provision and ATCO exchange programmes .

The IAAIA/WG meeting made several recommendations . Among them States in Africa/Indian Ocean (AFI) Region were called upon to increase their efforts on staffing, training and improvement of conditions of services for air traffic controllers. It was also recommended that for better assessment of the ATC situation, technical fact finding missions to ATC Units should be encouraged and should involve , in addition to IATA, IFATCA and other interested parties as well.

States and other ATS providers were urged to expedite extension of VHF coverage to routes in the upper airspace and provision of air traffic control in the region in accordance with an !CAO AFI 7 recommendation.

The meeting called upon !CAO to encourage States to fully implement ATS/DS links in accordance with the !CAO AFI Plan. ICAO should also encourage States to formalize and periodically update letters of agreements between all contiguous ATS Units. Additionally, States should implement procedures for the timely investig ation of ATS incidents and notification of results .

States which have not done so should be urged

by ICAO to implement voluntary non-punitive ATS incident reporting procedures by controllers.

IATA, IFALPA and the operators are to invite pilots to report promptly and accurately the ATS incidents and provide them with feedback on results of the investigations. And as the above organizations have faith in the effectiveness of IFBPin detecting potential conflicts, they should make efforts to sensitize pilots on the need to strictly adhere to the procedures when operating in areas of application.

Lastly, it was recommended that reports of the IAAIA Working Group meetings should also be dispatched to IFALPA, IFATCA, AFRAA, ICAO , Air Traffic Service users, ASECNA and other ATS providers .

It was unfortunate that the formal IAAIA/WG report by the IATA Secretariat only reflected the preliminary analysis report, as amended at the meeting, w ithout the IFATCA inputs which were made mainly during the last day of working sessions. Neverthe less, IFATCA had made its own comprehensive record of deliberations from w hich this article is based .

The fourth (next) meeting of the IAA IA/WG is scheduled for the last week of March 2001 , in Geneva. Hopefull y, the event w ill not collide w ith t he 40th IFATCA Conference and be a source of its own incident invest igati on I

THE CONTROLLER

Asia 14-1

5

Pacific November

2000

Regional lssues Americas Flight Safety meeting in Buenos Aires RosannaBaru

Hello my friend , Nice to hear from yo u, and it really sounds like making excuses before you start. But here, not exactly at the end of the tunnel, but far away in a small country called Uruguay, there is a friend that is always ready to send her small grai n of news. Maybe you would like to read about it.

The "First Safety Meet ing" in Argentina was held in Buenos Aires, under the auspices of ATCA (Asociaci6 n de Controladores de Transito Aereode la Republica Argentina) from the 12 to 13 June 2000. Th e meet ing was inaugurated by Mr. Cesar Salas, ATCA's President. He wel comed the partic ipants and thanked themfor the cooperat ion offered to the meeting

by ATEPSA, Aeropuertos 2000, associations members and fr iends. Mr. Salas emphasized th e importance of the event and highlighted the work to be performed .

W e w ere delighted to have the presence of Mr Jean Robert Dumfries, EV P AMA, w ho wished the meet ing success and it was nice to have the Americas Regional V ice President amongst the southern associations.

Mr Enriquez, Under-secretary of t he City of Buenos A ires, gave a wa rm we lcome to t he

partic ipant s on behalf of the Government of Argentina, and had the opportunity to answer several questions about last year's LAPA's Boeing 737 accident at Aero parque Jorge Newberry. People wanted to know why the gasoline station, at the end of the runway, was still there and some other changes that should have been made, we re not yet ready?

After lunch we listened to an interesting speech on Basic and Clinical Aspects of Stress Psychopat holog y and Dr Cianco spoke about Stress and Cardiovascular diseases.

Finally Mr Luis Canario, A ir Traffic Manager from Portugal , addressed the meeting on other global development s includin g th e organization and developme nt of air navigation in Portug al and Europe .

On the 13th of June, the South A mericas Presidents' Forum was opened. The meeting was attended by Arge ntina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay Venezue la, Uruguay, Brazil, Ecuador, and Colom bia cou ld not be present due to eco nomic prob lems. Mr. Canario was the special guest.

for the same objectives: integration, harmonization and cooperation . EVP AMAs addressed the meeting on the benefits of work ing toge th er using "the tools" of the Federation. Bolivia requested information on the Legal Liability of Controllers.and Mr Dumfrie s talke d about the SC7 Work Program.

Venezuela high lighted the idea of coming back to the Federation, looking for some changes.

The participation of many members in the discussion showed the concern of the Meeting in relation to the need to undertake a project to develop a harmonized air traffic controller career. Mr. Canario addressed the reunion on the importan ce of continuation training, and showed some information on IATA Aviation Training and Development Institute.

Anot her import ant item was t he suspen sion and terminati on of Membership in IFATC A . The group studied the situation s of Paraguay, Ecuador and Bolivia .

In.conclusion, we had two hard work ing days, a delicious ASADO (barbecue) at Gabr iela's house (THANKS TO HER PARENTS for their hospitality), and a lot of new friends and hope.

ATC A rgent ina did an excellent

JO bi 1!

Participants decided to work toget her looking

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THE: CONTROLLER

Regional lssues

Europe

USE - The United Sky of Europe Luc Staudt, IFATCA Liaison Officer to the European Union

The European Comm ission launched an ambitio us project late in 1999 fo llowi ng a comm unique on the need fo r a single Europea n Sky. ATM is not the single cause of delays but is considered as th e highest contr ibuting factor and as such th e subject of thi s initi ative. Ms de Palacio, th e European Commissioner for Transport, pointed out that oth er causes, such as airlines and airports w ill be addressed in ot her initiatives. It was stressed, repeated time and again, that the blame is not to be put on the shoulders of the ATCOs as th ey are do ing a terrifi c job in diffi cult circumstances, but that th e ove rall ATM system needs to be imp roved by institut ional changes. The object ive of the project is clearly to study str uct ural refo rm enabling a better organisation of ATM throughout Europe. The Commissioner has made t his ambition a priority on her agenda!

The work started in January w hen a High Level Group (HLG) was tasked to deliver reports on five diffe rent to pics: structures for seNice provision, civil/mil itary co-ord ination, regulatory framewo rk, civil aspects of airspace management and social aspects. At t he same time an Ind ustry and Social Group (ISG) deliberated their findings on these issues and reported to the H LG via rapporteurs . IFATCA has contributed to th ese docu ments in this very group .

The separation of regulat ion and seN ice provis ion is a first - and in t he group's view unavoidab le evo lution. Regulatory functions relate to safety, airspace design and use, economic cond itions and performance, interoperability. SeNice prov ision fu nctions encompasses ASM, ATFM , ATS, associated seN ices (as A IS, M ET, SAR or ot hers), and CNS infr astructure management. Functions are separated fully whe n the accou ntab ility for them is allocated to independent organisat ions .

Organ isations are independent w hen they have the ir own legal form , specific competence, resources, and the capacity to make and be accountable for indepe ndent dec isions. Two organ isations wit h a commo n head can be also separated if these conditio ns app ly. Separation avoids conflicts of interests . It is also seen as an instrument to promote transparency and eff iciency in seNice provision management and in regulation Separation imp lies neither compet ition nor privatisat ion .

The conclusions on the civil/mil itary aspects

THE CONTROLLER

we re di rected towards t he need of good coordi natio n and co-operation between military and civ il organ isations. One of the elements in this area is the correct and fu ll imp lementation of t he FUA. Some elements in the regulatory fra mewo rk were qu esti oned. First in t he series 'Jncroyable, mais Vrais' comes the 'CrisisTeam'. Sit down and I w ill explain: The 'crisis team' is considered as an A-t eam, a top-g un team of cont rollers w ho coul d j ump in wherever needed . These supe r contro llers could rush to any ot her place in a minim um of time, in crisis moments as e.g .

Kosovo, t hey wo uld just take their travel-bag and hurry to t he crisis area. Whet her they are

Independence

of the

safety regulator from the economic regulator is desirable in order to guarantee

priority of

safety vis-a-vis any other policies

in camouflage or not is still being discussed .

'Buong iorno, amigos , my name is Mc lver and I've come to help you .' They plug thei r headsets in and off they go . But it was just an idea , of cour se!

More seriously, safety is a primary attrib ute of every human activity, independent of the fact that the seNice or goods are produced in market conditio ns or for economic reasons.

There's no contradict ion between safety and revenue/ profit . Wh at is essential is that economic considerations or polic ies aimed to maxim ise the revenue , do not prevai l on the safety measures emp loyed . Independenc e of the safety regu lator from the economic regu lator is desirab le in order to guarantee priority of safety vis-a-vis any oth er po licies The most urgent goals in the area of ATM safety are to ensure enfor cement of rules and prov ide a non -puniti ve legal env ironmen t for the report ing on safety occurrences . Several

measures have been envisaged in order to encourage a better use of airspace and to increase the capacity of the ATM system . The basic idea is to insert an economic rat iona le in the seNice prov ision arrangements . Several forms of incentives have been con sidered , including an internat ional fund providing fin ancial assistance to Member States, facing difficu lties, to increase the produc t ion of ATM seNices. Furthermore, in orde r to make bett er use of the system, measures to give incenti ves to the stakeholders to comply with airpo rt slot s and flight plans filed in advance, w ere considered .

The ideas and plans for the civil use of airspace are excellent. The optimisation of th e airspace is both essential and necessary to reduce the delays to an acceptab le level. BUT WILL TH EREBE THE POLITICAL WIL L TO DO SQ? Look at all t he wo nderful existing plans ; they fail whe n it comes to implemen tation because there is no pow er to force the States to reform .

Four different aspects w ere conside red in the social aspects area: social dialogue , safety regulation, Human Resources and Hu man Factors. One element of concern is the exp lanation of 'suitable incent ives in t he area of work ing condi tions might help overcome a number of problems to do w ith shortage '.

Quest ioning this sentence , different options and examples were given, e.g paid overtime which was exact ly th e answer we feared . In the training of ATCOs it was considered that the major bottlene ck is the OJT, as not enough 'seats' are available One of the ways of recruiting new ATCOs wou ld be better promotion of our profession and we cou ldn't agree morel A nd indeed the Commi ssion is also aware of this prob lem and w illin g to do something about it A lthough some statements still oppose our view, in reality the general tenor of the documents has moved considerably towards acceptanc e We have always stressed the fact that no miracle solutions exist (Lets stop promising the moon - see last issue) but it shoul d not stop us from constructive contribution w here needed. Th is 1sexact ly what IFATCA stands for 1

9

Commercialisationof ATS Commercialisation in ATC The Views of CANSO Derek Mclaughlan Secreta ry General CANSO I am grateful to Chris Stock for his invitat ion to

are twofold. In the first place, we wanted to

ensure that services can grow to meet the

CAN SO to contribute to the issue of the

ensure that the views of the commercial service

growth of the aviat ion indu stry. Whilst ATC is

commercialisation or privatisat ion of Air Traffic

suppliers were heard in the decision-making

provided by civil service organ isations, t he

Contro l Services. CANSO, the Civil Air

fora of t he wor ld . Until CANSO was founded,

investment needs must be satisfied by the

Navigat ion Services Organisation, is a

the views of the airlines were made clear by

national treasury and so the demands of ATC

newcomer to the ranks of international

IATA and those of the ATC staff by you r

have to compete w ith other gove rnm ent

organisations having been established in

representat ives. We believed that it was

programmes such as educat ion, hospita ls and

Geneva in January 1998. Since its role is to act

necessary for the commercial suppl iers to

other transport requirements for a share of

as the trad e association for the comm ercial

achieve observer status in the same way so that

taxation income. This has led to long delays in

suppliers of ANS, w e are pleased to contr ibut e

our views cou ld be heard before decisions

making finance availab le for essent ial projects

to the debate in yo ur pages.

were made. Such decisions can commit us to

and is a major reason w hy the growth of ATC

implemen ting new technologies and so to

capacity has lagged behind the demands of the

The move towa rds commercial provision of

major expenditure and we thought that

airlin es in recent years.

ATC services has gathered momentum in the

business aspects needed to be introduced to

past few years, especially in Europe. All but two

t he discussions. This objective has been largely

The problem is thought likely to get worse as

members of the European Union have either

achieved and ICAO has sought our

the need for new CNS/ ATM systems arises.

established commercial supplier s or are active ly

contributions in the fields of commerc ialisation

This is the reason that !CAO supports the

consider ing doing so. In global te rms the

and safety. Similar issues arose with Eurocontrol

provision of commercial services and

number of commercial suppliers remains small

whe re we are now accepted as an observer

recommends states to exam ine

but is increasing. CANSO today has 22 full

organ isation , again sitting alongside the

com mercialisation as a possible soluti on to

members who are respo nsible for com merc ial

representatives of the airlines, the airports and

investment problems . Organi sation s free to

services and as many again associate members

th e staff organisations. The European

access th e capital markets to fund their

from all parts of the aviation indu stry . 16 of the

Commission has also consulted us on our

investment s have been able to borrow quickly

full members are European .

views. We are, with you, members of the

and at reasonable interest rates. This is because

Commission's Industrial and Social Group

lending to ATC supp liers is not seen as high risk

I have been careful to say th at

advising the High Level Group on how to

since the supplier s enjoy a monopoly in the

com mercialisation is coming to the provision of

improve ATC provision in Europe. We also

provision of en-route services wh ich are

ATC and not privat isation w hic h remains rare.

maintain relation s w ith relevant industria l and

growing fast and the cash flows are extreme ly

Today, several private companies exist

social groups and, for example hold an informal

attractive . The result is that commercia l

providing ATC. Serco Aerospace for example,

quarterly meeting wit h IFATCA.

but only one nation has sold its ATC provision

borrowings have not resulted in an incr ease in charges to the airlines.

activities to a pr ivate company . Thi s is Canada

Our second object ive in forming CANSO was to

where NavCanada has been estab lished as a

find ways of tackling problems that were

A second reason for the commercia lisation of

Crow n Corporation . It is non -profit making and

common to the industry . We do this by

ATC is to improve the efficiency with which

is f unded entire ly by borrowings from the

establishing Work Programmes managed and

services are delivered. Whil st ATC has been

fi nancial instituti ons. The Board of

manned by our members to examine problems

seen traditiona lly as being the role of a kind of

Manageme nt include s representatives of th e

of common inter est. Problems, which we are

government traffic regulator, it is increasingly

major airlines and of t he staff union s. Mo re

tackling today, are safety, performance

seen as a service indu stry. There are of course

privatisat ions are in pro spect and , of course,

measurement, CNS/ ATM , the relationship

many service industries supporting the global

legislation is in hand in t he Uni te d Kingdom

between service provider s and regulators and

aviation industry, examp les are SITA and AR INC

that is inte nded to result in the sale of 46% of

the fu ture of the ind ustry. Major publication s

in th e provision of airl ine commun ications . The

the business and the hand over of management

resulting from thi s wo rk are a report called

ATC supp liers are right ly under clo se scrutiny

contro l to a private buyer . NATS today is unique

"Dem ystifying CNS/ ATM" and one called "The

from the airline s on their costs and there is

among st the members of CANSO in being

Co rporati sation of Air Navigation Services".

every reason why ATC providers should

commercial but not able to borro w mo ney

Both are available on our web site,

provide their services as eff iciently as possible .

outs ide t he limits set by the Treasury. A ll other

www.c anso.org .

ATC providers can learn from other service

I have said already that comme rcialisation is

the ir business. One of the main lessons for

becoming more common and w ill now look at

service compan ies is to under stand the need s

the reasons for this. The most obvious one is to

of the customers and ATC commerc ialisation

obta in the necessary capital for investment to

has led to the developm ent of much closer

member s are able to do this. The new legislation is the way chosen to overcome this prob lem The reasons for the establ i hment of CANSO

10

provider s how to improv e the way they manage

THE CONTRO LLER

CommercGalisation of ATS relations so that the supplier and the customers

A separate regulator charged to ensure that

stakeholders are affected. At the top of the

understand each other's needs more clearly

safety is maintained on behalf of the travelling

pyramid, the role of ICAO as the United

and work together to satisfy them . Ther e is no

public is essential.

fundamental reason why commercialisation is

Nations bod y for civil aviation is unchanged. At the regional level, the growth of traffic w ill lead

essential to achieve these improvements but

It is natural and right that there should be a

to regional solutions. In Europe, it is clear t hat

the style of management necessary for success

close focus on safety in the debate on the

th e European Commission w ill take a

comes more easily to commercial suppli ers than

com merciali sation of ATC services. The safety

management role in applyi ng its legal powers to

to government departments . It needs to be

culture that exists today must be maintained

ensure that a safe, higher capacity and more

emphasised that learning best practice from

and strengthened and the safet y ethic of the

efficient system is implemented. At state level,

other industries is valuable but it must never be

people working in ATC is an essential part of

governments will still be respon sible to ICAO

allowe d to interfere w ith th e core business of

this. The comm ercial supp liers will always

supplyin g safe and efficient ATC.

regard safety as paramount; not to do so would put their business at risk. We must always be

There is an important third advantage seen for

careful wi th comp arisons but it is clear that the

commer cialisation of ATC and this is the

privatisation of airlin es has not resulted in a reduction of safety. A noth er comparison of importance in the United Kingdom is wit h t he

.. . it is essential that the

railway industry w here the privatised suppliers

supplier implements and

have been invo lved in tragic accidents. In this

manages a proper safety regime with the

case, one of the service suppliers is responsible for safety regulation and we do not expect thi s model to be employed in ATC.

under the Chicago convention for ensurin g ATC in their airspace. However, in th e commercial sector, they w ill do this by placing a contr act or licence on their chosen supp lier rather than by employing the staff directl y. The States w ill be responsible for the regulato ry regime and of course fo r national policy in such thin gs as t he environm ent, civil-military issues and airpo rt policy. They w ill also have to find a way to allow cross bo rde r secto rs without these being seen as a violation of national sovereignty. The chosen provide rs wi ll

Other form s of regulation are necessary in the

manage the ATC systems and w ill be as

business. One is economic regulation w hich at

dependent as ever on the good wi ll and co-

the least needs to ensure that the charges to

operat ion of the ir staffs. I am sure that they will

necessary procedures and processes to ensure that safety is maintained and

the airlines and so to t he tr avelling public are

work very hard to ensure t hat the traditiona l

reasonable. The UK mod el, w hich has been

str engths of the ATC world and above all its

much, used in regul ating charges in monop oly

strong commitment to safety are maintained

improved.

environment s, is th e RPI minus X mode l. The

and strengthened. This can on ly be done by a

op portunity it offer s to separate formall y and

advantages of th is are that it forces the supplier

proper involvement of everyone wo rking in the

completely the provision of services from their

to redu ce his charges annually in real terms

business

regulation. Governments have frequently

w hile making his profits perfo rmance related . It

retained the responsibilit y for regu lation w hen

has pro ved to be successful in other industries

In conclusion, I wo uld like to tha nk "The

establishing a com mercial service suppli er Thi s

and the CAA Economic Regulation Group,

Contro ller" for th is opportun ity to contribut e to

is a sensible thing to do and strongly supp orted

w hich uses it in its regulation of airport charges,

th is important debate in your pages. It is clear

by CANSO The main area of regulation is, of

expects to app ly it to ATC in the UK.

that many challenges await us all in prov iding

course, safety and we regard it as extr emely

the standards of services wh ich t he people who

important that the service supplier is

Mo re ATC specific forms of regulat ion are also

responsible for the safety of his operation wh ile

w ish to tr avel by air expect. The introduction of

needed . One is airspace regu lation to ensure

an ind ependent regulator ensures that the

commercialisation is only one of the many

the fair allocation of this scarce resource

operation is managed w ith proper respect for

amongst all users. Further regu lation w ill

safety. The need for safety is paramount and

needed to op timi se the global and European

Improvements are targeted on at least

ATC systems, such as interface standards for

maintaining and if possible reduc ing the current

ATC providers between the mselves and aircraft

number of safety related incidents as traffic

and other ATC organisations. Furthermore , the

grows The commercial supplier s want to be

single sky for Europe w ill need an airspace

overseen by an independent regulator to

design, wh ich is opt imised for Europe as a

ensure that the safety system is appropriate and

who le rather th an for each nation separately.

is operate d as intended . The who le business of

This is likely to lead to considerab ly increase

ATC is the provision of safe services and th e

cross border work ing with the introd uction of

service suppliers wi ll not compro mise this. The

more ATC sectors not constrained by nation al

old situatio n where suppliers regulated

boundaries .

themselves so that they acted in some way as

With all these changes we need to th ink about

both Judge and jury is not the way to proceed.

how the trad itional roles of existing

THE CONTROLLER

changes that w ill be introduced to contribute to this. I wi ll be very surprised and disappointed if the consultat ion arrangements which are now in place at the national level are not up to the job of ensuring that we move forward together to ensure that the essential features of the business and above all safety are preserved in whatever new arrangements are introduced including, of course, commerc ialisation .

11

Commercialisationof ATS Thirteen Years On - The New Zealand Experience Don Curry ATC Council of NZALPA With the focus of t his issue of The Con t roller

pro vided exce pt aerodrome contro l, and in the

replacement. For t hose MAs w ho have

being on the privatisatio n/ comm ercialisation of

13 years so far no serious competit ion has

suffered over the years w ith inadeq uate

air traff ic cont rol services , we we re asked to

emerged as an alternative provider of

equipm ent, the above factor may, on its own,

prov ide a New Zealand perspective.

aerodrome contro l.

justif y a mov e to a co mm erc ial model.

First a short history for readers - unt il 1987, air

OK, so muc h for the history - w hat has been

Apart from t he ability to raise capital more

tr affic contro l in New Zealand was prov ided by

t he effe ct on the ATC profession here? The answer in a wo rd is "variable" !

easily as a result of charging directly for th e

a department of government , t he Civil Aviat io n

services provi ded, the oth er signific ant change we have noted has been th e ability of an

Division (CAD) of the Min istry of Transport.

The CAD was both t he regulat or of aviatio n,

indi vidual manager to influ ence the direction of

and the provid er for air navigation faci liti es, and

the ANS provider co mpared to the government

"In April 1987,

....... Airways

department model. The red uced "inertia" of

ATC, meteo rological, fl ight informat ion , and airport rescue fire services (RFS). The senio r CAD rep resentative at each airport was responsible for rep resenting t he government in the management of the airport, w ith f unding of airport facilities and improvements ty picall y being by way of joint partnersh ip betwee n the government and the local counc il.

In Apri l 1987 the gov ernmen t passed leg islation formi ng a number of new commercia l ent itie s,

Corporation

of NZ Ltd ... (was

formed) ... remained 100% owned by the Government but its operation was free of direct government

control,

and ... was required to operate on a commercial basis"

the comme rcialised model permits quick change - the "respo nsiveness" so heavily touted by t he propone nts of the comme rcial model. Thi s responsiveness is not "bad", but neit her is it always "good ". It can be good w hen the driver of ch ange underst and s the business, but we have found that too many managers think that "ANS is JUSt another busin ess" wh ich they can tink er with and then move on .

inclu din g the Airways Corporat io n of NZ Ltd .

Airways remained 100% owne d by government, but its operation was free of d irect government contro l, and it was req uired to operate on a commerc ial basis. It was created as a "State- Owned Enterpr ise" (SOE), and tasked with operat ing as profitably and efficiently as a comparable business not owned by t he Crown, with being a goo d emp loyer , and with being an orga nisation that exhibits a sense of social respo nsibility by having regard to t he interests of the comm unit y. Ai rways init ially

There can be a te ndency in articles such as this to go t hrough a list of observed changes from the government provider to th e new provider, and to conclude t hat this is some sort of generic process w ith the assumpt ion th at a similar set of results w ill occur in any country w here a similar structural change is made . I wo uld caution the reader to avoi d that trap .

Th e single biggest and clearest advantage we,

You should be prepared for yo ur professiona l organisation to beco me "th e keeper of t he corpor ate history " The change in cu lture to "A NS is ju st anothe r busine ss" te nd s to produc e an increased throughput of manager s. With t he short tenur e of manager s, there is a real danger of loss of corporate memory - the management staff may either have only a ve ry limited idea, or no idea at all, of w hat wo rked (or didn' t work I) in the past. In such cases the longer-serving ATC staff (and MA

prov ided ATC , airport RFS, and fl ig ht

in New Zealand, have seen wo uld be th at an "arms length" (from the governme nt)

information services, and air navigat ion

co mm ercially- struct ured business is free to

the organ isation w ith a realisti c v iew of the

fac ilitie s. At t he same time as the SOEs were

raise capital in the same way as any sound privat e sector business. In our exper ience, the

successes and failure s of the past.

deve loped, the government "got out of" many of t he airports in w hich it was a part ner by

fundi ng of major capit al project s for equipment

A combin ation of a "change is good" corpor ate

selling t heir share to the local coun cil, or in

replacement has improved significant ly since 1987 . The up-grad ing and replacement of

philo sophy (because it is often inte rp rete d as

equ ipm ent is now more likely to occur on a "needs-dr iven" basis t han the previous slow

of management, can lead to some intere sting

some cases by selling t he airp ort to a private com pany.

W ith in a year t he standard for airport RFS had been revised (do wnward s), and Airways failed to retain the respo nsibility for t he provision of

and unr eliable process of indu stry try ing to beg a few percent out of the gove rnment's social,

repr esentatives) become t he o nly memb ers of

respondi ng to the market), and rapid turnover and rapid changes in co mp any dire ct ion . Just because you can recog nise whe re a de cision w ill t ake t he organisat ion, don 't assume the

RFS. Th is respon sibility was devo lved to the

healt h and educat ional budget s. Provided t hat t he owners of an ANS company do not "asset

airport licence-holder o r, more often , a

strip " to the det rimen t of the service, and that a

eff ects of previo us actions to t he emp loye r,

contracto r to the licen ce-ho lde r So A irways

stro ng customer focus remains on the prov ision

t hen some pro blems can be averted - but on ly if

manager who made it also can I If yo ur MA representati ves are able to doc ument t he

became a pure "A NS prov ider " qu ite qu ickly ,

of effect ive services to th e airlines, the benef its

the employer is listening . Good

and has remained so. The comp any currently

of a comm ercial mod el should be applauded

communications are critical I

enIoys a statutory monopo ly on all serv ices

from the perspect ive of equipment

Thus our experience of t his increase in

12

THE CONTROLLER

Commercialisationof ATS

responsiveness is that the governa nce of the compa ny can be less than consistent. Thi s might be taken as a measure of the success of the model - that is, the propon ents of the SOE mode l sought a change to a more responsive and "customer driven" provider. By creating a small organisation operat ing at "arms length"

the fo ur stages of a union or professional orga nisation getting used to a new employer we re: Conflict Containment Accommodat ion Co- operation.

fro m the government, much of the inertia associated wi th government department s was bypassed. In theory th is has meant that Airw ays management has been able to respond quic kly to changes in "the market ". In practice it has meant that th e company lurches sudd enly in differe nt dir ections as various managers seek to give effect to th eir own personal philosophy or latest business "buzz" . The company has had 3 "logo s" in 13 years, 3 major "restructures", and othe r changes of direction in between .

The challenge fo r MA s who become enmeshed in the change to a com mercialised A NS prov ider wi ll be to ensure that their professiona l organisation is able to match th e speed of change required by the new environme nt.

With the provider / regulator split implicit in most countries w ith commercia lised ANS, you r organisation needs to be able to orchestrate consistent policy that can be pursued (often simultaneously, but separately) wi th both th e regulator and the employer, and at ti mes, wit h politicians as we ll.

Wit h an ANS provider keen on reflecting modern business structures may come a move to separate "business units". These sit uneasily wit h the operational structur es control lers are used to , and can quickl y create divisions between staff gro ups w ho prev iously identifi ed w ith the unified body. Such separated business units have th e effect of creating individual organisations w ith even less inertia than the single com mercialised A NS prov ide r. Each business unit is subiect to change at the whim of its own small management structure. The challenge to the MA is to adequate ly represent the membership in a consistent and equ itable way across all of these "mini-businesses", and to prevent the fragmentation of service object ives I recall that whe n I first became involved in

So, in our opinion, it is un likely that different countries would reproduce the same "pattern " of changes if they all moved to privatised ANS provision. It is our view that the specific legal framework of an MA's country (both in civil aviation regulation and labou r legislation), and the nature of the individual managers, will be better predictors of future chang e than look ing

If yo u are unluc ky and fi nd yourse lf w ith a management structure which changes so often

The single biggest and clearest advantage we, in

at the history of other MAs operating in a commercialised enviro nment .

Commercialised ANS can provide some real benefits to air traffic contro l profe ssionals.

Unfortunatel y the same commercialised structure can also present some difficulties to

New Zealand, have seen

an MA, especially when representing a large

would be that an "arms

and geograph ically dispersed group of staff .

length" (from the government) commercially- structured business is free to raise capital in the same way as any sound private sector business. that they keep "re-invent ing" themselves, you might fin d yo urself trapped in a circle that seeming ly on ly has time fo r the first two Conflict to Contain ment to Conflict etc! There have been times in th e past when it has seemed so in New Zealand . Make sure your organisation can "change gears" quickly to cope.

Th e general principles that wi ll likely become important in defining the work load of MAs in a commerc ialised environment are: • Changes w ill occur faster and more easily • Individu al managers have more ability to drive change • Tho se same managers may not be aware of the problems such changes have produced in the past • The smaller and more nu merous the sub-

Ma ke good use of new slette rs, and perhaps a web site, to stay in touch w ith your membership . A commercia lised ANS provider changing to a short-term or location-speci fi c focus (this can be in response to both inte rnal and external pressure) can cause professional difficulties, and MAs will need to develop a structure able to deal promptl y with any such change.

Those of you moving towards commercialisation would be well advised to take a careful look at the regulato ry str uctu re anticipated for your country , the labou r laws under wh ich you w ill bargain, and t he likely structur e of your emplo yer. Form a clear idea of who the major lobb y groups w ill be such as the major airlines, and the Air Force, and do n't underest imate the general aviation lobb y.

You need to ensure that you have a professional organisation that operates effecti vely in your ow n unique envi ronment.

You w ill likely need to structure you rself so that you r "professional" advocates can lob by the regulato ry structure in a way that ,s publicl y indep endent of the "indu strial" advocates . But you need to manage you r profess ional organisatio n so that the relevant parts are singing the same song '

units of an ANS prov ide r, the more rapid and

By all means look to other M As for the ir

incons istent are the changes

experie nces, but never take your eye of the (rapidly develop ing) local game Good luck 1

indu strial matters, a wise old sage to ld me that

THE CONTROLL ER

13

Commercialisation of ATS The Commercialisation and Privatisation of Air Traffic Services BillSemple Chief ExecutiveNATS "Easing Europe's congested airspace has become a political priority and innovative solutions are emerging. Of these, the growing trend for ATC commercialisation and privatisation provides a business-based path to reform which is seen by many as the most pragmatic way forward.

If so, pressure is likely to grow for similar moves throughout the world."

Bill Semple, Chief Executive, NATS Pressure for overhaul and investment

operate with their neighbours on business

computer systems that will help controllers to

on both sides of the At lantic, air traffic

oriented terms, and who will have no artificial

manage the extra traffic safely. A key element

systems are showing ominous signs of crisis.

constraints on the level of investment they

will be computer assistance and automation to

In Europe, as in high density air t raff ic areas

require .

aid planning and decision-making.

are seen as potentially the biggest threat

The Case for Reform - Investment

Therefore, the secret to success in the

facing the air travel industry. For Europe,

Over the past decade, Europe has made some

congestion wa r is investment - service

though, the root cause of the perennial delay

progre ss in modernising its ACCs. But even

providers need to harness the technologies,

problem is that the continent's air traffic

with the latest in systems and displays,

make the business case, get the investment

system has not been planned as a network

controllers are still separating aircraft in much

and implement the new systems and tools -

and cannot be expanded quickl y enough to

the same way as they did 40 years ago. In

quickly. But, politically controlled and

meet rapid ly growing demand. In a

spite of recent improvements, in Europe's

politically run systems cannot react fast

geograph ical area of similar size to the USA,

busie st airspace air traffic service providers

enough to deliver what is required . What

Europe has some thirty-e ight national air

are ve ry close to the point where the limiting

results is a drawn-out process for selection of

traff ic service providers who stil l operate too

factor on the system is the ability of

elsewhere in the wor ld, delays caused by ATC

much in isolation and who cannot make

controllers to deal with the mass of data

optimum use of airspace because of national

confronting them. Here, maintaining safety

boundaries.

eq uals increasing delays.

The solution is twofold:

The irony is that Europe has "bee n here

first, European ATC needs a susta ined

before"

Th e delay crisis of the late 1980s

injection of long-term investment in additional

was as a result of ATC not being able to

resourc es and advanced systems to meet the

expand quickly enough to cope with traffic

challenge of rap id growth in traffic;

growth

and seco nd, it has to address the

Then, there was the political

embarrassment of airport lounge s filled to

" .. . meeting the challenge of relentless traffic growth requires heavy capital investment,

and it

requires that investment to be made consistently as part of a long-term

fragmentat ion of airspace in order to get

bursting-point with delayed passengers.

Europe 's air traff ic syste m funct ioning

Stung by the ensu ing criticism, some

effectively as a single int egrated network.

gove rnm ents acted . In Britain, for example, a

A ll of t his spells a need for conside rable

maJor investment in ATC was approved in the

system suppliers, mid -stream changes in

early 1990s. But ever since then, NATS'

funding priorities and costly delays in

major programmes have been subject to the

implementing operational systems. By

over haul and investment .

Many airlin e and airport customers say that it

plan."

vaga ries of the political and economic climate.

contrast, ATC organisat ion s independent of

Th e result has been a "feast and famine"

government control have the advantage of

system by simpl y bringing the fragments

situation over long-term investme nt plans for

increased focus and agility.

toget her. Thi s wou ld mean a sing le regulating

the Britain's air traffic system.

should be possib le to refo rm Europe 's ATC

Furthermore, meeting the challenge of

body , and the fewest number of Area Contro l Cent res (ACCs) po ssibl e w ith compat ible

Today, if air traffic service providers are to

relentless traffic growth requires heavy capital

technology being dep loyed

keep pace with traffic growth and

investment, and it require s that investment to

shou ld be operat ed by com mercialised or

im provements in ATC tec hnolog y, they need

be made consistently as part of a lon g-term

privat ised air traffi c serv ice providers who are

to move much more quickly . They have to get

mor e accou ntab le fo r the ir performance to

t he platforms and systems in place that will

customer s and stakeholders , who w ill co-

enable them to build the big , powerful

14

A nd those ACCs

plan . But governments have never been reliable sources of such long term funding .

In short, ATC must move from being

THE CONTROLLER

Commercialisationof ATS politically controlled to being business dri ven

effectively take political priorities out of the

because, if it does not, it is easy to envisage a

day-to-d ay decision-m aking process and

situation where Europe's air traffic system will

should provide access to a reliable stream of

slowly but surely come to a stop.

funding for developing future systems. It will also add pri vate sector project management

The Case for Reform - Commercial Overhaul

discipl ines so that the benefits of the major

Operation of Europe's ATC network should be

investment NATS will be making can be

left to commercialised service pro viders who

delivered quickly. Overall, the partnership

are largely free from political constraints,

will combine the best of the public sector's

accountable for developing the service to

safety culture and serv ice ethic with the

meet demand, and provided with incentives

commercial know-ho w of the pri vate sector .

to meet performance targets. Already this

The Government's Transport Bill containing

proce ss is underway - currentl y several of

the necessary enabling legi slation for the PPP

Europe' s air traffic service providers have

is making progres s through Parliament and

been given some freedom to operate ¡

should eventually become Law later this year.

commercially, and commercialisation is a

The Government is also now going through

growing trend globally.

the process of selecting a strategic investor t o

" .... . every likelihood that consolidation of air traffic service providers will occur over the next five to ten years ....... . eventually the number of en-route ATC centres in Europe cou ld reduce from around SO at present to a much sma ller number."

buy a stake in NATS, and the sale proces s is Privatisation takes the transition a step further

due for completion by Spring 2001.

by introducing the discipline, drive, focus and behaviour of the business sector. In

A business-led path to an integrated

particular, pri vatisation adds incentiv es to

Europe an air traffi c system

improve performance and to adapt swiftl y to

Europe's fragmentation problem is prim arily

perfo rmance pressures th at have led eventu ally to commerc ialisat ion, liberalisation and consolid ation. For example , take the consolidation that has occurred in th e aircraft manufacturin g indust ry as it respond ed to the challenges of globalisati on . In t he USA in recent years, mergers have created aerospace and defence giants, and t he pict ure is broad ly similar in Europe w here dozens of we ll known

NATSPublic Private Partnership s11arEholde15 GOVERNMENT 49%Shares

Stakeholde!Councll Shareholders Agreement

-------------• the basis on which the PPPwill operate

---I 1

1

Transport Department Strategic partner NATSmanagement Staff Representative Airspace users Airport operators Ministry of Defence

Regulator /

Regulatory Struaire CIVIL AVIATION AuntORITY

Licence

Safety Regulation Group Regulation Economic Regulation G

~

En route/ Oceanic Regulated Subsidiary

Director Airspace Polley

I

all staff In Parent Company

I

facllltles/assets In Subsidiaries

Alr,ports& New Business Unregulated not subject to Economic Regulation

plane-makers have merged into just a few major global companies. Competition, efficienc y and the need to provide a better service to the customer now dr ive the industry. The provision of air traff ic services shou ld be no differen t.

The European Commission's initiative to create a "single European sky" is certain to lead to a rationalisation of Europe's air traff ic management. Therefore, creating the room to forge closer ties is seen as a practical way forward. W hat is likely to occur in Europe, initially, is a progression of alliances between commercialised or privatised ATC providers .

Here, t he PPPwi ll give NATS an ownership st ructure that can evolve to allow different alliances and joint vent ures

changes in th e air tr ansport market . For

th e result of Gove rnm ent cont rol of state-

example, the determined commitment to

owned ATC provide rs. Man y decision s

make a return on investmen t w ill create a

repr esent nati onal int erests rat her than the

much sharp er focu s, will lead to full er

best int erests of Europ e's air t raffic system In

realise substantial cost savings In the longer -

con sultation w it h custom ers, w ill ensure

con t rast, comme rc ialised or pri vati sed ATC

crisper decision-making, and w ill make th e

pro vi ders w ill have far greater incentives to

run, the situatio n could arise where the more efficient and commercial service providers start

pur suit of operation al benefit s mu ch mor e

co-op erate w ith th eir neigh bour s and to

ten acious than befor e.

inte ract on more bu siness orient ed terms.

bidd ing for the licences of the ir less eff icient count erparts. There is every likelihood that

Developmen ts elsew here in t he aviat ion

consolidation of air traff ic service provide rs w ill

Britain's Governm ent has accept ed th e

ind ustr y prov ide a good illu strat ion of what

occur over the next five to ten years. and

necessity for refo rm and op te d to partly

needs to be do ne. A irlin es, airports , aircraft

eventually t he number of en-rout e ATC cent res

pr ivati se the UK's ATC system th ro ugh a

manu fact urers and ATC systems

in Europe could reduce fro m around 50 at

Publi c Private Partnership (PPP) The PPP w ill

man ufact urers have all faced market and

present to a much smaller numbe r

THI: CONTROLL ER

In t he medium-term, joint procurement of common infrastructure - in much the same way as the airline alliances have done - is likely to

15

Commercialisationof ATS Priv atising ATC - answering some of the

many of the wor ld' s privatised airlines and

greater clarity. With regulation don e at "arms

issues

airports are as profit consciou s as any

lengt h", th e CAA w ill be seen to regulate

company, but their safety record has not

NATS just as rigorously and independentl y as

PPP v Not-for-profit

deterio rated since they left the public secto r.

it does w it h the rest of Britain's aviatio n

Clearly, ther e are various ways of refor ming

Safety is all about we ll-ru n companies able to

indu stry.

ATC, each of w hich has its ow n merits . Some

inv est in modern technology w ith high The safety eth ic is deeply embedded in NATS

have questioned w hy NATS is not being

stand ards and tough regulation. NATS has a

structured in th e same way as Nav Canada

str ong safety culture, good management,

and in Britain's aviation industry. To suggest

wh ich is already a successfu l private sect or

robust techno logy and firm, account able

that NATS management and staff will come to

ATC provider. NavCanada is stru ctu red as a

work one day and start making decision s

not -for -profit trust , fu nd ed by a bonds issue

w hich put the profit moti ve before the

and run by Directors represent ing the aviation indu stry, unions and the Government . T he simple explanation is that, not w it hstand ing the merits of t he NavCanada model , it is not th e best veh icle for ach ieving the long-term benefi ts for wh ich NATS is aim ing. In particular, it does not pro v ide a basis on whi ch to bring in a w orld-class strateg ic partn er w ith pro ject management and

" ...... the CAA will be seen to regulate NATS just as rigorously and independently

as it does

with the rest of Britain's aviation industry."

assurance of safety is clearly nonsense.

Conclusion NATS is among Europe's leaders along the path of ATC reform . Britain's politicians have recognised th at a part ially- priv at ised ATC system is the right way to go. They have decided that t he best way forward is to give NATS the reso urc es, the freedom and th e incentives to get the job don e properly .

comm ercial expert ise to complement NATS operat ional skills, and it w ou ld be more

regul ation, and is already a wo rkin g examp le

Delivering a successfu l PPP is see n as the best

diff icult for NATS to take a w ider ro le in

of how these pull tog ether.

way of removing th e threat of under-

European air traff ic management beyond

'A dded to this, the system of aviatio n safet y

invest ment in ATC and countering sharply

British airspace.

regu lation w ill remain in place and be

rising dela ys. It also gives NATS the

strengthened und er PPP. Legislation

opportu nity of taking the lead in rati ona lising

Profitv Safety

contain ed in the Government's Transport Bill

Europe 's fragmented air tr aff ic system. Not

Opponents of t he PPP have claimed that a

w ill bring about the separation of NATS as a

surpri singly, the PPP is att ract ing a lot of

profit -orie nt ed operator might cut corne rs on

service pr ov ider from the Regulator - th e UK

inte rest around Euro pe and wo rldwide . It is

safety, underm ining NATS' stro ng reco rd . But

Civ il Av iation A uth or ity (CAA) . Clear

viewed by many as a sign ific ant step -forward

the stronger argume nt is tha t safety is not

separat ion between th e service providers and

in delive ring the safe, modern and efficient air

about th e form of ownership . For exa mp le,

those reg ulating their activities w ill provide

traffic system that the ind ustry dem and s.

"A s1U1 staoll'il edl 01111j edio ni of lo ng-term

onvestment"

NATS new en-route centre at Swanw ick , w hich is due to become operational in January 2002, will be one of the largest and most advanced air traffic control centres in the wor ld . Both the Swanwick Centre and the New Scott ish Centr e to be built at Prestw ick w ill deploy a new generation of automat ed systems .

16

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Commerc~alisationof ATS GATCO and the Public Private Partnership for NATS Richard Dawson, President GATCO The Guild of Air Traffic Control Officers responded to the consultation paper on t he proposed public-private partnership (PPP) of th e National Air Traffic, Services (NATS) by recording its extrem e disappointment that t he Government wishe d to continue w ith its proposed sale.

Requir ement (PSBR) den y NATS access to new forms of financing . It is therefore unable to secure long term investment and will only be able to do so if the company is removed from the public sector by a change of ownership.

However, a·n alternat ive is that the restrictive Treasury Rules are changed.

It is important to emphasise that GATCO is not opposed to the concept of privatisation, some of ou r members actua lly being employed in the private sector, but it is the specific form of 'Privatisation' of NATS to which we object.

It is w ith this background that GATCO subm itt ed its respon se to the government's proposals re-iterating our previously stated positio n t hat t he effectiveness of the proposal based on a publ ic private partnership is untr ied and unpro ve n for the safety critical air traffic control industry,

Before reviewing in more detail our objections and our counter, I wi ll outline the background to the proposed sale.

On 11th June 1998 , the Minister of Transport announced that the Gove rnment had decided in principle that "the level of investment and efficienc y that we need in our National Air Traffic Services can be best achieved through partner ship between the pub lic and. private sectors . A partnership of this kind w ou ld help NATS fi nance the investment it needs to operate effectivel y and w ou ld mobilise private sector."

The majorit y of shares in NATS should pass to the private sector, w ith 46% of the co mp any to be sold in a 't rade sale' to a 'strateg ic partner', and a. furthe r 5% offered to staff. The Government would retain the remaining 49 % of the com pany. Day to day operational control of th e company would rest w ith the 'strategic part ner '.

In 1999 , the compan y handl ed in excess of 1.9 million air traff ic movement s and by 2010 this figur e is expected to exceed 2. 7 milli on, The invest ment requ ired has freque ntly been quote d as £1billio n ove r t he next te n years but a more realistic figure is £1,3 billion based on NATS Long Term Investment Plan. Thi s plan includ es a number of major projects, for exampl e, £350 million for t he New Scottish Cent re at Prestw ick , at least £190 million to com plet e the transfer of ope ration s from West Drayto n to the New En-Route Centre at Swanw ick, and £150 million to replace the flight data pro cessing system .

The Governme nt has made it clear that it w ill not direct ly fund th e investm ent requ ired by NATS. NATS need fo r inv estment can only be met by bo rrow ing, but restrictive Treasury rules govern ing the Public Sector Borrowi ng

18

Our view has gain ed support from other associated organis ations. The involvement of sharehold ers with their natural expectation for a return on their investment is being seen by a growing numb er of user groups as inappropria te The Gui ld is concerned that the gove rnment witho ut adequate answers being forthcomi ng has ignored other methods of achieving the required level of financing.

On 8th July 1999 the Government proposed th at the Post Office be established as a Public Limited Compan y, but with all the shares owned by the Government . Borrowing levels of £75 million per year were agreed . From 1st April 1999 the Government freed public sector bo rrow ing controls on financially sound local authority airports allowing their tota l borro w ing over the next five years to average £92 million per year. Thi s fig ure being similar to that required by NATS. The reform s proposed for the Post Office in the United Kingdo m are intended to create an independ ent publicl y-ow ned company corporat ion . Air traffic control services in a number of countries have established similar "corporatised" compa nies Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, Ireland, Spain and New Zealand are examples.

The Gu ild suggests that as the Government is able to wa ive Treasury rules for independe nt pub licly-owned , corporations w hen it w ishes to do so (as in the case of the Post Office) , it gives furthe r thoug ht to a similar method for NATS. A not her method of achieving the necessary investment is the Trust Model , adopted by Nav Canada, On 26th Ma y 1995, a non share-capital corporat ion , NavCanada, was established by

airlines, representat ives of genera l aviation, trade union , and the Canadian Government .

The Corporation is governed by a board of directors with five directors nominated by aviation interests, two by the union s and three by the government. A further four are nomin ated by the board and the fifteenth place is taken by the Chief Executi ve Officer . Th e Corporation' s initial funding was generated by the issue of bonds wort h CN$3 billion with the bond offer being three times over-s ub scribed.

The examples given by the Guild of alte rnati ve funding are real and not untried and untested, like those proposed by the · Government. The Guild find s it totally unacceptabl e that such alternatives are being ignored in favour of a Trade Sale with shareholders involvement .

With the requirement of a financial return being fundam ental , GATCO is concerned what effect thi s wil l have on areas of traffic servi ces currentl y undert aken by NATS on a non-profit basis. Will these be discontinued and w hat effect w ill this have on safety?

Outside NATS, one pri vate operating company of, a major ATSU publicly announced its lack of enthusiasm for expenditure that was not income generating and only undertook the necessary investment in its ATC facility following the int ervention of the Safety Regulator, The Guild is also concerned with respect to th e future of app lied research and deve lopment in Unit ed Kingdom air traffic control. NATS has placed itself as th e UK 's prime source of expe rti se in advanced controller tool development, and therefore in capacity increase techniques , It has, along with th e Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) , secured itself as one of the two perenn ial UK participants in Global ATM development s and as a frequent partner and risk sharer in European programmes. It also functions as a specialist repr esentat ive on behalf of the UK at many intern ational events in a pseudo diplomatic role.

Our concern is that NATS, as a private compa ny, might no longer be able (nor may w ish) to perfo rm the se roles . NATS may not always wish to share eit her risk or information with some othe r service and system pro v iders in a co-operative partnersh ip . When operating as a truly independent comme rcial ent ity, NATS

THE CONTROLLER

Commercialisation of ATS

will need. a much greater degre e of commercial confidentiality in its operations.

., j

NATS Research and Development Organisation is currently the only resource within the UK with the integrated ability of simulation, demonstration, consultation, evaluation and training at the operational and user level. NATS Infrastructure Organisation has allied

"The Guild finds it totally unacceptable that such alternatives are being ignored in favour of a Trade Sale with shareholders involvement." roles to play in the, fi eld of communications, navigation and surv eillance . Some privatisations in other ATC organisations have been quite savage in their commitment to abolish either in part, or totally, any cost overhead wh ich is in addition to the day to day operational task.

Given NATS established role as the UK's ATM expert, the Guild is concerne d that privatisation wi ll eradicate some or all of what we wo uld conside r to be essential development capability with in NATS, the loss of which cou ld have serious implications for the UK 's ATM capabilities in the future.

NATS current ly has a Safety Management System (SMS), whose level is considerab ly higher than t hat required by the Safety Regulator.

Whi le sti ll remaining at or above the minimum mandated requ irement , w ill this level be allowed to fall thereb y redu cing costs and increasing

THE CONTROLLER

shareholders returns?

Much of the success of NATS in the past has stemmed from the close relationships that existed between the civil and military in the joint partnership. A 'privatised' NATS would make civil/military co-ordination more difficult to achieve particularl y w hen dealing w ith flexible airspace. It remains in the national interests of security and aviation safety that the current military /c ivil partnership remains in being and is not separated as a result of privatisation .

To summarise, GATCO believes that the proposed public-private partne rship for NATS is fundamentally flawed in its present form.

GATCO is aware of the forecast shortage of licensed Air Traff ic Control Officers between 2003 and 2015 and is concerned that there will be insufficient training capacity.

Criteria should be established in flotati on documents to indi cate that staff ing must be established and maintained at levels consistent w ith safet y and service provision and th at an expectation of increased training requirements be acknowledged. The role of the Regulator in policing this aspect should be full y explained,

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The Guild urges that if Government funding is not forthcoming, NATS be converted into an Indepe nden t Publicly Owned Compa ny or a Trust who lly under Government ow nership and contro l.

GATCO recommends that t he Management Board of a newl y constituted NATS shou ld includ e representation from gove rnment , the airspace users, the travel ling public and t he employees . In add it ion, a totally independent and adequately resourced Safety Regulator should oversee NATS,

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Commercialisationof ATS The Liberalisation of Air Traffic Services Phil Hogge, IATA Europe The air transport industry is composed of three primary operationa l elements w hich need to work in harmony if they are to provide a safe and efficient service to its customers. These elements are the aircraft operators, the airports and Air Traffic Services. In rece nt years the increasing demand for air travel has caused one of them, the airlines, to grow at a faste r rate than the others. This is particularly apparent in Europe and the USA whe re it is becoming increasing ly difficu lt for t he ATM infrastr ucture to keep pace. This article wi ll discuss the airline view of how the comme rcialisati on of ATS could help t he ATS organisat ions to respo nd more quick ly to this business dema nd . But first , we must address the very imp orta nt issue of safety.

impro ved the attention given to safety. I believe this wo uld be exactly th e same for ATS. The concerns that the commercial intere st may appear to be in opposition to safety are unfound ed . Provided there is sound safety regulation acting indep endentl y from th e serv ice providers, and provided the service pro v ider s operate sound internal safety management processes, high safety standard s can be maintain ed regardless of the ownership of the organisation . This applies to ATS in th e

"I believe it is fundamentally

wrong to

criticise the trend The three operat ional elements mentioned above are locked together in a mutually interdependent system to provide the end product to the passenger - a safe journey.

Nowhere is this mutual reliance more apparent than in the operational relationship betwe en pilots and contro llers. Both have a mutual interest in safety and both are critically aware of their responsibilit ies.

Safety is often quoted as the primary reason fo r having ATC. This is t rue but it is not the on ly reason. ATS also has a dut y to expedite the flow of traff ic by prov iding the vo lume of serv ice that society demands . Th e trave llin g pub lic and the airlines bot h requ ire safety and capacity. In this context it is int erest ing to note th at the three areas of the wor ld with the best aviation safety records, Europe, N. America and A ustralasia, also have a predominance of privatised (or partly privatised) air lines which operate in a highly compet itive mark et. The airlines in these areas provide not only t he capacity that the market wants but they also disp lay no obv ious diminution of safety . I emphas ise th is because I be lieve it is f undamenta lly wrong to cr it icise the trend towards the commercia lisation of ATS on the grounds that it will reduce safety standards.

I wo uld even go furt her. My personal exper ience of work ing for a governme nt owned airline , which merged w ith another government owned airline and was then pr ivatised , convinced me that privatisation gre atly improved the health of the compan y and

20

towards the commercialisation of ATS on the grounds that it will reduce

capacity and the consequent delays have a serious impact on th e efficienc y of air tr ansport, and airlines have little confidence in th e processes for the time ly provision of capacity.

It is hardly surpri sing th erefore that, w hen dealing w ith ATS, airline s tend to focus more energy on ATM capacity than on ATM safety.

The stro ng criti cism vo iced by the airlines and their associations should not be misinterpreted as an attack on the professionalism of controll ers. The airlines respect very highl y the dedic ation th at controll ers bring to their job s, they rely on this in the same way th at they rely on the profe ssional standards of their pilot s and engineers. It must be constantly emphasised that the perform ance of the operational manage ment and staff is not the main point at issue. They manage very we ll under difficu lt circumstances. Instead, the main issue is the very slow response of ATS organisation s to th e market demand and the way in which thi s is hampered by the po litica l, institution al and organisational framework within w hich they have to wo rk .

safety standards." same way th at it does in every ot her part of the industry, whethe r they be airlines, airports, or manufacturers . For example, Boeing wo uld be un likely to sell many aircraft if their prod ucts proved to be unsafe, thus the commerc ial interest and the survival of the company is tota lly dependent on building safe aircraft.

Pilots , contro llers and the people who design and build aircraft are ju stifiably proud of their commitme nt to safety.

Contro llers often fee l that the airlines are unfair in their critic isms. They feel that airlines are more interested in capacity then in safety and that they have litt le appreciation of the ir professional ded ication. So far as safety is concerned, airlines are very aware of the need for safe ATC operations and of a safe reliable infrastructure. However , fort unately, ATM featu res very low in the causal factor s of air transport accidents , thus airlines direct their main efforts towards other more frequent causes of accide nts. Certainly, in Europe, it is to the cred it of the ATS providers that airlines have conf idence that ATM safety is being addressed proper ly. In contrast, the lack of

The deregulation of airlines in the USA led to a rapid increase in t he vo lum e of air tr avel.

Similarly, in Europe, the creation of the Single Market, th e application of th e Treaty of Rome to air tran sport and the growing trend for governments to privatise their national airlin es, has led to more competition, mor e capacity, lower fares and increasing demand. Thi s has been good for passengers eve n though it may be creating problems for ATSI However , th e ATM infr astruct ure has remained under government contro l. Too ofte n ATS providers have not been able to f inance new systems and faciliti es or to recruit new staff in good time because t hey have been prevented from do ing so by gove rnm ent budgetary restrictions or civi l service recruitment quotas.

Too often ATS providers have not been able to provide the capacity required because some aspect of the national interest, civil/mi litary coord ination , cross-border airspace issues, or protectionism, has prevent ed them from implementing the most cost-effective solutions for increasing throughput This is hard ly surprising when the ATS provider is usually a branch (or an agency) of the CAA which in turn reports to a Mini stry of Transport or, in some

THE CONTROLLER

0

Commerc1alsation of ATS countries, to a totally different department.

Ministers have a wi de array of objectives to pursue with many conflicting requirements .

Unfortunatel y, ATS tends to be low in th e list of priorities until a crisis develops, by w hich time it is usually too late to deal wi th the underl ying causes.

A noth er result of retaining ATS w ithin the civil service structure is that the managers of the provider organisation tend to be drawn either from the ranks of civil servants or from solely ope ration al ATS backgrounds. Clearly, ATS op erational expe rience is a pre-requisit e for some parts of the management structure but. w ithout also having managers w ith a commercial background, w ho know how indu stry should respond to market demands, it is unlikely that the ATS provider w ill have the organisational foresight to keep pace with the grow ing demand for air travel. Aga in, I can draw upon my airline experience. An airline run entir ely by pilots and engineers, w hile it may we ll be operationa lly exce llent, is unlikely to provide passengers w ith the services they wa nt, to seize the market opportunities and to grow at the rate required. Both airlines and ATS organisations need technical and ope rational excellence, but they also need commercially minded managers and good strateg ic planners.

Having seen the results that good comme rcial management is bringing in t heir own indu stry, airlines are now convi nced th at similar changes need to be made with in the organisations providing the essential infrastructure. Air lines are convinced that ATS is no different to any other indu stry w hich provides services in a safety critical env ironme nt. Of course safety must remain as th e top objective but this does not mean that it shou ld be allowed to stifle innovation , commerc ial behaviour and the ability to respond rapidly to what th e market requires.

Look ing around the wor ld th ere are several interest ing models of how ATS can be prov ided more effic ient ly. The A irways Corporation of New Zealand is a state-ow ned enterprise and , as such, is a limit ed liability company required to make a profit Nav Canada is a private, nonshare capital corporation w hich is requir ed to cove r its costs but not to make a profit. The Irish Aviation Authority is another example of a fully commercia l state-ow ned limited company.

Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH (DFS) is yet another example of a limited liability company .

In each case th ey have been separated from government and are subjected to ind ependent safety regu lation In each case the y have been able to increase capacity and improve their cost-

THE CONTROLLER

eff ective ness. The next move along the se lines, strongly supported by IATA and keenly awaited by th e airlines, is the UK government's decision to set NATS up as a Public Private Partnership .

The diff ere nce here is that 51 % of t he shares wo uld be owned by the private secto r, including the staff, with 49% being retained by government. NATS wo uld be allowed to make a profit but. since it w ill be in a monopo ly position, w ill be subject to economic regulation to replace the disciplines of a competitive market and to minimi se the risk of monopoly pricing. Understandabl y, controll ers have exp ressed concern s about t he incompatibilit y of the profit motive wit h safety. Howeve r, these are th e same as th e concerns expressed by pilots when airlines have been privatised and, as previously stated, if safety can be safeguarded

"if safety can be safeguarded in a privatised airline, why should it not also be safeguarded in a privatised ATS provider?" in a privatised airlin e, why shou ld it not also be safeguarded in a privatised ATS provider7 At this stage it is import ant to emphasise that IATA does not suggest th at pr ivatisation is the on ly solutio n. Differe nt states have different legal regim es and social norms, in some cases, a government owned corporatio n wi ll be suffic ient, in others , a not-for-prof it company wi ll be a more suitable mod el and, in yet other cases, privatisation is considered to be the answe r. And neither shou ld one oppose the idea of t he airlines ow ning the shares. I can clear ly rememb er, when flying through the Gulf area, rece iving an exce llent service from Bahrain Centre w here ATC was provided by International Aerad io Ltd , a company w holly owned by BOAC. the airline I was flying for at the time . No-one suggested that the service was unsafe, and it may even be that the safety inter ests of both sections of the ind ustry cou ld be of mutu al benefit

there has been a steady pro cess of consolidation . Withi n national borders airlines have merged. Across national borders th is has been more difficult because of the bi- lateral agreements between governments over traffic rights, therefore the preferred solution has been to for m alliances. Yet even here interesting deve lopments are about to occur , w itne ss the take-over of Sabena by Sw issair and the possible merger of BA and KLM. Such issues w ere unheard of ten years ago . Yet w hat is so diffe rent about ATS7 Why wou ld it not be possible for an ATS provider in one state to run the ATS operation in another state7 Wo uld it not be possible for several ATS providers to have shareho ldi ngs in each other, to form alliances and to allow market forces to bring about some of the econom ies of scale, airspace structural effic iencies and system harmonisations that have eluded t he industry und er inter-governmen tal processes? These things are happening in ot her industries to the great benefit of the consumer, perhaps they could also happen in ATS. What is important is to separate the provi der of t he service from civil service constrain t s, to install good commercial management and to have independen t safety and economic regulat ion . In th is way governments can remain responsibl e for protecting the public good whi le allowing the management of the ATS provider to concentrate on providing, in good t ime, the services the airlines need and at an affordable price. Such a solution w ould allow ATS to expand at a faster rate and to provide more emplo y ment opportun ities to contro llers.

Look.ing also at the ways in which other global industr ies have developed , for examp le, car manufa cturing, pharmaceuticals , pet rochemicals, aircraft manufactur ing and airlines,

21

Commercialisation of ATS NAV CANADA - Four Years From Lift Off Just the Facts Ma'am"

11

John W Crichton President & CEO NAV CANADA At midnight on October 31, 1996, the Canadian Federal Government ceased to own and operate the Canadian Civil Air Navigation System, the second largest in the wor ld . With t he pay ment, earlier that day of $1.5 bil lion to t he Canadian Government, NAV CANADA became the world's first fully privatized ANS and to this date, the only one.

Prior to and after the closing of this transact ion , many people called it an "experiment" and felt that no conclusions cou ld be drawn as to its success or failure for several years. It is hard to argue w ith this since it is only logical that when you are the first in the world to do something, t here is no history to go on .

Four years have gone by and it is now quite appropriate to assess the resu lts of this "experiment". I plan to do this by reference to th e follow ing key areas of performance : • Safety • Customer Service and Cost Control • Finances • Labour Relations and People • Technolog y Prior to doing that. it 1sworthwhile to first spend a few moments describing the unique corpo rate structure of NAV CANADA and some statistics on its operations .

NAV CA NADA is a non- share capital corporation created pur suant to Part II of the Canada Corporations Act . As a compan y wit hout share capital it has "memb ers" rather than shareholder s. These members perform t he t raditiona l corporate function of sharehold ers in that they appoint the Board of Dir ector s, amend corporate by-laws and appoint the external auditor s. They do not howev er. receive any profit s or mon etary gain . nor do t hey have the abilit y to "sell" t he co mpany.

NAV CANA DA 's four member s are : • The A ir Transpo rt Assoc iation of Canada representing commercial air earn ers.

A ppo 111t s four Board memb ers • The Canadian Federal Gov ernment rep resent111 g the broad public interes t Appo int s three Board members

22

• The NAV CANADA Bargaining Agents Associat ion representing the certified bargaining agents at NAV CANADA. Appoints two Board members.

• The Canadian Business Aircraft Association representing general aviation. Appoints one Board member .

These ten Directors appoint four others who are unrelated and the President & CEO rounds out the Board at 15 persons.

wh ile arms length, is professiona l and cooperative.

Since taking over the system , NAV CANADA reinstated contro ller refresher training which had been previously stopped due to budget restraints, introduced a confident ial safety reporting system, enhanced the non-punitive nature of incident invest igations, developed a Safety Management Plan and pub lishes an annual Corpo rate Safety Plan with objectives and targets on a three year rolling basis.

NAV CANADA can and does earn profits , howe ver, since there are no shareholders these funds are recycled within the company to reduce customer charges, pay down debt or finance capital expenditures.

The Board of Directors has an active Safety Committee wh ich oversees key performance measures, trends and initiat ives.

Given the absence of share equity, the company is 100% capitalized with publicly issued debt in the form of revenue bonds and medium term notes .

In addit ion to Transport Canada as the safety regulator , the Canadian Transportat ion Safety Board independently investigates and reports on incidents of its choosing. These report s are made pub lic and NAV CANADA responds to safety recommendations in a positive fash ion.

NAV CANADA's operations are vast, ranging from 30° to 141 ° west longitude and from 42° south latitude to the north pole . There are a tota l of 5,300 employees work ing in our Ottawa based head off ice, seven area control centers, 43 towers, one stand alone TCU, 78 flight service stations, 45 maintenance work centres, a Technical Systems Center, Research and Experimen tat ion Center and national training center. The company also owns and maintains over 1,400 electronic navaids.

Annual revenues are about $930 million and combined IFR movements are in the six million range . Overall traffic is growing about 5% per year.

Now let's turn to the results.

Safety One of the reasons for privatizing the Canadian ANS was to separate the role of safety regulator from service provider thu s removing a structural conflict of interest . Transport Canada's role is now entire ly focused on being the independent safety regulator of the ANS. A new set of Canadian Air Regulations was deve loped for the ANS. These regulations are performance based and not prescriptive and are working we ll. The working relationship between NAV CANADA and Transport Canada

Like most ANS's, NAV CANADA track s operating irregu larities as a rate per 100,000 movements . NAV CANADA has impro ved on this rate notwithstanding a 20% increase in traffic wh ich has made many sectors more comp lex.

The bottom line on safety is that the record is better, there are more safety programs and the accountability of the corporation is significant ly more stringent .

Customer Service and Cost Control Another one of the reasons for privatizing the Canadian ANS was that in a wor ld of increasing user pay, the ANS customers we re not satisfied that they were gett ing value for their money .

The clear expectation was that as a private sector company , NAV CANADA wou ld operate more eff icientl y than government .

What has happened7 During the last four years, NAV CA NADA reduced operating costs by 20% and capita l spending by 40%.

Overall staff levels w ere redu ced by 1. 100

THf CONTROLL ER

Commercialisation of ATS peop le, nearly all of who m we re nonoperationa l, admin istrative jobs. Ope rationa l staff is actually increasing w it h over 400 air traffic control lers, flight service specialists and electronic tec hnologis ts cur rent ly in tra ining .

And we see the numbers of these skilled professionals continu ing to grow in t he future .

As a result of th is restructu ring, NAV CANA DA offers its customers some of the lowest ANS rates in the wor ld as show n in t he fo llow ing

w ill reduce customer fees by about 50%.

Flight Infor mation Centers - wi ll consolidate all fl ight info rmation serv ices into nine centers w it h to ll free d irect access th roug hout Canada via modem , voice and pilot kiosks.

GPS - NAV CANADA has pub lished over 150 GPS approaches to date and expects to publish 60 per year for the next several years.¡ FMS Arrivals - to date 28 FMS arrivals have been introd uced saving an average of 350 kgs

graph.

INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON OF TOTAL ANS CHARGE S (900 n.m.)

October 1999 article on NAV CAN A DA: "NAV CANADA has cut its payroll, lower ed the cost of flying in Canada, wh ile raising salaries and increasing its product ivity."

As prev iously mentioned, NAV CANADA has reduced its operating costs by 20%.

With the restruct uring behind us, we expect ou r expenses w ill now grow in the futu re but the goal of the compan y is to conta in expense growth to a level below that of traffic growt h over the long term so as to allow for a gradua l reduct ion in customer unit charges over time.

We are fo llow ing through on th is commitmen t in 2001 by maintain ing an overall 8% redu ction on our rates notw ithstanding expected highe r expense levels.

S8,000

S7,000

S6,000

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CHARGES

S4,000

mB747 (395 m .t.) •876 7 (185 m.l ) 0A320 75 m.t

S3,000

Previously we discussed th e fact that as a nonshare capital corpo ration, NAV CANADA must rely on t he public debt markets for all of its capital needs. Prior to consum mating its transaction w ith the Government of Canada.

NAV CA NAD A established a Capital Markets Platform w ith a $3 billion limit .

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The ANS in Canada used to be funded by a ticket tax on passengers fly ing on aircraft with over 19 seats that took off or landed in Canada.

For t hose airlines w ho prev iously collected and remitted this tax (now repealed), NAV CANADA's charges to them are over 35% less than w hat t he tax wou ld have been had it remained as the funding source.

Apart from the direct finances, NAV CANADA focuses a sign ificant amou nt of resources on respondi ng to customer needs and prob lems.

We see our role as enabling the customers to operate the ir aircraft more eff iciently and effective ly. Here are ju st some examples of this : Polar Routes - wil l save up to eight hours fl ying time on return trip s between North Amer ica and the Far East.

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This deb t w as and conti nues to be rated by the four major credit rating agencies in North America. Over the past year. two of these agencies upgraded NAV CANADA 's rating In t heir rating upgrade report , Standard and Poors had this to say about NAV CANADA 's perfo rmance:

of fue l per approach .

Expanded Radar Coverage - seven new radars being installed provid ing customer s with about $25 million in annual savings (altitudes and routings) and paybacks of less than two years.

NAV CANADA cont inuous ly seeks inputs from its customers through a variety of established groups and committees. including an Advisor y Committee w ith direct access to the Board of Directors.

"The ratings on Nav Canada refl ect the company's successful int roduction of inte rnationally competitiv e user charges since assuming responsibility for air navigation services (ANS) in November 1996 ; its success in trimming administrative and operations costs, giving it the ability to impl ement a rate red uction in fiscal 2000 (year ending August 31) wh ich is now being exte nded to Dec. 31, 2000 ; and the substantial progress made on the Canad ian Automated A ir Traff ic System (CAATS) project , Nav Canada's most significant capita l projec t , wh ich appears wi ll be delivered on time and on

Whi le NAV CANADA has some congest ion and de lays in busy termina l areas the y are minima l compared to the growing prob lems in the U.S. and Europe . As I w ill discuss und er techno logy.

The ratings also refle ct these f undament al cred it

we have concrete plans to stay well ahead of

strengths :

budget by the end of this year.

th is curve.

0

Automatic Way Point Report ing - current ly in trial ope ration in the Gander Oceanic FIR and

fHE CONTROLLER

Finances The New York Times stated the fo llow ing in an

Nav Canada's legislated monopol y as an essential service provider in a growth industry ;

23

Commercialisation of ATS • The legal ability to set and change users fees for services rendered, and enforce collection of these fees; • The company's unique status as a nonshare capital corporation, requir ing rates to be set on a full cost recovery as opposed to a profit basis, w hich lends stability to its operating results and, at the same t ime, is compatible wi t h the end goal of maintaining safety standards ; • A w ell-balanced board of directors, represen t ing the interests of all stakeholders - th e airlines, general aviation, government. and labor - in the ANS industry; • A proven track record of collecting user cha rges;

credit rating . Very few private corporations anywhere have achieved this status. And we have attai ned it without any government support or guarantees whatsoever. This is a very strong vote of confidence in NAV CANADA's performance by some of the most sophisticated judges of corporate horse flesh in the wo rld . The practical result is that NAV CANADA enjoys one of the lowest, if not the lowest cost of capital of any corporation in North America and can freely access the capital markets at w ill.

This enviable position means NAV CANADA has low cost access to the money it needs to expand and modernize the system as traffic

without work disruptions . In all cases, each group obtained considerably more in salary increases than did their counterparts who stayed behind in the public service (the freeze has since lapsed). Moreover, they obtained considerably more than the average negotiated wage settlements in the Canadian economy as a w hole.

The following graph demonstrates the magnitude of these wage settlements and the offset due to other cost reduction initiatives instituted by the company. In the case of the air traffic controllers, the average increase was about 33% over three years. This higher rate was due to the company paying controllers for

Impact of Salary & Benefit Increases on Operating Expenses 800.0

780.0

760.0

~

740.0

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720.0

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700.0 680.0

660.0

640.0 1997 Annualized

o

Base Costs

• Base Costs Plus Collective Agreements

• St ron g legal prov ision s. including mandatory reserve f unds, rate covenants, and an addi t ional bond s tests; • Implicit fe deral government supp ort, but only insofa r as t he central go vernment is ult imat ely respons ibl e fo r air navigat ion safety accord ing to th e Chicago Convent ion , a multil ateral agreement; • A stro ng managemen t te am, w hich already has deli vered on various cost-reduc t ion and prod uctivity targets . w hile mainta ining pro fessional relat ions w ith Nav Canada 's unions ."

NAV CANA DA current ly enjoys a solid AA

24

1998 Actual

1999 Actual

2000 Estimated

D Actual Costs After Other Cost Reductions

grows .

LabourRelationsand People NAV CANADA currently has nine certified bargaining agents representing nearly 90% of our employees . At the time of privatization, these unions and their members had been subject to a federa lly legislated wage freeze for about five years. Needless to say, this did not sit we ll and created a significant expectation w hen bargaining time came around with the new emp loyer, NAV CANADA All collective agreements were successfully renegot iated during our first three years

significant productivity enhancements to wo rk rules. While we are not aware of the existence of a databank in these matters, we believe th is may have been the largest percentage settleme nt with controllers anywhere in the wo rld .

NAV CANADA 's approach has been the wi llingne ss to put significa nt amounts of mo ney on the table provided the parties can agree to productivity enhanceme nts.

This does not mean that all unionized employees at NAV CANADA are happ y In fact many feel they are still underpaid and are not

THE CONTROLL ER

Commercalisat1on of ATS 0

shy about saying so. This we will continue to work on to try and find reasonable, mutually acceptable solutions.

There is also no doubt that the employee climate suffered somewhat at NAV CANADA over the past four years, due in large measure, to the culture change of privatization and the large and unsettling corporate restructuring that saw 1,100 positions lost. No company can go through that kind of massive change and not suffer a loss in employee morale.

But that phase is now over and the company is in a growth mode with significant career opportunities for many employees.

Management is devoting considerable time , money and resources to improving the employee climate and in promoting employee buy-in to the company. These may involve gainsharing programs if bargaining agents agree.

Of one thing there can be no doubt , notwithstanding differences that arise at the bargaining table, throughout this time NAV CANADA's employees have acted and behaved like the professionals they are, at all levels.

Technology At NAV CANADA, we are proud of the technology we have put in place or are about to put in place . We have reduced capital spending on proJects and new technology about 40% from what it was in government, but we are actually delivering more product in the form of new systems and infrastructure .

THE CONTROLLER

One of the areas that many ANS's around the world have historically had trouble with was the high cost and low operability of new technical systems . Failed mega-projects were all too common and Canada was no different .

But at NAV CANADA we have reversed that trend and are now producing world leading systems on time and on budget. Freed from the arcane procurement and project management practices of go vernment , NAV CANADA has adopted an all business approach to systems acqui sition and development .

Our first rule is to buy off the shelf if we can and if we can't , set realistic, achievable goals that are practical and have the buy-in of our employees and customers. This is beginning to pay huge dividends to all of the stakeholders at NAV CANADA. Some recent examples of systems deployed or about to be deployed : Rsit Radar Situation Display : developed inhouse by a small team of NAV CANADA engineers and controllers. World leading functionality and real time weather display.

flight data processing system develope d under contract w ith Raytheon . The fligh t dat a processing platform for the fu t ure.

CRDA: Converging Runw ay Displ ay Aid: baseline softw are developed by Mit re Corporation and significantl y expande d and enhanced by NAV CANADA. Has increased throughput at Calgary by 25% in IFR we ath er.

Many othe r ANS's have expressed int erest in obtaining some of NAV CA NAD A 's syste ms.

This presents the potential for some signif icant w ins for all involved as it w ill be low risk and low cost with obvious mutual benefi t s t o all concerned including the custome rs.

NAV CANADA is convi nced th at t he futu re of the ANS indust ry w ill be dri ven by two main factors. The fir st is skilled, pro fession al employees and the second is the developm ent and deplo yment of proven tec hnol ogies that give our emplo yees the tools the y need to do the ir jobs in an increasingly de mand ing and comple x environment.

Conclusion EXCDS Extended Computer Display System: touch screen technology in a stripless environment. The backbone to the world's fir st glass Tow er in Toronto .

GAATS V.21: Gander Autom ated Air Traffic System : the w orld's most advanced oceanic flight data proce ssing system with full geographic display, ADS and CPDLC.

In the case of NAV CA NA DA, pri vatization has w orked . Safet y has been maintained and enhanced . Customers are gett ing bett er service at low er cost. Employees are demonstrabl y better off than the y oth erwise would have been.

The governm ent and airlin e passengers are much better off fin ancially. A nd finally, our emplo yees are beginning to get the too ls they need in a timely and reliable fash ion.

CAATS Canadian Autom ated Air Traffic System: the world's leading edge autom ated

25

Conference 2001 The 40th IFATCA Conference Geneva, March 2001 Preparation for the 40th Annua l Conference of the Federation, to be held from 19th to 23rd M arch, 2001, are advancing step by step. Swiss ATCA and the Organising Committee are confident that they will be able to faci litate participation for all Member Associations and individ ual controllers. Sufficient block reservations at the Conference hotels have been made, the Conference programme is being continuously refined so that everybody attending should fee l at home and the conference should be able to do efficient work in an ideal environment.

A lot of informat ion on the Conference has already been pub lished in W P no. 39 at the M arrakech Conference and in the Febr uary 2000 IFATCA Circular. In addit ion an IFATCA 2001 Homepage is now open on the IFATC A w ebsite (www. lFATCA.org) and is updated regularly as additiona l info rmat ion becomes available.

Former President of IFATCA Jean-Daniel Monin, Chairman of the Organ ising Committee, writ es the following in his we lcome address: "40 years is not usually considered a great anniversary. However it is our aim to make the 40th Annual Conference of IFATCA a maior event in the history of t he Federation. Th ere are various reasons t hat we do cons ider of import ance, but it wou ld be cumbersome to quote th em all. We believe that it is important, fr om time to time, to look backwards , not at all wi th nostalgic minds, but Just to appra ise the achieve ments and to be better prepa red to face the fu ture .

It is indeed by pure chance that the 40th annive rsary of IFA.TCAdoes coincide with the first An nual Conference of t he 21 st century. It is, t herefo re, very fitt ing that contro llers of the wor ld take this unique opport unity to remind t hemselves of the motivations and the determ ination of those tw elve MAs, who forty years ago set up the Federation w ith a view to reinforce their w ill to further promote IFATCA and to strengthen their solidar ity around the w orl d .

Geneva, 't he smallest of the big capita ls', also known as the 'City of Peace' , seems to be an idea! location for the 40th annual conference of IFATCA. However, the wo rk achieved and the celebrat ion of the 40th anniversary w ill only be valuable prov ided all MAs , potential MAs , as we ll as all Cor po rate Members . are present and

26

participate full y.

We do extend to all a hearty we lcome to Switzerland and to Geneva to celebrate 40 years of existence of IFATCA and decide together on steps to be taken to face the present and fu ture of the profession of air tr affic co ntrol.

Look ing forward to meeting you in Geneva in March 200 1 ," One item yo u have been looking for is info rmation about how to get to Geneva. Chris Gilgen, Transport Manager IFATCA 2001, reports: 50% discount on Swissair, Crossair and

"Geneva,

'the smallest of

the big capitals', also known as the 'City of

SR/LX/SN are: Zurich, Brussels, London, Paris or Vie nna. Amsterdam or Frankfurt are not good because there are no direct flights by th e Qualiflyer group to Geneva currently operating although connection via ZRH is possible.

There w ill be a reception booth at Zurich airport, facilitating th e transfer of participants either to Geneva bound shuttle flights (called Pendulair) operating roughly every hour, or to direct trains if required or req uested (train takes about 3 hours to Geneva). A special fare with Swissair for fli ghts from Zurich to Geneva and back w ill be negotiated for those participants , arriving without onward tic ket at Zurich airport.

Through check-in of baggage to Geneva will not be possible for these passengers as baggage must be retri eved in Zurich.

A rrangements have not yet been determi ned though expect this to happen very soon and we will keep you inform ed through the Homepage .

Pleasetry to keep thi s possibilit y of ad-hoe transfer to an absolute minimum and arrange through tr avel to Geneva if at all possible.

Peace', seems to be an ideal location for the 40th annual conference of IFATCA."

Sabena on their whole network to Geneva and back is granted. The whole Qualiflyer group (TAP Air Portug al, Turkish Ai rlin es, LOT. Portugalia, Air Europe Italy, AOM , Air Liberte , Air Littora l, Volare and SR/LX/SN) are granting half fares to Switzerla nd for IFATCA 2001. A ll flights of t he Qua liflyer airline s to Zurich/Geneva and Basle are generally code-share flights using SR/ LX/SN numb ers. For special cases, such as TP flights (on their w hole network) to Lisbon, LOT fli ghts to Warsaw, AOM flight to Paris or TK flights to Istanbul, and then onward to Geneva, the Organising Committee can arrange approva l of discount in case there are difficu lt ies to get the rebate locally.

In case your national carrier, or any other carrier, is offer ing you a cheaper fare or a free fare to one of the ir European gateways, there is t he possibility to comb ine this ticket wit h a SR/ LX/SN ticket to Geneva. Author isation to issue the European legs at 50 % of the normal fare on Qua liflyer carriers is possible. Contact tr ansport manager for t hese special cases. Best European gateways to Geneva, using

Expect the discount number of the Qualiflyer group for the reservation system to be issued in the coming two months, possibly earlier. We w ill publish it as soon as we have it available, eithe r on th e Homepage or via a direct mailing to all MAs. You will also find th e information in the November IFATCA Circular.

Finally, all participants are reminded , espec ially those requiring a visa for entry int o Switzerland, that they are requested to make their travel plans well in advance and to ensure that everything is in order so t hat they can atte nd the 2001 IFATCA Conference in Geneva. The Organising Com mitt ee w ill tr y to make sure that everyth ing runs smoothly to make your trip to Geneva a memorable one. For transport problems and assistance in organising transport to IFATCA 2001, you can contact the Transport Manager, if necessary using the following Email address: Christoph .gilgen@swisscontrol .com Please make sure to check WP 39/00 to find out w hether you need a visa to enter Switzerland (new MA's Benin and Togo shou ld be added to the list) The Paper also conta ins the list of representatives w here you can obta in a visa. We w ill inform the country's embassies/ representatives of all MA states that the Confere nce is being held in Geneva and we wi ll strongly suggest that you r request for a visa will be granted w ithout 'red tape ' Should you

THE CONTROLLER

Conferen

AGEN DA

2001

2000 OCTOBER 13 - 15 IFATCA Executive Board Mee ti ng , Lon don UK Contact - IFATCA Office Mana ge r,

encounter any difficulties please let us know immediately.

Should you wish to visit France before, during or after the Conference we suggest that you also check whether you need a visa for that purpose.

As you are aware, organising a conference of the size of IFATCA needs a lot of money. In our case we depend to a large extent on sponsorship. Nevertheless we try to offer a programme that will not only ensure ideal working conditions at the Geneva International Conference Centre, but also social functions that should serve to cultivate contacts between fellow controllers from all

possible in order to make sure that you get the accommodation you want, the visa - if you need one - is granted in time, and your flight is ensured at the offered rates. If you still have any questions concerning your participation do not hesitate to contact us on ifatca2001@swisscontrol.com, or fax +41 22 417 4500 or IFATCA 2001, c/o swisscontrol, CH-1215 Geneva Airport, Switzerland.

Alyssa Blaise Pho ne + 1 514 866 7040

Fax

+1 514866 7612

Email: office@ifatca .org

19 - 21 Ame ricas Regional meet ing Barbados Contact : Email: ev pama@ifatca.org

NOVEMBER 3 - 5 Europ ean Regional M eeting

As soon as we receive your registration forms (conference and hotel) we will send you a confirmation and a registration number that will facilitate considerably and quicken your check-in at the registration desk . You will also receive your badge as soon as possible after arrival. With that you can use all Geneva

Istanbul Contact : Email: ev peur@ifatca.org

7 - 8 Afr ica M iddle East Regional meet ing Add is Ababa Contact : Email: evpafm@ifat ca.org

5 - 8 Gvil Air Conve ntion Canbe rra, Australia Contact - CON 2000 Committe e Email: civilair@civilair.asn.au

" .........

that controllers of the world take this

unique opportunity

to remind themselves of the

motivations and the determination

of those twelve

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One last item must not be forgotten: the Accompanying Persons' Programme: A list of day excursions to the major sights in the vicinity of Geneva and the Western part of Switzerland will be offered on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the conference week . In addition sightseeing tours around the city of Geneva will be available every day.

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THE CONTROLLER

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Book Rev¡ew-Human Factors A MILESTONE IN LITERATURE FOR THE CONTROLLER "AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL: HUMAN PERFORMANCE FACTORS"

by Dr Anne Isaac and B Ruitenberg

Reviewed by Dag Haarstad - Member of IFATCA SC4 nne Isaac and "IFATCA's own" Bert Ruitenberg have delivered a very comprehen sive and informative book on hum an performance In the ATC-environment. I do not hesitate to call this book a milestone . Never before has this reader seen anything thi s comprehens ive, relevant and we ll wr itt en to better understand how we can translate into practice th e human factor s know ledg e t hat is actually available, into the interfaces between humans and technology to enhance the safety and efficienc y of the aviation system.

The book has a thoro ugh discussion of hum an error. Then the SHELL and REASON models are explained . These terms might be familiar for The Controll ers readers, but for those who are not, SHELL describes th e inter action betwee n Softw are, Hardware, Environment, and Livewa re.

The Reason model is named aft er James Reason's systemic failure model as applied to

ATC. Th e chapters are then dedicated to a discussion on each of the elements in the SHELL model. How we ll do the authors get the message across? How well is the book wr itten?

For me who doe s not have English as my native tongue, the language used seems a bit sophisticated and someti mes t he te xt goes into too much det ail. How ever, this is compensated in a very interesting way.

Throughout th e book, small inserts from real life accidents, incident s, and occurrences are used to underline the point s given in the text.

Thi s makes the 365 page book more exciting to read and I think that every controller w ill recognise many of the situat ions described as relevant to their own experience. A nd yes, the message gets across.

The book should be mandatory reading for controll ers, management and maybe most import antly of all - th e hig h-leve l decisionmakers. To the author s - thank you fo r a very impre ssive contribution to all of us who are

doing our best in the every day rout ine of ATC to provide a safe and effic ient system .

Published by Ashgate ISBN O 291 39854 5 ABOUT THE A UTHORS Dr. A nne Isaac works with the human factor s group at EUROCONTROL. She has18 years experience in research on human performan ce in ATC in addit ion to training, acciden t investigation and lecturing . She also to ok part in developing t he ATC Team Resource Management program for Europe .

Bert Ruitenberg has rep resented IFATCA in the human factors field since 1992 and is our Human Factors spec ialist. He work s as a contro ller at Schipho l. He took part in development of ICAO 's human fact or s t raining manual. He is a much- apprec iated speaker at human facto rs confer ences and seminars.

First ATC Human Factors Seminar in China Bert Ruitenberg The Av iation University of the Civil Av iation Authority of China (CAAC) in Tianjin, a city some 120 kilometres southe ast of Beijing, was th e venue for the first ever Seminar on Hum an Factors in ATC th at was held in th e country . The Seminar was organised by the A ir Traffi c Management Bureau (ATMB) of China and it to ok place on 12-13 September 2000 The first day of the programme was reserved for presentations by several invited speakers, including former IFATCA EVP ASP Mr . George Chao in his role as Air Traff ic General Manager in the ATM Division at Hong Kong, and IFATCA Hu man Factors Specialist Bert Ruitenberg .

The Seminar was attended by some 70 delegates from th e 7 Flight Information Regions of China (i e Beijing , Shenyang, Shanghai, Guangzho u, Lanzhou , Kunming and Uramuq i) and fr om several ATM research facilities in th e country. The deleg ates compri sed operati onal controllers , inst ructors, supervisors, engineer s and management as well as scientists.

THE CONTROLLER

Afte r the opening remarks by senior manageme nt representatives from t he University and the ATM B, Mr . Chao gave a presentation in w hich he high lighted various areas of ATM activitie s where Hum an Factors play an import ant role. Next speaker was Professo r Xu Xiaohao , the dean of th e ATM College at the Av iation University, who inter alia addressed Human Factors aspects in w or kplace design, and fat igu e. Both the se presentati ons were in Chinese.

In the afternoon ther e wer e four presentati ons, given alternat ingly by Bert Ruitenb erg and M r.

Brent Hayward , an Avi ation Psycho log ist fr om Au stra lia, representin g Deda le Asia-Pacifi c. The fi rst pr esentation (Ruitenber g) w as on Basic Human Factor s Concepts and int roduc ed the SHEL-mode l. The seco nd presentat ion (Hayward ) w as called "Human Factors: Hazards in ATM " and emphas ised t he impo rtance of addr essing Human Factors in ATM . In the third presentation (Ruitenb erg) the elements that make up Situational Awa reness in ATC were intro du ced, and 1¡ecommendations were

suggested that could help imp rov e the situat ional awareness of cont rollers. Th e fi nal presentation (Hayward) explo red Organisat ional A ccident s and int rodu ced the Reason-model of accident causat ion . The presentati ons in the aftern oon wer e give n in English, w ith an almost simult aneou s Chinese translat ion (i.e. after each sente nce).

Feedback from the part icipants indic ated that th e presentations were we ll received and that the CAAC/ ATMB is serious abou t addressing Hum an Factors issues. To th at end , the participants used the second day of the Seminar to discuss the imp lications of the presentations the y had heard on t he first day.

This was do ne w itho ut the presence of t he invited speakers how ever, fo r they enjo yed a day of excellent Chinese hosp itality including a visit to the Great Wa ll and t he famou s M ing Tomb s in the nort h of Be1j1ng.

31

Opi The Importance of Close Co-operation between Industry and Users Bert Ruitenberg, Human Factors Specialist IFATCA

One of the myt hs around Air Traffic Controllers is that as a professional group the y are very conservative and tend to view the introduction of new technolog y and/or new procedures wit h scepticism (see for examp le the art icle by Mr. Ax el Raab in Frequentis Com:News 2/00).

Yet in their private lives many Controllers seem not nearly as reluctant to embrace state-of-theart compute r applications or other high-tech gadgets. So wh at is it that causes this myth to persevere7 The sad reality is that too often Air Traffic Controller s are provided with technological tools t hat are partly or who lly unsuitab le for the requir ements of the tasks that the Contro llers are expected to perform . Furthermore, the intr oduct ion of new techno logy to Air Traff ic Contro llers more often than not is done in a highly perf unctory way (e.g . by provid ing a writt en description of the funct ions of the vario us knob s and buttons of a tool. usually available on t he same day that the new equi pment is to be used operationall y somet imes even later t han that) Add to th is t he fact that Controllers often have to use new techn olog y in connection w ith old proc edure s, or vice versa, and perhaps now one can begin to und ersta nd w hat causes the mythical conservatism and scepticism . Inadequate system design and lack of t rain ing in the use of new systems are tr aits t hat no self-respect ing profess ional group w ill easily tolerat e.

But rather th an changing the industr y approach to the development and implementation of new tec hnolog y fo r ATC. it somehow seems more convenient to depict t he end -user population (i.e . t he Controller s) as being conservative and reluctant to change , and cont inue to fight the conseq uent sympto ms such as de lays in gett ing new systems in operat ional use or the add it ion al costs for modification s after acceptance . Yet on closer inspec tion a change 1n the indu stry app roach may yield bett er results fo r all parti es invo lved . Thi s change wo uld be to incorporate Human Factor s know ledge fro m the earlie st design stages in a pro ject.

Th is illustration Is borrowed from the Eurocontro l Hum an Factors M odu le "A

32

Business Case for Human Factors Investment".

(1999) It shows that the proposed incorporation of Human Factors know ledge would lead to a higher initial cost for a system, but that in the end the operating cost during the system's life-cycle wi ll be lower. This lower cost include s savings for not having to develop modifications to "make the system work the way we really intended it" . It also includes the benefits from having a system th at actually supports the Control lers in handling the traffic as safely and efficiently as possible.

One common feature of recent successfully completed programmes to introduce new ATCequipment is that early in the process a multidisciplinary team is formed to guide the procurement and development of the new equipment. Such a project team comprises a mix of technical and operat ional expert ise from the groups that ultimately w ill be using the new system . Engineers, air traff ic controllers, flight data personnel, flow controllers, softwareexperts, t rainers , they all are represented on the team. The individua l team-membe rs are selected because of thei r personal interest and motivation to make the new system happen.

For certain stages of t he process the team may be expanded to includ e safety-occurrence investigators, simulator-operators, and/or data analysts . Last but not least, the project team ideally shou ld incorporate a human perform ance specialist. The project team cooperates closely w ith the technica l staff from t he selected manufacturer to develop, introduce and implement the new equipment

ultim ately use the equipment, is the key to the best result for the design and impl ementation of the techno logy. Several manufacturer s admitt ed ly do emp loy ex-Contro llers as permanent membe rs of the ir technical staff, but without intending any disrespect for the qualitie s of the indi vi duals concerned I submit that these ex-Controllers are not in a position to be intimately familiar with all relevant aspects of the vario us ATC facilities to whic h the company may cater. These aspects are known best by th e Controllers from those facilities, therefore it is they who shou ld be involved in the design and implementation of new eq uipm ent intended to support their tasks.

In the new ICAO Manual "Human Factors Guidel ines for Air Traffic Management Systems" (ICAO Doc. 9758) these and many more detailed guid elines for the incorporation of Human Factor s knowledge can be found . By application of those guide lines th e indu stry together with the end-users will be able to deve lop and impl ement a new generation of ATC equipment that optima lly supports Contro llers in their core business, which is to expedite and maintain a safe, efficient and order ly flow of traffic.

It is IFATCA's belief that ATC equipment deve loped and implement ed in accordance with (ICAO's) Human Factors Guidelines w ill soon help dispel the myth about the conservative and scept ical att itude of Controllers towards new technol ogy .

References Eurocontrol. (1999) Human Factors Modu le - A Business Case for Human Factors Investment .

HUM .ET1.ST13.4000-REP-02, EATCHIP/EATMP. Edition 1 0, Brussels: Eurocontrol.

ICAO . (2000) Hum an Factors Guidelines for A ir Traffic Management Systems. Doc. 9758 , ICAO, Montreal, Canada.

It is important for manufacturer s of ATC equ ipm ent to realise that the involvement of th e true end -users, i.e. the Air Traffic Contro l staff from the facility or facilitie s that w ill

THE CONTROLLER

Charlie'sColumn HOW TO GET BACK AT A PILOT.

FUNNY NOTAMS:

HORNY CROCODILE DUNDEE

If you ever have a particularly nasty pilot on the

During a cold winter night in Boston :

They have funny crocodiles in Australia:

frequency, instead of shouting back at him or using

First NOTAM :

June 2000 in PRINCESS Charlotte Bay a rat her

On 8

nasty remarks, here is a good one:

KBXX Runway14-32 braking action NIL as

large male crocodile mounted one of the floa t s

First ask him what is the name of the Approach fix

reported by Vehicle.

of an Amphibian Cessna 172 that w as moored

at his destination Airport?

5 minutes later second NOTAM :

there . The 3 meter crocodile obviousl y tried to

Clear him direct to that point. Wait a couple of

KBXX Airport closed UFN due vehicle accident

mate with the float. The Crew watched from

minutes to let him make all the necessary inputs on

on Runway 14-32

the sho re laugh ing . The y stopped laughing

his FMS. Accept the "Thanks " but if the pilot was nasty,

whe n the crocodile got carried away and the

there is a good chance he won't even say that.

Never under-e stimate the power of lov e ..

seaplane tipped over and sank ..

Then after a few minutes tell him, "Sorry Sir, due to Military activity would you proceed back on your original route .. " There is a very good chance that they wi ll have

CARTOON OF THE MONTH

deleted all the intermediate points when they hit

from our old friend Martin Germans of EGATS

Direct APP execute, and it w ill take them a good

illustr ating one of Charlie's features. Martin is

:

From this issue on w ards , you w ill find a cartoo n

20 minutes to reprogram it ..."

now a centre Supervisor at the Maast rich t UA C.

RVSM ( 1 OOOFeet SEPARATION

This month he choose the horn y Crocodile feature. Martin 's AT C cartoons are kno w n all

above FL290)

over the world and he has alread y had 2 bo ok s

From a recent Eurocontrol press release ( 30 May

of his work published. It is w ith grea t p leasure

2000) we learned that they have put in place a

that we we lcome him on boa rd

high performance data check to verify how many aircraft, currently flying in Europe, are RVSM compliant.

Their first results are alarming, in their diplomatic language they say that : " ..A marked improvement is urgently needed . ."

Eurocontrol remind the Airlines that they have

PARKING AIRCRAFT

HOLLYWOOD

STYLE

You all remember the opening scene of the movie "Airp lane " (also called "Flying High" ) where th e

The reason is even more hilarious than in the

been " ...strongly advocating the introduction of RVSM", and the low number of a/c currently

marshaller is replying to a question with his hands

marshaller , but was caused by two maint enance

equipped," wo uld jeopard ise the investment made by Eurocontrol, the national ATS providers

and directs a 747 right into the terminal , the nose

mechanics playing with some sw itches in the

crashing into the terminal windows .. We ll ,

cockpit and inadvert ent ly start ing up one of the

and other operators .. " Thi s is extremely interesting if one remembers that

Hollywood has been beaten again. because the real thing really happened on 14 June 2000 in

engines. The aircraft started to move fo rwa rd ,

a couple of months ago those same Airlines were

Newark, where a Continental MD -80 parked a

( see photo below)

pushing for an even earlier implemen tation date

litt le too far forward and stuck its nose into th e

for RVSM, wh ile now it appears that they wi ll have

terminal.

movie: it was not d ue to the gestures of an excited

bu ilt up speed and fi nally hit the terminal.

difficul ties to make Jan 2002 ...

Airlines always have difficulties in understanding what ATC means..

BLAMED FOR BEING ON TIME. The following happened to our EVP Europe on his way from Geneva to Brussels : The captain comes on the Public address "Ladies and ge ntlemen Captain speaking, we w ill arrive in Brussels 15 minutes ahead of schedule, thanks for flying Sabena " _ " .

Some time later the captain came back : Ladies and gent lemen we have been instructed by ATC that due to a change of wind direction they are changing the runw ay in Brussels , we w ill now make an approach from th e North and we can expect 2 holding patterns We are expected now to land on time , sorry for this but this is due to

ATC" Didn't I te ll you we wo uld be blamed for everything . even to force them to land on time

THE CONTROLLER

1 ..

33

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34

THE CONTROLLER

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