THE
CONTROLLER June 2009
Journal of Air Traffic Control
INTER-
TION OF AIR TRAFF ERA IC C FED
LLERS’ ASSNS. TRO ON
Also in this issue: 4 ATC in Miami, Florida 4 Remotely operated Control Towers 4 IFATCA 2009 Conference 4 ASECNA News
NATIO NAL
4 STAFF SHORTAGES
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Contents
THE
CONTROLLER
June 2009 2nd quarter 2009 Volume 48 ISSN 0010-8073
;/,
*65;9633,9 June 2009
Journal of Air Traffic Control
4 STAFF SHORTAGES
Photo:
Brisbane Airport Control tower Also in this issue: 4 ATC in Miami, Florida 4 Remote oprerated Control Towers 4 IFATCA 2009 Conference 4 ASECNA News
Photo credit:
Airservices Australia
PUBLISHER IFATCA, International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations. EXECUTIVE BOARD OF IFATCA Marc Baumgartner President and Chief Executive Officer Alexis Brathwaite Deputy President Alex Figuereo Executive Vice-President Americas Henry Nkondokaya Executive Vice-President Africa/ Middle East Raymond Tse Executive Vice-President Asia/Pacific Patrik Peters Executive Vice-President Europe Dale Wright Executive Vice-President Finance Scott Shallies Executive Vice-President Professional Andrew Beadle Executive Vice-President Technical Jack van Delft Secretary/Conference Executive EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Philippe Domogala Editorial address: Westerwaldstrasse 9 D 56337 ARZBACH, Germany Tel: +492603 8682 email: ed@ifatca.org
In this issue: Foreword by John Wagstaff .……..……………….….…………......... Editorial by Philippe Domogala ……………………….…………......... Australia Lose Controllers, Lose Control by Robert Mason …............... Morocco Casablanca Air Traffic Control Centre .….........…........……….. Seminar in Morocco by Philippe Domogala ….....….........….... Remote TWRs Remotely-Operated Control Towers: Fact or Fiction …...... Interview with Controllers involved in Remote Tower Tests by Philippe Domogala ..…....……………...….........….......... USA Visiting Miami Control Centre by Philippe Domogala ............................. Visiting the Miami Tracon and Control Tower ....….........….........…......... Staff shortage in USA and in Miami in particular by Steven A. Wallace ... Americas News Does the Caribbean region need a centralized Flow Control by Emmanuel Cau ...….........….........….........…... IFATCA Conference Dubrovnik 2009 Conference Report by Philippe Domogala and Philip Marien ..………….……....... Spotlight Spotlight on Corporate Members by Kevin Salter ………….……..….. European News Critical Incident Stress Management – Workshop on Implementation Guidance by Patrik Peters and Philippe Domogala .....….........….........….........….........…........ ATC Global ATC Global by Philippe Domogala ………….………..................... Asia News Hot Spots by Phil Parker .………….……….……...….........….......... Africa News ASECNA Controllers Motivation by Mick Atiemo …..…............. Interview Serge Tchanda by Philippe Domogala ....................... Interview Mr. Youssouf Mahamat by Philippe Domogala .......... Agreement ASECNA-IFATCA ….........….........….........…........... Asia Pacific News Air Traffic Control in Iran by Alireza Haghighi …………............…..................... Charlie‘s Corner ……….……....……………..........….........….......
4 5 6 8 9 10 12 13 15 16 17 18 22
24 26 29 30 31 32 33 34 35
Residence: 24 Rue Hector Berlioz F 17100 LES GONDS, France DEPUTY EDITOR AND WEB SITE Philip Marien (EGATS) CORPORATE AFFAIRS Kevin Salter (Germany/UK) REGIONAL EDITORS Africa-Middle East: Mick Atiemo (Ghana) Americas: Emmanuel Cau (Guadeloupe) Phil Parker (Hong Kong) Patrik Peters (Europe) COPY EDITORS Paul Robinson, Helena Sjöström, Stephen Broadbent and Brent Cash PRINTING-LAYOUT LITHO ART GmbH & Co. Druckvorlagen KG Friesenheimer Straße 6a D 68169 MANNHEIM, Germany Tel: +49 3 22 59 10 email: info@lithoart-ma.de
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this magazine are those of the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations (IFATCA) only when so indicated. Other views will be those of individual members or contributors concerned and will not necessarily be those of IFATCA, except where indicated. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information contained in this publication is correct, IFATCA makes no warranty, express or implied, as to the nature or accuracy of the information. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or used in any form or by any means, without the specific prior written permission of IFATCA.
VISIT THE IFATCA WEB SITES:
www.ifatca.org and www.the-controller.net
Foreword Photo: Jo hn
st
Foreword from the Executive Board
W ag sia-Pacific VP A ,E aff
Statistics – Fact or Fiction?
^ by John Wagstaff, former EVP Asia Pacific Currently every TV news bulletin and every newspaper report gives us yet more bad news about the global economic crisis and if you read the aviation magazines they will give you similar information on the worldwide downturn in air transport and the desperate financial situation of every major airline. This is naturally having an effect on the overall traffic figures at airports with aviation authorities around the world reporting a decline in airport movements and en-route traffic.
These figures show Hong Kong had a 22% reduction in February from last October’s figure, Macao had a 37% shortfall, Narita a 5% decline and Changi a 15% drop in movements compared to the previous months. However when you look back a few years to 2004, 2005 and 2006, you can see that in every case, today’s ‘low’ figures were then the ‘high’ movement figures and those figures were widely proclaimed at the time as record statistics! An analysis of the statistics shows that the controllers’ workload for the past five years or more has been continuously increasing with little or no relief from additional staffing or recognition of their additional productivity through salary increments. Instead the controllers have implemented more efficient procedures, they have worked longer hours, they have accepted the additional pressure and handled the escalating workload with little dissent.
4 Hong Kong airport Photo Credit: Phil parker
Due to a number of reasons, the Asia region has been particularly hard hit with the latest IATA statistics showing a 13% reduction in passenger numbers and 25% reduction in cargo tonnage compared to this time last year. These are daunting figures, but like all statistics they can be interpreted in different ways with varying conclusions. The following table shows some statistics taken from the web sites of a number of aviation authorities in the Asia region:
Airport
This means that with today’s traffic levels and the airlines’ constant demands for improved economy and a continuing reduction in the environmental impact, the controller is able to use the skills and practices that they have developed during the past peak traffic times to provide an improved level of service to the reduced number of flights today. Some will claim that because the statistics show a clear reduction in traffic, there must
Monthly Movements
Hong Kong Airport
February 2009 21,235
October 2008 25,969
June 2005 21,334
Macao Airport
February 2009 3 347
December 2007 4,588
June 2004 3,414
Narita Airport
January 2009 15,714
August 2008 16,541
January 2006 15,427
Changi Airport January 2009 December 2008 These figures show Hong Kong had a 22% 20,774 18,074
be a reduction in the controllers’ workload and ANSPs, like airlines, should be cutting back on staff and limiting the hiring of new recruits. However the true picture is that whilst the number of flights may have reduced, the workload still remains high. For the past few years the workload has been managing the sheer volume of traffic with the minimum of delay. Today the workload is providing each flight with the most efficient and effective service – ensuring that all flights are given their optimum level and speed, that they get the most expeditious routeing and they get the best ecologically green flight profile.
The controller remains the most adaptable and flexible part of any air traffic system – do not let the statistics tell you otherwise. If you look at some more statistics from 4 or 5 years ago, those traffic levels were handled with numerous delays and many flight restrictions, which equated to lost time and money for the airlines. Today those same numbers of flights are handled with no delays and few, if any, restrictions – which should be good news for the airlines. The controller remains the most adaptable and flexible part of any air traffic system – do not let the statistics tell you otherwise. ^
john.wags@gmail.com
Average 2006 17,848
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Editorial
Editorial
Respect for US controllers and pilots Philippe Domogala, ^ by Editor Everyone in aviation likes to mock Americans. The target is easy of course, and in our profession everyone likes to joke about their way of speaking, their great liberties with ICAO phraseologies and their general disregard for internationally agreed rules. I just came back from a long trip to the USA where I visited MIAMI ARTCC and APP-TWR. You can read about it on pages 13 to 16. I flew VFR there, both in single engine-aircraft and in gliders and spoke to US pilots and controllers. I was also there during the now famous ditching of the US Air A320 in the Hudson River in New York and followed the event and its aftermath, like the interviews of both pilots and controllers involved, on television there. Now after that experience I am not sure I will mock US controllers anymore. Yes their way of doing ATC is totally different to what we do elsewhere, but for four main reasons: The sheer volume of traffic, the airspace they have, the very centralized organization they operate under the FAA, and the fact that well over 90 % of their operations are domestic. Speaking of volume, I come from the second busiest ACC in Europe (Maastricht UAC) with about 1,5 million movements a year. Well Miami ARTCC has 2,5 million movements a year and they only rank 8th of 22 in the USA. (Busiest is Atlanta with 3,2 Million) General Aviation (GA) VFR traffic in the USA is booming and is allowed everywhere. In Europe, in those states that allow GA VFR, many states have created class A and B fortresses around their main international airports. Some others even provided all their small regional airports, some with two commercial movements a day, with their very own Class D CTR! In the USA you can overfly VFR every major airport, and can even land in there for free! Flying VFR in the USA is easy and even fun, as it should be and the FAA is treating general aviation as a partner. In Europe it seems EASA is considering GA VFR pilots as a nui-
sance and impose new regulation over new regulation. Nothing there to mock the US. Now the Hudson River: If you listen to the ATC communications (check on YouTube, it is only 3 min) you have to show respect. Who among us controllers could react to this kind of emergency in such a way? For instance, coordinating an alternative airport/runway that fast and getting the OK from the other side immediately? Which other pilot could remain that cool on the R/T while deciding (and brilliantly executing) a very dangerous course of action? Nothing there to mock either. On the contrary, I think that our US colleagues, deserve our respect whether they are pilots or controllers. The economical crisis is hitting us hard at the moment, the bosses of our ANSPs are
preparing some measures, and as one of them said: “It is going to be difficult, painful and could turn ugly! “But many others said that this crisis could be an opportunity to change and “breathe” in order to be ready when the traffic will start up again. Because one thing is sure, traffic will come up again. Frankfurt Airport is predicting an 8% rize of traffic as soon as the crisis is over. Food for thought for everyone, especially those ANSPs that are considering reducing their control staff numbers because ed@ifatca.org of the crisis. ^ Enjoy this issue,
Philippe
4 Editor in USA Photo credit: Ilka S
After that experience I am not sure I will mock US controllers anymore. 4 Sidney Dekker book Photo credit: Ashgate
4 CNN screen shot Photo credit: BM/ cnn
JUST CULTURE BOOK IN HUDSON RIVER Captain Sullenburger, who so successfully landed an Airbus A320 in the Hudson river last January, left behind a library copy of Sidney Dekker's 'Just Culture' on the sinking plane. He said in an interview he was worried about the loss for the library. During a short ceremony on February 9th, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented him (and his colleagues) with the keys to the city but also with a replacement copy of the book. Capt Sullenburger said was pleased as he had yet to finish reading the book. Sidney Dekker’s book was reviewed in the June 2008 issue of The Controller.
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4 Australia
Australian controllers shortage
Lose Controllers, Lose Control Robert Mason, President, ^ by Civil Air, Australia
4 Sydney Control Tower Photo credit: Airservice Australia
of financial markets only lasts until the first person blinks and takes stock. Suddenly cold feet abound and the market crashes.
4 Rob Mason Photo credit: DP
There is no doubt that the rise of economic rationalism as the primary tranche of fiscal policy in most of the western world, particularly in the 1980s and 90s, has had a significant impact upon all of us. Globalisation of industry, removal of economic protections, and the dogmatic belief that unfettered capitalism will lead to better and more productive societies through simple market pressure are hallmarks of the modern world. But what happens when the underlying value of the system is no longer related to reality? The one-upmanship
Aviation rides these waves of global economic health but is also dramatically affected by security, health and fuel pricing. Historically these have been stormy waters indeed. Indeed the industry lurches from one crisis to the next. Many ANSPs are privatised, or run as user pays government businesses. This places them firmly in the world of profit making and inevitably focussed on the bottom line. Airlines, squeezed by economic downturn apply pressure to reduce charges to maintain viability and ANSPs seek, in turn, to reduce their cost structures. Ok, we understand that but what does it mean on the ground? Given that any ANSP has two major cost items, equipment and staff, where can “quick wins” be achieved? Reduce investment in infrastructure and staff. Programmed maintenance can be cancelled in favour of failure rectification. Equipment updates are deferred or reduced in scope. Whilst in most cases it is impractical to slash ATC workforces in times of downturn the same thing can be achieved by not training new staff, in itself a significant saving, and not replacing outgoing staff. Training institutions are “right-sized” or in fact slashed to the bone in the simplistic view that if it is not necessary to run the business today it is unnecessary cost. This belies
the philosophy of investing in success, something aviation has learnt the hard way. IFATCA offered on public record its view last year that the worldwide shortage of controllers is in the order of 3000. At its 49th annual conference in Dubrovnik this figure was updated to 5000. Controller shortages are not new news. Australia has an enviable air traffic safety record. We are fortunate to have relatively benign terrain, weather and sufficient national resources to operate a modern air traffic system. It is no secret that Australia, in 2008, seemed to reach a tipping point. With over 1000 NOTAMed airspace closures or reductions in service due to staffing shortages across the year, Australia’s staffing situation was and remains a topic of conversation in aviation circles across the world. Australia reduced to multiple contingency airspace arrangements every day almost beggars belief. No controller enjoys seeing airspace closed. As a profession we pride ourselves on the quality of service provided 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. How could it get so bad so quickly? Of course the story is not a one off event that leads to catastrophic failure but rather a “Reason Model” arrangement of many things going wrong that lead to the eventual collapse.
4 Controllers at work in
Australia TAAATS system
Photo credit: Airservices Australia
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4 Australia
4 Australian lowcost Airline Photo credit: DP
So for international readers what lessons can be learnt from Australia’s failures? Firstly, this didn’t happen overnight. The system has been under considerable stress for many years. Australia is currently in what appears to be a generational change in staffing. Past boom and bust approaches to recruitment have led to remarkably skewed age profiles. 26 years ago, in the midst of a staffing crisis requiring airspace closures, things were so desperate that there were airspace closures. Solution? Start 20 controller trainees every 6 weeks for 2 years. The few that remember further back will note a similar cycle in the mid – late 60’s. The [then] young recruits of the 80’s who now approach or have passed 50 years of age are considering retirement. Australian controllers, on average, retire at 52 with numbers falling rapidly beyond this age, in part due to the simple difficulty of managing shift work and meeting medical standards. There are but a handful of operational controllers in Australia aged 60. More than 40% of Australia’s controllers are either eligible to retire now or within 5 years. The lack of planning for this eventuality has been widely recognised within Australia, including by its ANSP, but effective management of the problem is yet to be resolved. Trainees are starting but this resource takes time to come on line and then further time to reach full capacity. So how does the system survive?
as planned. In many locations single person operations are already the norm and generally volumes of airspace are managed by only one controller at any one time.
Australian controllers are like our peers the world over. We are driven by a strong need to provide a service and safety always remains the top priority. For years the system has relied on controllers working considerable overtime to keep the system afloat. This systemic reliance on overtime has, to some extent hidden the real impact of staffing reductions over time. From a workforce of over 1100 a decade or so ago the workforce is now approximately 900 of whom about 760 are operational. This will sound familiar to many controllers the world around. Whilst it is true that Australia deliberately held controller numbers high to facilitate transition into our automated Air Traffic System, staff savings from automation have not been as great
Lastly look at the workforce. The ATC workforce globally has steadily declined over the past 10 years. To some extent this was expected with technical advances. What is more worrisome is that modelling for numbers is being done on technologies not yet proven, or indeed in some cases simply non-
With significant controller shortages worldwide, competition for this scarce resource has become fierce. Many nations actively recruit overseas (including Australia) and market forces are driving wages up in international locations, making overseas transfers attractive. Recent departures for Ireland, Germany, UAE and other Middle Eastern locations have stretched scant human resources such that application of overtime is no longer sufficient measure to sustain operations. So let’s review what happens in harsh times in business. First, streamline processes to reduce waste and duplication. Secondly, cut underperforming areas or outsource. Thirdly, reduce workforce to meet demand. Compare this with an ANSP’s view of the world. Streamline and reduce duplication – ok so far. Next, support areas such as training and procedures development are trimmed and in some cases excised entirely because they are expensive and essentially long term investments. Sadly that reduction in capacity shows immediately in improved bottom line but doesn’t begin to bite in real terms for a couple of years.
existent. 2 years ago Aviation Business magazine postulated a near future in which there would be a significantly improved Air Traffic System which at its heart had no Air Traffic Controllers. Indeed NASA has been working on cooperative airborne and ground based technologies that, in time, would obviate the need for human involvement in air traffic management. With increased capability in air to air communications, data exchange and processing power both ground based and airborne, industry may prefer a model in low density airspace which offers no services (and therefore charges). In such airspace aircraft could self separate using ADS-B in and other emergent technologies to mitigate collision risks without the need for an ANSP but... THE FUTURE IS NOT HERE YET. Those that thought they might wait and see how the future turns out can already see the writing on the wall. Recovering from skill and knowledge short falls takes years and exposes the system to unacceptably high levels of risk. We can't afford to lose more. Simply put, lose controllers, lose control. ^
rob.mason@civilair.asn.au
With over 1000 NOTAMed airspace closures or reductions in service due to staffing shortages across the year, Australia’s staffing situation was and remains a topic of conversation in aviation circles across the world.
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4 Morocco
Casablanca Air Traffic Control Centre ^
by Philippe Domogala, Editor
Photo credits: DP
Morocco is a huge country with a very large FIR. It of course includes the most part of the highly populated north but also the oceanic sectors above the Atlantic. The very busy routes between mainland Spain and the Canary Islands are to a large part controlled by Morocco and contribute significantly to the total traffic controlled by Casablanca ACC. The south of the country is more problematic. With the return to Morocco by Spain of the old Spanish Sahara some years ago, an agreement was made that Spain will continue to be responsible for the airspace above its old colony. Today the lower airspace below FL245, is controlled by the Canaries ACC, and airspace above FL245 is delegated to ASECNA, (the pan-international ATC organization), which meant that airspace was controlled initially by Senegal (Dakar ACC). Last year a new ACC was built, and the upper airspace of occidental Sahara is now controlled from the Nouakchott ACC in Mauritania.
There is currently only one ACC in Morocco, Casablanca ACC, which was heavily modernized in the last 2 years. Built by INDRA of Spain, the new ACC has all modern functions and full radar coverage above the whole FIR. It has currently eight sectors. There are plans to open a 2nd ACC in Agadir, in the south of the country, of the infrastructure has already started and with an operational date around 2012. This 2nd ACC will also serve as a back up for Casablanca. Presently Casablanca and Agadir airports have APP radar service in their TMAs. It is planned to implement also APP radar in the other main airports, Fez, Oujda and Tangier, and to transfer the current military control of Marrakech airport to the civilians. The status of the Moroccan controllers improved considerably in the last two years thanks to the work of their (new) controller’s association. They managed to convince their employer and their state administration to revise their statutes and to take the best of what has been done in Europe. This was helped with the fact that Morocco signed an agreement with both Eurocontrol and The European Union to be full part of the EU Single Sky initiative and SESAR projects. The controller association arranged to have the new ATC license being the equivalent to a Master degree (five years university education) putting them now at the same levels as the engineers. This enabled also a substantial
The status of the Moroccan controllers improved considerably in the last two years thanks to the work of their (new) controller’s association.
raise in their salaries as well. This also enables a full career structure, up to the highest echelons of management, positions previously reserved and held by engineers. The price to pay for this for the controllers was guarantee of social peace for three years and agree to extra productivity, by being available for extra duties. The current staff levels do not cover operational requirements, let alone covering other essentials tasks such as instruction and participation in various projects. As a result overtime in mandatory. (re-enforcement as it is called there). As a result many controllers today find themselves in a six days working week, with sometimes having their only time off during their sleeping day after a night shift! But everyone recognizes that this is a temporary situation and accept the sacrifices in exchange for the raise in status (and salary) they just received. Motivation of the controllers, especially the older generation is very high and is the current driving force behind the association. ^
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4 Morocco
Seminar in Morocco Philippe Domogala, ^ by Editor
Photo credits: DP
Last march the Moroccan controllers association organized a one day seminar with the theme: “Technological advances versus ecological choices“.
“I am responsible and I will take action myself to help prevent it from happening again.“ Blame culture is still hindering safety in too many control centers worldwide.
150 participants, mainly controllers (nearly half the total number of controllers in the country!) showed to everyone the dedication and the motivation of the controllers for such events. It was held in the ATC Academy, near the international airport in Casablanca. Many regional airports’ controllers teamed up in cars and drove 500 to 600 km to be present. The national television, two private radios and a major daily national newspaper covered the event. The seminar was opened by appropriate and long presentations from both the Director General of ONDA (the ANSP employer of the controllers) and the Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority. They both focused on the need to integrate the environment into our daily job and ATC had a big part to play, which should not be underestimated. “Protecting our planet for future generations is our duty“, he said.
The second part of the seminar was a round table discussion between the controllers and the Moroccan Pilot Association. A very passionate debate on many points, but a clear will to cooperate. This was the first of such a meeting in many years and both parties were truly pleased to be able to see each other again. As a result both associations will now have regular formal meetings, with the intent to resolve many local problems (like some badly designed procedures) and establish a mechanism where both associations can discuss problems when they occur and possibly arrange common positions and common statements, enhancing their influence. Restarting exchange visits by pilots to ATC facilities and having controllers in the cockpits again was also high on the agenda.
The most impressive and brilliant presentation was done by Mr. Brahim Kakar, a human factors expert on the needs for a sound and accepted “return on experience“mechanism, where reporting incidents, learning from them and implementing changes as a result was the only way to improve safety in any sector. Removing guilt and blame and transforming this into being responsible was the challenge. Although his presentation was not specifically for ATC, all the points demonstrated and the logic that followed was clearly applicable to all of us. The challenge is to move from a blame culture into a situation where after an incident, everyone from controller to top management will say,
The Moroccan association, under the leadership of Samir Berrakhla (President), and Abdellatif Matoual (Vice President) and their team behind them, is clearly doing an impressive job in their country. It was very interesting to meet Mohamed Bendadou again (now retired) who was President of the Moroccan association when I first visited the country in
1978. At that time, going to the ACC was a one hour journey on a badly paved road. The ACC was miles away from everything (still is!) and the front of the building was full of bicycles and mopeds. The only car was the service car, an old battered Renault4. Work was procedural despite a long promised radar whose antenna was turning in front of the terminal building of the airport for the benefits of tourists but never worked. Salaries were extremely low, like the status given by their management then. (The article about my 1982 visit to Morocco, published in the 1/83 Issue of The Controller, is now available on line at: www.the-controller.net/ morocco1983.htm) It is a great pleasure for me to be able to report that in Morocco, things evolved as they should and that controllers in at least one African state are far better off than they were 30 years ago. ^
ed@ifatca.org
The challenge is to move from a blame culture into a situation where after an incident everyone, from controller to top management will say, “I am responsible and I will take action myself to help prevent it from happening again.”
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4 Remote TWRs
Remotely-Operated Control Towers:
Fact or Fiction? Philippe Domogala, ^ by Editor Can an airport really be operated at a distance? That was the challenging question that LFV (the Swedish ANSP) and SAAB (the manufacturer of the system) posed when they offered a live demonstration of this technology in Malmo (Sweden) last March. Everyone is curious about the potential for such a concept, and 80 people from all over Europe and the USA were invited to witness the possibility. Thomas Allard, CEO of LFV, explained first that they had been working for three years on the concept, but that it is not certified yet. He noted that LFV was
established in 1939, 70 years ago exactly, but during that period little had changed in the way ATC was done in control towers (TWRs). He seemed convinced that this new concept was the future. After a series of small presentations on the technical system, the demo was held inside the Malmo ACC where they had a special room designed with what looked like a TWR simulator with 360 degree views, which they called a “Remote Tower Centre�. The live demo showed a Dash-8 being cleared to land, back-track on the runway, and take off from Angelholm airport (some 100 km away) by a TWR controller located in that room. The technology enabling this uses 9 highresolution cameras, plus a tilt-zoom camera to track things (similar to a binocular function) mounted on a mast on top of the actual TWR
4 Enhanced functions illustration Photo credit: Saab
at the airport. They also added some area microphones that enabled us to hear the aircraft engines and the wind blowing outside. The definition of the screens was adequate, but not spectacular. The cameras are very high definition, but the amount of data is such that to transmit this on a LAN cable would require 400 Mb/second while current LANs generally only carry 32 Mb/sec. To get around this, they use compression/decompression technique with fewer frames per second able to be used. This means that the moving objects jumping around a bit, but this not particularly disturbing. They also have of course all communications (telephone lines and VHF radios, and even radar departure displays) transferred and available as in the on-site TWR. There are some small technical problems (such as rain drops, salt deposit, and low sun
4 Inside the TWR centre Photo credit: DP
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4 Remote TWRs 4 Presentation demonstration room Photo credit: DP
glare on the cameras which detract from the resolution) but I have no doubt that these will be solved in the near future. Controllers involved in the demo talked of other more serious problems, which are detailed in their interview on the next page. While the technical abilities of the system to operate remotely were demonstrated for me without any reservations, what I found to be far less obvious was the regulatory aspects of the concept. Although a recent amendment to ICAO DOC 7030 allows for "replacing outside visual views“, the concept of remotely operating visual control at airports disturbs a lot of existing standards in many ICAO documents. This may eventually be overcome as well, but for me the most difficult nut to crack will be the notion of having a single controller operating two or three airports at the same time. Certification of that will require a lot of convincing argument. The LFV conceded that safety was an issue. They said they had had a constructive dialogue with the Swedish CAA, their regulator, and obtained permission to try live trials for a little over a month. The airlines participating in these trials are very supportive. Kristian Nyblom, Vice President of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) crew base in Stockholm, is very supportive as they see this as another way of reducing their operating costs. He said “No-one is making money in the airline business today, so every move to reduce costs is more than welcome." Co-operation between everyone involved in the industry is welcome if we want to maintain passenger confidence in aviation. The LFV is pushing the concept as a real costreduction – no need to keep expensive controllers and related infrastructure located in small regional airports with very little traffic. One of the presentations emphasized this by reminding the guests that solely in Scandinavia there were 70 such airports including 25 of them in Sweden. They reiterated that in the last 60 years nothing had really changed in those airports, which still used basic tools with minor upgrades because the limited traffic did not encourage major investments there. However if the regulatory aspect of having one controller handling several airports is not solved, there will be no advantage because simply locating the same staff elsewhere using a new technology does not really reduce the costs. Another small difficulty is that in the regional airports, controllers perform other tasks (such
as weather observation and checking runways, etc) which will have to be performed by someone else. Although this person may be paid less, nevertheless it is someone in addition to the existing set up. But there are many advantages in this concept – The creation of one (or more) Control Tower Centres would enable not only several control towers to be co-located, but also they would be using a single system. This implies easy redundancy (of equipment), no need to replace or rebuild control towers and associated buildings, and harmonisation of equipment and work procedures (as everyone knows, there are no two identical control towers in the world!). Work procedures and licensing could be harmonised, and controllers (who are often reluctant to be posted in remote areas with little work/traffic) would obtain job-enrichment when working in a “TWR Centre”.
tres replacing all of them. The response to the demo was interesting to see. Many ANSP representatives saw this as a clear possibility to reduce their ATM costs at regional airports using this technology once it has been certified and becomes available for sale. The FAA looked especially interested, as they have hundreds of regional airports that could be concerned with this. The Swedish Controller Association (SATCA) is carefully monitoring the subject, which is already a hot topic for discussion within IFATCA’s Technical and Operational Committee (TOC). ^
For me the very interesting part of the demo was the so-called advanced possibilities of the system – automatic videotracking of any object (vehicle, aircraft, even person), and enhanced picture contrast and visibility, combined with the possibility to attach an identification label, offer a lot of possibilities for existing TWRs at any airport. Maintaining runway capacity in low visibility operations comes to mind, or monitoring/assisting the prevention of runway incursions, etc. Curiously the LFV is not pushing that aspect (yet?) they are concentrating on the remote control aspect for regional airports, and the possibility of one or more central TWR cen-
4 Observation Camera used
Photo credit: DP
“No-one is making money in the airline business today, so every move to reduce costs is more than welcome.” (SAS Vice President)
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4 Remote TWRs
Interview with Controllers involved in Remote Tower Tests
^
4 Inside the remote Tower Centre
by Philippe Domogala, Editor
We are pleased with some parts of the technology and we would like to see it developed to make it useable in all the air traffic control towers! But[..]we do not know if the remotely-operated towers concept can become a reality or not in the future. Philippe: You are the controllers at Ă„ngelholm, Sweden (ESTA) currently working on the tests. Are you happy with the concept itself? No, we are not happy with the concept itself. We don't believe that one real Control Tower (TWR) replaced with one "remote-TWR" will generate any savings, either financial or operational. We believe that gathering several towers in a "Remote Cen-
tre" will even decrease the flexibility and availibility for the customers. Our professionalism as air traffic controllers deteriorates significantly because we cannot make use of visual separation to the same extent as we can today. Ph: If moving a single aircraft remotely seems quite okay, how is it with a few more (say 5 or 10 VFRs)? We agree that one aircraft at a time can be handled remotely in any visibility and light conditions. When using visual separations, or in order to support a well organised air traffic service with several aircraft involved, we think that this is almost impossible due to the poor picture quality. It is difficult to see the aircraft in the traffic circuit. This takes away a lot of your capacity.
Photo credit: SAAB AB
The cameras that have been used during our period of validation are not good enough as the picture is not sufficiently sharp. You see the traffic much later than in real operations or even not at all. Vehicles and obstacles on the runway are hard to detect, birds are very hard to detect. The cameras are also sensitive to outside influence, such as snow and rain. What if a camera stops functioning needs to be addressed as well? We are also not pleased with the interface (HMI) – we think that it is very complex and that it reduces capacity from the controller. This also means that we will be moving from a beautiful daylight working environment into a dark one. Finally the projectors in the Remote TWR Centre make quite a lot of noise which is tiring. Ph: What would be your conclusion then?
Ph: With your experience so far of the system, can you see the possibility, as claimed by some, that one controller could work 3 or 4 regional airports at the same time from a TWR centre? No, we don't understand how this will be possible. We foresee a high risk of errors or mixups in the changes between airports. Also we are not sure how the airlines would react to the delays that will certainly occur, as you can only work/control one airport at a time. Ph: What are the shortcomings, according to you, that need to be rectified before one can go to the next step?
We are pleased with some parts of the technology and we would like to see it developed to make it useable in all the air traffic control towers! For example, the electronic strips and the zoom camera are very good. But even though technology is constantly evolving, we do not know if the remotely-operated towers concept can become a reality or not in the future. We have drawn the attention to the project management of all the problems mentioned above, and are waiting to see what the next step will be. ^
ed@ifatca.org
4 View from the top Photo credit: SAAB AB
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4 USA 4 MIAMI centre Photo credit: NATCA
Visiting Miami Control Centre Philippe Domogala, ^ by Editor How is the situation of the controllers in the USA? One hears many stories. So, using a private trip in the USA last February, I visited the three MIAMI ATC facilities (Centre, Tracon and MIA Tower) Nice buildings and technical facilities, but with insufficient staff to operate it. Same story, in fact, as in many others countries in the world. The centre is located some five miles away from the airport in an industrial area next to a motorway intersection and close to a coffee beans roasting factory which leaves a nice coffee smell when the wind blows in the right direction. Security to get in is very tough. My contact was Danny AGUERRE, from NATCA, but even with a visit authorization requested a month before, it still took us 30 min to pass security paperwork, scanners and all.Once inside the modern building, it feels like any other ATC centre in the world. But the ops room is very dark, quite large and is divided in cubicles, each separated from the other and each with its own function. The “controlling” part is divided into six areas, each area having typically six to eight sectors. Each area is a separate as far as training is concerned and controllers normally only validate in one area. The first “cubicle“in the room is the weather unit. At the moment each ACC has its own weather unit. But Danny tells me that there are plans to remove those units in the near fu-
ture and have a centralized one for the whole USA. “In our environment, having direct access to a local meteorologist is invaluable” says Danny. “Especially during the hurricane or thunderstorms season“she adds. The next cubicle is the one of the maintenance department, monitoring the systems, frequencies, etc. To have them in the ops room is also seen as positive. Directly opposite is the Flow Management cubicle. The local unit monitors a new system called CTAS, which is an arrival management tool. “It works very well” says the ATFM supervisor on duty. “We manage to smooth the traffic quite a lot thanks to it“. Today, restrictions are caused almost equally 50/50 by weather and capacity (called volume here). However, there still seems to be a lot of en-route holding. I learn that the main reason is that there is a tendency to wait until the last minute to impose restrictions. “We have of course fewer delays like this, which is what the airlines want, but then when we do it at the last minute, the result is holding of course “says the ATFM supervisor.
4 Console in Miami centre Photo credit: NATCA
after a few explanations, one can see the pattern behind it. The main screen is the standard 2000x2000 square color display, but used mainly in a monochrome function (only the weather is displayed with three color shades). There are
The system (DSR) The six “control” cubicles are using a main system called DSR built by Lockheed Martin. The working station is very impressive, with lots of information boxes spread over five or six screens. With the dark ambiance, it looks a bit like entering a DC8 cockpit. But
Normal sector load is 15 to 20 a/c at the same time.
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4 USA no strips anymore, except for the non-radar, procedural sectors over the ocean. Instead they use a screen with electronic information in a striplike form. Coordination between sectors and centers is automated, with acceptance inputs visible on the a/c label on the radar display. Inputs are done via a normal QWERTY keyboard and a
it as it is much easier to operate than the 1969 technology it replaced. Danny said: “It is user friendly, with many helpful tools allowing the information to be readily available on the scope“.
Data link: In 2004 data link trials were done in the MIAMI centre, for the radar sectors in an attempt to reduce frequency congestion. The project looked promising but the trials were stopped that same year due to lack of funding. Apparently the airlines were not willing to spend money for equipment unless the FAA guaranteed benefits, so the project ended and there are no plans in the near future to use it again.
Traffic load Traffic in MIA is complex. MIA centre handled 2,5 million movements in 2007, and is ranking 8th of the 22 ACCs in the USA. There is a mix of general aviation, commercial airlines and cargo (Mia airport is the 2nd busiest cargo airport in the USA), but also many business jets operating from South America to the expensive resorts in Florida like Palm Beach for instance.
4 MIAMI TRACON scope Photo credit: NATCA
roller-ball. An interesting feature of the system is the so called Computer Identification or CID. This is a three letter/ digit combination, which also appears on the a/c radar label and that is used by the controllers to make inputs into the system. Controllers prefer this, as typing three keys is much faster than typing the whole call sign. DSR became operational in February 2000, and is quite reliable. Controllers like Photo credit: DP
The capacity of the sectors is not done in a/c per hour (like in Europe), but in occupancy (i.e. number of aircraft simultaneously on the sector). Normal sector load is 15 to 20 a/c at the same time, above 21 the sector goes “red” and restrictions are imposed to unload the sector.
Controller shortage and training: The situation is so bad in MIA and in the USA in general (see article on this subject page16) that training is becoming a real issue as well. Training at the moment starts in a school (recently privatized) where people selected and recruited from the street stay about three months, then they are evaluated and sent
to a facility. In MIA centre they are given six to eight weeks basic local knowledge on the area, mainly map learning, and then will fulfill the function of “strip distributor”. They will be performing this elementary task for anything between six months and a year. They will then join the unit training department here in the centre, for about eight months. They will receive controller assistant, radar and non-radar training and evaluation. If they are successful, they will be assigned to an “area” in the ACC for on the job training (OJT) This OJT can take up to two years for becoming fully validated on all sectors in that area. But because of the staff shortage, it has become common to qualify the trainee on one or two sectors only, so that they can be “used” earlier. The total success rate is currently only about 50 %. The main problem for the US controllers is the current lack of contract. Controllers are working to what they called “imposed work rules” since September 2006. You have to know that NATCA (the Association/Union representing the controllers) was negotiating in 2006 a new contract and a new salary deal with the FAA. Under US Federal laws, if negotiations are unsuccessful, congress has 60 days to intervene. What happened was that during the negotiations the FAA declared an “impasse” in the negotiations and went to Congress, which in turn did not respond within the 60 days, so according to the law, the FAA can then impose its own working rules based on their last “best offer”. This had some dramatic effects, like reducing the pay of controllers by 30%. Although this pay cut is not applicable to existing controllers, it affects the new recruits. This has resulted in difficulties in retaining new controllers. Many of the new recruits, once discovering the working conditions, the final pay, are not very motivated to stay on and some resign to get better paid jobs in other industries right after training. This constant lack of staff is creating more pressure on the remaining controllers, where six days work per week is slowly becoming the norm. Those extreme working conditions are not motivating new recruits to stay on, the perfect vicious circle. The current economic crisis has slowed down, or even reduced traffic loads, hence smoothing the staff shortage effect. But it is when the traffic will pick up again, that the situation will become really critical. MIA centre handles currently 7500 a/c a day in the winter, down to 8500 in the last two years. ^
ed@ifatca.org
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4 USA
Visiting the Miami Tracon and Control Tower
4 Inside Miami control tower Photo credits: DP
4 The runway/taxiway system
4 Miami airport seen from the air
The MIA TRACON (combined approach control for some large southern Florida airports) is located right below the control tower, in the middle of the airport complex. Controllers there are still mixed qualified TWR-APP but that has not been without difficulties.
the ACC, no strips and automatic coordination. The main workload is the integration of the relatively heavy mix between MIA international airport and Fort Lauderdale. In the south there are military airbases and some small general aviation fields close by.
The FAA wanted to split both APP and TWR training but every controller was against it. The NATCA local president, James MARINITTI, had to go to congress and explain the problems associated with this split, and he won the issue, so at least for now, APP and TWR controllers in MIA keep their dual ratings. The combined facility is planned for 100 controllers, There are currently 94, but only 57 are qualified. It also becomes very difficult to qualify new controllers as, under the new rules, people from the school are directly coming to facilities as complex as Miami, as opposed as coming via a smaller airport, as was the case before. “Until recently, coming to MIA was an upgrade in a controller’s career, unfortunately that is no longer the case“notes James MARINITTI, from NATCA.
The TWR is very high and modern. Two air controllers and two ground controllers are managing the three parallel runways that are used simultaneously. Normally it is 8R for departures and 8L for visual landings and 9 for ILS landings. A fourth diagonal runway can also be used. “Since we have the third parallel runway, things are moving very well and almost all delays have disappeared”, says James. “The FAA has this thing about technology, but in fact it is often the low tech solutions that provide the most benefits” he adds.
The APP room is extremely dark (as most US ops rooms) uses the same new technology as
Since we have the third parallel runway, things are moving very well and almost all delays have disappeared.
ed@ifatca.org
4 MIA control Tower Photo credit: DP
In addition to the four “working controllers“ there is another one used for clearance delivery (also using ACARS data link for this) and a sixth one acting as supervisor/coordinator, who is in fact the “extra pairs of eyes“. During my visit every active controller position was doubled, as training was given on all of them, so it was a little crowded. The atmosphere was very pleasant and relaxed. Controllers in MIA in general are very motivated to give the best service possible. It is the lack of contract and the apparently strained relations between NATCA and the FAA that is corrupting the atmosphere. Let’s hope that the new Obama administration will appoint the right people at the FAA top that will heal the current situation, provide more controllers and above all a good working contract for them. ^
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4 USA
Staff shortage in USA and in Miami in particular Steven A. Wallace, ^ by NATCA Below is an extract from the testimony of a Miami Controller, Steven A. Wallace, before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Subcommittee on Aviation of the US Congress on June 11, 2008. I began air traffic controller training in the Miami center and was fully certified in October of 1995. At that time, there were 196 fully certified controllers and 108 trainees, and Miami center handled just over 1.5 million aircraft operations a year. While in training, my advancement classes were spaced several months apart. During those gaps in my training, I would season and gain experience using my newly acquired skills and knowledge. My total training time was just over 3 years.
The better resource management that the agency refers to translates to mandatory six-day work weeks comprised of 10-hour days for me.
During days when the traffic was high, it was mandated that many of the busiest positions be staffed with three controllers. Five years ago, that mandate was two controllers. Now, it is not uncommon to have no one to help you when we work 10,000 operations. Miami center’s authorized number for full performance level controllers was 279 for many years. This number was the result of many factors including the number of aircraft and operational positions. Now, that number is 197. This is nothing more than a way to conceal the fact that they cannot attract and keep enough air traffic controllers at the Miami center. The FAA likes to say that it is managing resources better than they did years ago. The better resource management that the agency refers to translates to mandatory six-day work weeks comprised of 10-hour days for me. Ten years ago, it was unacceptable for an en route controller like myself to work more than two hours on-position without a break. Now, my co-workers and I work three hours at a time. I have watched as my fellow co-workers have retired as soon as they were eligible because they want their lives back. The six-day workweeks, ten-hour days on rotating shifts, and the increased stress of working at your highest-performance level without making a mistake has taken its toll on many of my co-workers. I have watched as many of them have become so stressed out, so worn down, so fatigued, and so preoccupied with not making a fatal mistake that they have quit at Miami center. 17 developmental controllers have resigned since July of last year. That is 17 more than all of the other years that I have worked as an air traffic controller.
Four additional developmental controllers have failed the training program. The FAA has taken many supervisors and moved others to jobs outside of the job of talking to airplanes. This has only exacerbated the staffing problem. I have watched as 12 coworkers have left due to mental or physical illness from stress and fatigue. In a workforce of 192 fully-certified controllers and 84 developmental controllers, these 33 retirees, training failures and resignations represent 18 percent of the workforce, leaving Miami center with essentially the same number of controllers that we had in 1992, when we were working more than one-million fewer annual operations. There will be 19 controllers eligible to retire at Miami Center at the end of this year, even more next year, and still more until 2011 and beyond. The problems at Miami center of understaffing, and the associated fatigue, increased delays, inadequate training, and shrinking safety margins, will only continue to get worse for the foreseeable future unless something is done soon to alleviate the situation. Editor’s note: in March 2009 the latest figure for Miami ACC are still for 279 fully certified controllers but there are only 198 fully qualified, 81 trainees and 10 more expected to arrive from Oklahoma in the next months. ^
www.natca.org
4 Dumping controllers? Photo credit: DP
Today, there are 192 fully certified controllers and 84 developmental controllers and Miami center routinely posts operational numbers exceeding 2.5 million aircraft operations per year. Fifteen years ago, on a busy day the Miami center would average 5,000 operations.
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4 Americas News
Does the Caribbean region need a centralized Flow Control?
4 Guadeloupe
control tower on fire.
Photo credit: EC
Emmanuel Cau, ^ by Controller in Guadeloupe Flow management in Europe The Central Flow Management Unit (CFMU) plays a major role in Europe, avoiding the saturation of the airspace and ensuring the capacity of all ATC facilities are used at their best. Flow management in Europe was first implemented locally in the 80s, when the air traffic was increasing as never before. Its aim was to protect the controllers from sudden traffic rise but it really became efficient only when it was centralized in Brussels in the mid 90s. The reason is simple: any limitation in entry of a control sector has immediate repercussions on its neighbours, increasing their workload and resulting in the need for a flow control for themselves, like a chain reaction. The only solution is to anticipate the problems and consider a flight from its take off to landing, but that takes a lot of preparation and staff to coordinate the companies and ATC facilities. The very dense airspace of Europe and the strategic/economic stakes involved made it possible to create the CFMU and to improve it over the years to the point that it is now an integrated part of the Air Traffic Flow Management, with Flow Management Positions in every centre.
In Caribbean? The Caribbean doesn’t have the same air traffic density, the airspace is rarely saturated and today there is no need, in normal operating conditions, to enforce flow management. On some occasions, like the Cricket world cup, there has been some flow control procedures coordinated with all the facilities, but it was for a small period of time and was highly anticipated. There are cases where a flow control needs to be put in place for a much longer period and doing so without coordination with all the facilities concerned can lead to long delays and a drastic loss of service quality for the airlines.
4 Equipment room damage. Photo credit: EC
Fire in the Tower There is a very good example that affected the whole Caribbean region for six months in 2008 after a fire in the technical room in Guadeloupe destroyed all equipments, including: radio, radar, flight plan information and phone lines. Guadeloupe is a French West Indies island where radar approach and en-route control are provided until flight level 245. Its central position in the Caribbean Leeward Islands makes it a mandatory transit path for traffic to and from Puerto-Rico, St Maarten, Antigua, Dominica, Martinique, Saint-Lucia, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. All those countries and islands suffered from the flow control in Guadeloupe and so did their local airlines. After the fire,the capacity of the enroute sector was divided by 5 resulting in very long delays and many flight cancellations. The lack of anticipated flow management procedures meant that everything had to be coordinated at the last moment on the telephone, with unreliable lines. The only tool we
The lack of anticipated flow management procedures meant that everything had to be coordinated at the last moment on the telephone, with unreliable lines. had was a start-up request for all flights, slots would be allocated based on the little experience everyone had. Problems came when slots weren't respected or misunderstood resulting in grounding the planes from Guadeloupe as they were the only ones we really had a real time control on. Ensuring a fair repartition of slots and the best use of the capacity available was impossible. This situation was discussed at the 2008 IFATCA Regional Meeting in Jamaica with Trinidad and Tobago, who provides en-route control over the whole Caribbean Region. We agreed on contacting all ATC facilities concerned to start a joint study, at the controllers level, to ensure such events won’t have the same repercussions over the whole region. ^
manubigs@gmail.com
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4 IFATCA Conference
Dubrovnik 2009
Conference Report Philippe Domogala (Editor) Philip Marien (Deputy Editor) with ^ by contributions from Akos van der Plaat and Bert Ruitenberg.
Zeljko Oreski, the president of the Croatian Air Traffic Controllers Association and Jaksa Zizak, Chairman of the organizing Committee, together with their team of more than 20 Croatian controllers, did a magnificent job in organizing this conference.
4 Opening ceremony Photo credit: DP
IFATCA members warmly welcomed 3 new member associations: Burundi, Somalia and Korea. In addition, the conference also marked the full return of a former member: Brazil. FEBRATCA, the federation of all controllers in Brazil is back with 1000 members. While the military authorities in Brazil prevented the associations’ president to travel, they were represented by their lawyer, Dr Roberto Sobral who gave an acceptance speech that reminded all of us on how fragile the situation of controllers still is in some countries (see box).
IFATCA as Lobby Organisation in ICAO 4 Dubrovnik city by air Photo credit: DP
4 Conference room Photo credit: Eugen Miljan
To summarize: an excellent location and an excellent organizing team made sure this years’ IFATCA Annual conference was again a success. Five hundred participants from 77 different countries met near the wonderful historical city of Dubrovnik in Croatia during 5 days to debate the burning issues in today’s ATM environment.
Technical Committee Chairman, Akos van der Plaat, said that IFATCA is taking firm steps towards becoming a powerful lobby organization by influencing ICAO Panel work. Some of IFATCA Panel Representatives wrote up to 4 working papers at Panel Meetings, therewith pushing the IFATCA policy at the highest, global level. As an example, the recently accepted policy on ADS-B Single Emergency Codes has already resulted in an opportunity to become part of the process of drawing up solutions within ICAO. And this is just one example. The conference also decided to establish a permanent representative in Montreal at the ICAO Air Navigation Commission. This is the next step in the continuous efforts to become a powerful lobby organization.
Technical Work Study Items The technical working papers discussed during the conference covered a wide range of subjects, such as In-Trail Procedures, Automatic Dependent Surveillance Rebroadcast, a Review policy on Downstream Clearances via Data Link, Advanced Offset Procedures,
Go-Around Procedures when on Visual Approach, etc. The Executive Board presented an environmental policy for the federation. Some items generated a lot of debate, like the go-around procedures while executing a visual approach: research done by our pilot friends at IFALPA showed that there is no clear and global procedure for an aircraft to do a go-around on a visual approach. Many member associations confirmed this during the discussion that followed. Even though not all recommendations were carried, the subject is now clearly on the table and will certainly return next year. On the topic of Advanced Offset Procedures: instead of approaching this from the perspective of an ideal world and negatively listing all the issues that the federation has with the subject, we took a much more constructive approach. Instead of rejecting the concept, a list of requirements of what we would like to see met, in order to support such concepts. The presence of the Deputy Director of the ICAO Air Navigation Bureau, Mr. Vince Galotti, during all of the technical discussions and his valuable input during the debates, is proof of the fact that IFATCA is heading in the right direction.
Professional Committee The committee was chaired as usual by Bert Ruitenberg, IFATCA Human Factor Specialist. New policy was accepted on ATM performance, a very complex topic indeed. Also, a review of the ICAO Manual on the Prevention of Runway Incursions resulted in updated policy on the use of stop bars. Furthermore new policy was adopted on Mixed Mode Operations, to replace the existing policy that was found to be open to misinterpretation when used at external events. Another result is the adoption of policy on Fatigue Management Systems, an area for which there was no policy before. Overall, the Professional and Legal Committee (PLC) had prepared high-quality
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4 IFATCA Conference
4 Akos Chairing Committee B
4 The Organising committee bosses
working papers. In one of these papers, PLC reviewed the existing policy on controller retirement, which led to the conclusion that indeed the existing policy is still valid. It also led however to the adoption of two additional policies on this subject, one of which is asking employers to make available a course that helps prepare active controllers for life after their ATC career.
(Belgium) to Ms. Marjolein Hooijboer (The Netherlands). Mr. Maesen steps down after having been the Chair for 8 years and his outstanding work for PLC and the Federation was acknowledged by means of a standing ovation.
Photo credit: DP
Highly informative briefings on chemical dependency, education and sleep apnoea were given. The Executive Board provided detailed and sobering information on the status of implementation of the English Language Proficiency Requirements, and controller shortages around the world. This year furthermore marks the handover of the chair of the PLC from Mr. Geert Maesen
Photo credit: Eugen Miljan
The Future During the conference Alexis Brathwaite was re-elected Deputy President for the next 2 years and so was Henry Nkondokaya as EVP Africa Middle East. Andrew Beadle from Australia was elected as EVP Technical and Raymond Tse of Hong Kong elected as EVP Asia Pacific, both also for the next 2 years. The 2010 IFATCA conference will be held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, from 12 to 16 April, while the 2011 Conference, the 50th of IFATCA, will be held in Amman, Jordan. ^
4 Bert chairing Comm C Photo credit: Eugen Miljan
4 TOC meeting
Photo credit: Eugen Miljan
4 Marc Baumgartner, president pleased with the Conference
Photo credit: Eugen Miljan
Photo credit: Eugen Miljan
The conference decided to establish a permanent representative in Montreal at the ICAO Air Navigation Commission. THE
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4 IFATCA Conference 4 View Airport apron Photo credit: DP
4 Inside Approach (Igor CARMAK, Dubrovnik APP controller)
Photo credit: DP
Dubrovnik Airport Dubrovnik airport is one of the small international airports. It has a 3300m runway that can accept all aircraft up to B747. While the airport welcomed 1,2 million passengers last year, 70% of those came during the summer months. During the peak season, it has 120130 commercial aircraft movements a day, bringing tourists to that beautiful area. The main local airline is Dubrovnik Airline operating 5 MD82/83s to European destina-
tions. Croatia Airlines provides a few daily flights with the Capital Zagreb using A320 types. The 23 controllers there are all dual licensed TWR/APP. Their equipment is considered adequate and the working conditions correct. Approach control is provided using two radars, in a class D TMA from ground to FL155. Although the airport is only open from 0530 to midnight, ATC is there on 24h basis. ^
4 Dubrovnik airport TWR Photo credit: DP
4Robert Fox, pilot and owner While in Dubrovnik I made a small VFR flight in a Piper Seneca partly owned by a local Controller, Eugen Miljan. The aircraft is part of Fox Air, a small air taxi company located on the airport. They started the airline 2 years ago to provide local businessmen with fast and comfortable air travel to
the islands and other Croatian cities. They also regularly fly on demand to Italy and Greece. The airline plans to add a second aircraft by the end of the year. Their business model is solid; as the demand for such flights is increasing.
of the company
And having a local controller as part-owner of the company certainly helps operating the aircraft. More details on www.foxair.hr ^
4The Seneca aircraft Photo credits: DP
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Brazil situation update During the Conference, Dr Roberto Sobral, the Brazilian controllers’ associations’ lawyer, gave a speech accepting their return within IFATCA.
fired, and some were sent to jail. They were replaced by young controllers trained in an extremely short time. Most don’t even not master the required level of English.
He said, among other things, that most unfortunately in Brazil the freedom to affiliate to a professional Association has been denied to the military controllers which are controlling the civil airspace there. They also denied the associations’ President and Vice-President to attend to this Conference. Dr Sobral said that since the collision in Sept 2006, most experienced controllers have been removed from operational duties. Some were persecuted, some were
“Controllers, especially in the ACC’s, are not allowed to file occurrence forms, so most failures and incidents remain hidden“, he said. It seems authorities are desperate to restore the illusion of safety somehow…
Introducing Raymond TSE, New EVP ASIA-PACIFIC Raymond obtained his first Aerodrome Control Rating in 1984. Since then Ihe worked as Air Traffic Controller in Hong Kong International Airport and completed all his Air Traffic Control Ratings (Area and Approach Procedural and Radar Control) by 1989. He was also keen in flying and obtained his private pilot license and was later responsible for the formulation of the operational requirements and the acceptance of the new air traffic control systems for the new Hong Kong International Airport in Chek Lap Kok.First attendance at an IFATCA Conference was in Hong Kong in 2004. Four years later, in 2008, he attended the IFATCA Regional Meeting (Asia Pacific) in Hong Kong as President of Hong Kong Air Traffic Control Association. “I look forward to the challenging tasks of the post of EVP ASP and shall address the issues and problems to the best of my ability.” He said. ^
4 Raymund Tse
Lastly, he said that the Brazilian controller association FEBRATCA has decided to file criminal charges against all individual members of the high command of the Brazilian Air Force. The action is now in the hands of the
4 Dr Sobral. Receiving the Affiliation
charter with Christoph Gilgen, who has been actively supporting themsince the collision.
Photo credit: DP
Brazilian Supreme Court and is expected to go to trial during the year 2009. Three controllers are still being prosecuted in Brazil. Two were acquitted earlier this year. ^
Andrew Beadle, is (again) our new IFATCA EVP Technical Andrew comes from Australia, has 28 years ATC experience in all areas of air traffic control and on a very wide range of equipment. Andrew has 7 years previous experience as EVP Technical and has just been nominated as IFATCA's representative to the ICAO Air Navigation Commission. ^ Photo credit: AB
Eliminating stress “E-Rejuvenation, the way to prevent and release stress“according to the advert. During the conference, this company offered 60minutes massage and relaxation sessions especially targeted for air traffic controllers. The Croatian Controllers already benefit from this program and are very pleased with it. The free demonstrations sessions were aimed at advertising the program to other employers. E-rejuvenation sessions are also part of a post critical incident / accident therapy. I participated to 2 of the sessions and I must admit you feel very relaxed and full of energy afterwards. A very good idea. For more information visit their website: www.erejuvenation.com ^
Photo credit: RT
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4 Showing demo session Photo credit: DP
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SPOTLIGHT
Spotlight on Corporate Members
to: Kevin Sa Pho lte r
Salter ^ Kevin Contributing Editor, Corporate Affairs Welcome to Spotlight. In this second issue in 2009, I have looked once more at the difficult demand ahead of all operational personnel in the very near future, the final stages of meeting the certification criteria for ICAO language
proficiency. In discussions with John Lucke, Vice-President Training, of one of our Corporate Members in the USA, Carnegie Speech Company, I found that a training product had been developed in conjunction with a UK based language school, Mayflower College, to assist controllers and pilots to reach the ICAO requirement. After speaking with John, he kindly agreed to support Spotlight by providing information so we can present you with an overview of their new training product
Climb Level 4: How to meet the ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements (LPR’s) Everyone seems to agree: ICAO Language Proficiency Requirements are a good idea. After all, when empirical data shows that over 70% of a sample of 28,000 incidents and accidents were caused by poor language skills, action needs to be taken. There is, however, little consensus among ATCOs – as well as within Service Providers themselves – on exactly what that action should be.
aviation context, requires ongoing, dedicated effort by students, trainers and aviation organisations. Challenge 2: Classroom-based training can be inconvenient Moving pilots and ATCOs between work and classroom causes a host of operational problems. Furthermore, if classroom English training focuses on group instruction rather than each student’s unique English learning requirements, inconvenience and inefficiencies are increased. Challenge 3: Competent, experienced English instructors are rare. In most countries there is an extreme shortage of skilled Aviation English instructors, specifically instructors who are trained linguists and can also understand the work and licensing requirements of pilots and controllers.
latest in Speech Recognition technology that allows users to improve their spoken English. The program is accessed via the internet, allowing for self-paced instruction or complementing traditional classroom training.
Climb Level 4 Curriculum, Modules and Instruction Because the Climb Level 4 curriculum was jointly developed by trained linguists and aviation professionals, all exercises are set in an Aviation context. With nine (9) learning modules, including Time, Duration and Schedules, Health, People, Weather, Technology, Aerodromes, Cargo, Materials and Fire, Communication, and Navigation, Movement and Geography, Climb level 4 provides comprehensive English instruction for ICAO Level 4 or Level 5 proficiency.
Challenge 4: Most English training programs are not relevant to the aviation community There is a wealth of material to teach General English – but there are very few materials which succeed in preparing Aviation professionals for the ICAO LPRs. For training to be effective and relevant it must cover the content that pilots and controllers need in both routine and non-routine situations.
Climb Level 4: Optimising Proficiency, Efficiency, Convenience and Cost
ICAO LPRs require ATCOs to overcome well known hurdles and challenges to learning a new language, including:
Aware of the English learning challenges facing the aviation community, Mayflower College, an internationally recognised Aviation English school, and Carnegie Speech, the leader in computerized language learning, co-developed Climb Level 4 – an online English training solution that prepares aviation professionals for ICAO Level 4 testing quickly and cost-effectively.
Challenge 1: Effective language training takes time and money. Learning a new language, especially in an
Launched earlier this year, Climb Level 4’s comprehensive, flexible and personalised English training curriculum includes the
Climb Level 4 starts by assessing each student’s English skills and providing personalised instruction to prepare students to reach Level 4 or Level 5 status. To illustrate: • The vocabulary exercises have been designed to help students with word recognition, the use of words in context and the correct production of words. • The Grammar curriculum teaches the most important grammatical points required to reach ICAO Level 4 and above.
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SPOTLIGHT • Comprehension requires understanding a range of international accents, aviation concepts, and aviation vocabulary and grammar • Fluency teaches appropriate rate of speech and minimises pausing • Pronunciation trains students on the proper word stress, rhythm and intonation to enable clear English speech in multiple environments • Interaction instruction enables immediate, appropriate and informative responses and exchanges in the event of unanticipated circumstances Unique, interactive training resources are also resident in Climb Level 4. The Speaking Professor avatar converts text to speech so that students can listen and read simultaneously. An Aviation Word Book, with 2,000 of the most important words needed for ICAO Level 4 proficiency, and a personalised Dictionary allow students to select words and phrases for additional study and automatically generate practice exercises based on their individual and specific needs. English pronunciation training is personalised, with an assessment analysing each student’s spoken- English skills, and an Intelligent Tutor tailoring instruction based on the student’s native language and individual proficiency. Immediate analysis of pronunciation errors and recommendations for remediation are presented in text, graphic and audio form.
Illustration: How It Works: Climb Level 4 both begins and ends with an assessment, which measures the student’s English skills on the ICAO scale. Training modules are relevant to the aviation community, with each module featuring three (3) separate units, and each unit has exercises in grammar, listening, vocabulary and fluency / interactions. Complementing the Training Modules are unique, interactive and personalised training resources to further improve the English learning process.
Dictionary feature the words – and their aviation context – required to prepare for ICAO licensing testing. My Grammar is a grammar reference book containing both the basic and more complex grammatical structures of the English language. Technical requirements for Climb Level 4 are minimal. All that’s needed is a headset and microphone, a broadband internet connection and Macromedia Flash Player (a free download). Climb Level 4 works with all the major internet browsers including Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera.
Climb Level 4: The PARIS Principle Climb Level 4 was built on what we call the PARIS Principle to balance requirements for Aviation English proficiency, convenience and cost. The PARIS Principle means English instruction is: • Personal • Accessible • Relevant • Inexpensive • Scalable Personal Because everyone has different English skills – and everyone learns at a different pace – English training should be personalized to accommodate each student’s abilities, resources and objectives. In order to maximize English learning effectiveness and minimise the training time, Climb Level 4 offers an array of personalisation features, allowing students to build personal Word Books and Dictionaries, choose and create their own English exercises, and follow the curriculum at their own pace. Climb Level 4 analyses student pronunciation in context of their first language, pinpoints errors, and uses an Intelligent Tutor to prepare a personalised English learning path.
Accessible The dynamic and mobile nature of the aviation professional’s job means that English training should fit into the professional’s schedule where and when possible. Climb Level 4 is internet-enabled, making English training available literally anytime … anywhere. Although Climb Level 4 is ideal for selftraining, it is easily integrated into classroom training. English instructors may use Climb Level 4 to augment classroom instruction, or for lesson reinforcement outside of the classroom. Relevant Learning a new language presents a big challenge. Learning a new language to do a specific job – such as fly a plane or control air traffic – presents an even bigger challenge. Climb Level 4 focuses on English language learning required for ICAO Level 4 and Level 5 proficiency. It assures further relevance by ensuring that it’s initial and exit assessments allow the user to see their approximate level according to the ICAO scale – the optimal metric for preparing for any ICAO licensing test. Inexpensive: The costs of English language training go far beyond the cost of the actual training course. Lost productivity associated with taking ATCOs off the job to learn English add up quickly. Language learning inefficiencies inherent in one-size-fitsall courses and solutions mean that some students have already learned the material and need reinforcement – and others need significant instruction and training. Using Climb Level 4 to augment classroom training – and provide the level of instruction of greatest value to the enterprise and individual – will stretch training budgets while providing quality English instruction.
My Pronunciation Training features a pronunciation assessment that analyses each student’s English pronunciation, allowing the Intelligent Tutor to prioritise pronunciation exercises based on the individual’s language challenges. Ongoing, pinpointed pronunciation evaluation provides immediate feedback that is understandable, relevant and actionable. This type of pronunciation training in the business, education and government sectors has improved English pronunciation by 30% in as little as 10 hours of training, and twenty (20) to forty (40) hours of training can produce a 50% to 100% improvement. My Word Book and
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SPOTLIGHT Climb Level 4 is aware of the costs associated with training to reach ICAO Level 4 or higher. That’s why Climb Level 4 license costs are based on time used and number of licenses purchased. Climb Level 4 Shuttle – with five (5) hours of English training, can be purchased for less than $50. Climb Level 4 Short Haul (100 hours over three (3) months), costs less than $400 and Climb Level 4 Long Haul (100 hours over six (6) months) costs less than $550. Volume and Distributor discounts are also available. Scalable Climb Level 4 management features allow for English training to scale seamlessly across the aviation enterprise. While Climb Level 4 can be used for self study, or classroom English instruction, training compliance and grading can be centrally managed. With a click of the mouse, corporate trainers can monitor system usage, grading and improvement in each user’s English communications. Furthermore, since Climb Level 4 is internet-enabled, it’s easy to implement and manage across the enterprise.
More Information Registration, pricing and further information can be found on the Climb Level 4 website (www.climb-level4.com) or by e-mailing Climb Level 4 at info@climb-level4.com.
Requests for access to a demonstration Climb Level 4 program (featuring a limited number of example exercises) can also be made at www.climb-level4.com. Information is also available by contacting the developers of Climb Level 4: Mayflower College and Carnegie Speech. Mayflower College Mayflower College offers over sixteen (16) years experience of teaching Aviation English to its international pilot and air traffic controller clientele. In addition to training over 1,000 students from 50 countries annually, Mayflower College has been invited to present at multiple ICAO events and is the developer of the Test of English for Aviation (TEA). Contact Paul Stevens, Director at paul@maycoll.co.uk; TEL ++44-1752-673784 Carnegie Speech Company Carnegie Speech Company is the leading global provider of software for assessing and teaching spoken-language to non-native speakers. With exclusive global license to speech recognition and artificial intelligence technologies from Carnegie Mellon University, Carnegie Speech software enables cost-effective and personalized spoken-language assessment and training that maximizes learning effectiveness while minimizing training time and expense.
Carnegie Speech has marquee customers in multiple sectors and strategic relationships with global education and technology firms. Carnegie Speech’s spoken-language training software is currently used in over 20 countries. Contact John Lucke, Vice President at jlucke@carnegiespeech.com; TEL: ++1-412-281-3004 x 25 This concludes `Spotlight´ for this issue. I would like to especially thank John Lucke, Carnegie Speech, for his assistance in providing the material for this issue. ^ Until next time and as usual, if any CM would like their company to be featured in `Spotlight´ this year, and likewise to any reader, who would like further information on any topic that was covered, please do not hesitate to contact me using the following address: Kevin Salter IFATCA Contributing Editor Corporate Affairs Flugsicherungsakademie Am DFS-Campus 4 D-63225 Langen Tel: + 49 (0)6103 707 5202 Fax: + 49 (0)6103 707 5177 E-Mail: kevin-john.salter@dfs.de
4 European News
Critical Incident Stress Management – Workshop on Implementation Guidance An investment that pays! Patrik Peters & ^ by Philippe Domogala Critical Incident Stress Management is proven to help air traffic control staff deal with normal stress reactions originating from an abnormal event. This system, applied as a comprehensive, integrated, systematic and multi-component program accelerates the recovery process after an incident/accident. Not to be mistaken for psychotherapy or investigation, CISM deals with the stress reactions, not the
causes or personal problems. CISM has proven to be very efficient, not only with service providers in the ATM field worldwide, but also in many other professions, such as fire-fighters, medical staff, police forces and the military. Recognizing these benefits, it is even more astonishing that many of our associations struggle to convince their service providers.
European Office (International Critical Incident Stress Foundation), namely Patrik Peters and Joerg Leonhardt, on March 6th for a one-day workshop on Critical Incident Stress Management and the problems associated with its implementation. The DFS (Deutsche Flugsicherung) kindly offered their meeting facilities at their Langen headquarters near Frankfurt/Germany.
Twenty-six delegates from fourteen different member associations accepted an invitation from IFATCA Europe and the ICISF
Patrik Peters, IFATCA Executive VicePresident, opened the workshop by setting the scene illustrating the need for a
4 Patrik chairing 24
the workshop
Photo credit: DP
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4 European News coordinated approach to peer training and developing a CISM network to face requirements of a future, more mobile and international ATC workforce. European air traffic control licensing and the worldwide need for more ATC staff will increase opportunities for controllers to change their location of engagement more frequently. Multi national air traffic control facilities – also seen in the light of the Single European Sky Initiative – will be the norm, rather than the exception. The need to offer CISM in the respective mother tongue in order to reduce additional stress which debriefing in a different language can impose on affected colleagues is proven. This requires cross-border availability of CISM peers, as ANSPs (air navigation service provider) will not be able to cover all staff nationalities with respective native peers. To overcome this, IFATCA and the ICISF want to create an international command center for CISM intervention, enabled by one single ICISF certified CISM training scheme and methodology.
From controller to controller – peers from the same professional background “Peers, as the name implies, need to come from the same occupational background as the affected colleague. They can understand the reactions and can normalize them”, says Joerg Leonhardt, Director of the ICISF European Office and DFS CISM manager. Peers are either selected or elected. Whereas “ selection” honors the individuals’ capacity and qualification, “election” is based on trust to have the right person. Both methods are equally good, but cannot be combined – national mentality and hierarchical structures within the service provision might tip the scale. “Networking is an important source to learn from others, share experiences and best practices and being able to work cross border when necessary”, Mr. Leonhard continues. CISM is based on a common understanding, a common method used and the same standards applied in training and interventions. CISM-peer training consists of four modules, whereas the module 1 and 2 can be taken within 6 months. Modules 3 and 4 require, first, some experience and information exchange and shall therefore be conducted after ca. one year: 1. Individual crisis intervention and peer support 2. Group crisis intervention 3. Advanced group crisis intervention 4. Strategic response to crisis Equally important to the continuation of providing a good service are refresher training, super-
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vision and as mentioned before, networking. ICISF certified training by approved instructors guarantees a high standard of CISM.
The ICISF CISM model – approved and applied worldwide Dr. Jeff Mitchell, President Emeritus of the ICISF and co-founder of the Mitchell model arrived from Maryland/USA to demonstrate the successful implementation of CISM at the United Nations. He described Critical Incident Stress Management as a Comprehensive, Integrated, Systematic and Multicomponent program.
Talking about money The demonstration of a recent cost benefit analysis by Dr. Joachim Vogt, DFS Safety Manager, was of particular interest to the attendees as lack of funds was often mentioned as the service providers’ reason to postpone or reject CISM implementation and peer training. Dr. Vogt proved in the analysis, conducted in cooperation with the Copenhagen University, that return of investment is 364% or in other words almost 4 times. This is mainly achieved by reducing absenteeism (sick leave) and emotional stress preventing staff from returning to normal performance. CISM has its highest impact when the ATCO is being relieved from position immediately (no operational duty after the incident) and an intervention and debriefing can be scheduled shortly thereafter. Correctly applied CISM can achieve performance recovery within a week. Without CISM, a phase of presentism, where the colleague is only physically present but absent in his/her mind, can follow the absenteeism, and delay a full recovery by up to 6 weeks. CISM also has intangible benefits on the safety culture. It has been measured that CISM serves as a cultural change motivator and enhances overall safety. CISM is manifested in the European Convergence and Implementation Plan (ECIP Hum 01) and applied with many service providers in Europe and worldwide. Why are some ANSPs still reluctant to implement CISM? Which arguments can we use to convince those ANSPs? The message of this workshop is that we should stop spending energy trying to convince them about the benefits. They are known and proven. We should ask instead: Are you ready to implement CISM? If not, why? ICISF certified CISM peer-training courses can be offered on request at your local service providers’ facility as well as in the EUROCONTROL Institute (IANS) in Luxembourg. Infor-
4 Jeffrey T. Mitchell Photo credit: DP
mation about approved instructors and training possibilities can be found via the ICISF European Office (joerg@icisf.org) or via your IFATCA EVP Europe (evpeur@ifatca.org).
The way forward Starting in Europe, IFATCA and ICISF will be working soon on a Memorandum of Understanding that will lay the foundation for better interaction and cooperation between the two organizations. Tony Licu, attending on behalf of the EUROCONTROL Agencies ATM Network Business Area, offered to update existing guidance material in cooperation with IFATCA/ ICISF. IFATCA’s professional and legal committee will launch a survey on the status quo of CISM worldwide. ^ Critical Incident Stress Management in Aviation by Joerg Leonhardt/Joachim Vogt; www.ashgate.com Jeffrey T. Mitchell, Ph. D. Professor of Emergency Health Services, University of Maryland wrote 14 books and more than 260 articles on traumatic stress and crisis intervention www.drjeffmitchell.com). International Critical Incident Stress Foundation: www.icisf.org
Cost benefit analysis was made and show hat the return on investment for an ANSP is 364 %, or nearly 4 times. evpeur@ifatca.org 25
4 ATC Global
ATC Global Philippe Domogala, ^ by Editor THE CONFERENCE The traditional ATC Global Conference took place in March in Amsterdam (The Netherlands). This is where the CEOs and top executives of ANSPs, International Organisations, and ATM manufacturers meet to discuss a major theme. This year it came as no surprise that the theme was how to survive in the current economic crisis. How SESAR and NextGen plans would be affected was also a hot topic. The 2 days event was very well attended, and the set up allowed many questions and debates. Here are a few of the highlights -
SESAR/EUROPE Neil Panzer (from Boeing) said that while SESAR is creating a virtual single ANSP, it is not going to break the sovereignty of individual states. He predicted it will end up in a “Eurocontrolish” kind of thing with no real powers. ANSPS needed to push harder to achieve a breakthrough. A representa-
We should take this opportunity to put plans in place to build the capacity we will need.
tive of Netherlands NVNL (the Dutch ANSP) argued that Europe has borders dating back to Napoleon, and governments were setting the tune, not the ANSPs. Eamon Brennan, CEO of the Irish ANSP, made an excellent presentation. “Five years ago we had SESAME, today we have SESAR, what has changed? More money, more rules, more reports, more concepts, more projects and more definitions. We have more staff working on those projects, and it is far more complex. The rest is the same." he said. On the FABs “It is good fun, we draw maps mainly because the others are doing the same, and we have to show that we are doing something. But will we really implement them? “He advocated to make SESAR simple, to resist the big white elephant approach, and to deliver something concrete and credible very fast.
ASECNA/AFRICA Mr Youssouf Mahamat (DG of ASECNA) was due to deliver a speech, but he cancelled at the last minute and his speech was read by one of his advisers. He said that there was no need for radar in the part of AFRICA they control (18 States and 6 FIRs); in his view the traffic levels do not justify it. He said even the USA is decommissioning radar, and that IATA also does not want radar in there.
NEXTGEN/USA Carey Fagan, Director of FAA/JPDO, explained that the focus of the new Obama administration was now on environment. She told a stunned audience that in 2 to 4 years bio-refineries will be in place in the USA to produce
biofuel most probably from algae! NextGen was not dead – its implementation date is still 2018, but the aim now includes the reduction of fuel consumption, less emissions, and more direct routings. The motto is no longer “Free Flight”, it is now “Perfect Flight “.
AIRSERVICES AUSTRALIA Greg Russell, CEO of Air Services Australia, said “In ATM we deal in politics, not ATC“. He said of Australia “We are 2 years in the middle of a 5 year reform. This will mean we will move from 32 sectors and 144 separate endorsements today to 3 sectors and 7 endorsements. We are lobbying strongly to have this reform passed, and we will settle the union’s issue by offering a trade – we will increase the salaries in exchange for the acceptance of this reform. It is going to be difficult, painful and could turn ugly, but airlines support this reform, so we will do it.”
CRISIS BENEFITS/UK Sir Roy McNulty, Chairman of UK CAA, advised that there was no time to slow down during the economical crisis. “We should take this opportunity to put plans in place to build the capacity we will need. I do not think that FABs are the solution to this..." he said.
VLJs (Very Light Jets): Matthijs De Haan, Chairman of ATXA (air taxi operators) estimates that only 300 VLJs will be operating in Europe by 2015. “Most will be IFR air taxi operations with 2 pilots. Private ownership (general aviation) will be very limited." he said. There are currently 44 VLJs flying in Europe. ^
4 ATC Global conference Photo credit: DP
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4 ATC Global
4 One of the 2 he Exhibition Halls Photo credit: DP
CANSO CEOs Conference The day before ATC Global, CANSO held their Directors/CEO meeting and invited Marc Baumgartner, IFATCA President and CEO, to attend. The main topic was the CANSO Business Transformation programme. This included brainstorming on successful survival strategies and looking beyond the current economic crisis.
services. This will only affect the mid and longer terms but, according to CANSO, needs to be addressed now. The crisis provides the ANSPs with an opportunity to cut costs, which could be their short term reaction. They agreed that any measure taken should not cause damage over the long term.
The outcome was that there will be a need to change the way ANSPs charge for their
How this will affect the numbers of controllers (further reduction despite the current
overall staff shortage), and costs (i.e. salaries) is not yet firmly decided but obviously forms part of some plans. Solutions such as not replacing retiring controllers, and using excessive overtime to fill the gaps, are definitely being considered by some. ^
IFATCA safety workshop for controllers during ATC Global in Amsterdam. Marc Baumgartner, ^ by President and CEO IFATCA IFATCA held a safety workshop during the first day (17 March) of ATC Global. The workshop was well attended, and 5 speakers delivered a diverse but interesting message followed by a short Question and Answer session. Bert Ruitenberg, IFATCA’s Human Factors Specialist, started with challenging some views on safety – he asked 4 questions to be answered (food for thought). 1. Do controllers know what happens with entries in the watch log? 2. Is individual feedback provided on safetyrelated reports? 3. Does the organisation have an internal safety publication (such as a magazine)?
4. Is every controller familiar with the safety policy of the organisation? Jules Kneepkens, EASA rule-making director, talked about the EASA Way – and the impact it might have on the safety education for controllers in the future.
4 IFATCA workshop Marc and Bert
Charlie Keegan, the programme manager for Raytheon and sponsor of the coffee break, explained the challenges we are facing with the education of future air traffic controllers and other professionals in the trust in the new generation of computers. Tom Laursen, from Naviair, talked about systemic safety and safety education. Roderick van Dam, Head
Photo credit: Bert Ruitenberg
of Eurocontrol Legal Bureau, explained how a Just Culture approach could be achieved, and how this will become the foundation for controllers’ future safety education. ^
Award for Maastricht UAC Maastricht UAC (Eurocontrol) and INDRA received an award at this year’s ATC Global for the development and introduction of next-generation ATM technology. Maastricht UAC (controlling the upper airspace of Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, North-West Germany, and a small part of North-East France) is now using the New Flight Data Processing System (NFDPS) ini-
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tially developed by Spanish company INDRA. There were many delays in the implementation, but thanks to tremendous efforts from all involved the system became operational in December 2008. NFDPS features nextgeneration technology that enables: better direct routings, by-passing of sectors both vertically and horizontally, advanced datalink integration, and fully automated electronic
co-ordination possibilities. Today Maastricht UAC handles between 4500 and 5000 flights each day and is the second busiest Control Center (after London) in Europe. The new system should enable Maastricht to cope with the projected growth in the future. ^
4 The Eurocontrol Maastricht
UAC Team receiving the award
Photo credit: DP
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4 ATC Global
UAVs The German ANSP DFS made a very interesting presentation on UAVs during ATC Global. The Euro Hawk, the largest UAV currently flying, will be based in Germany. Their flights will begin and end in segregated (military) airspace, but large parts of their flights will take place in civil airspace used by commercial traffic. New rules for this will have to be designed, and the DFS is
4 The LUNA UAV
4 The Eurohawk UAV
Photo credit: GAF
Photo credit: DP
taking the lead. Tests have been done in Germany with a small UAV called LUNA (small, white, no lights, moves slowly). The senseand-avoid tool in there is better than the human eye using “see and avoid”, but there are human factors problems difficult to solve at the moment. Steering small UAVs in the event of datalink failure is still an issue. Safety
aspects of unmanned flights also remain an issue, and there might be a need to develop new safety criteria based on collision statistics instead of maximum tolerable probability of a collision. A European Commission research project called INOUI (Innovative Integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems) is underway, and may provide some solutions. ^
New tower control tools Sensis teamed up with Nav Canada to design and deliver an upgrade for 26 control towers in Australia. A brand new system called “National Tower Programme Technology” will provide what are called “Glass Towers” (as opposed to “Glass Cockpit”). Features include an integrated system that monitors and controls all lighting, nav aids, weather data, ATIS, voice comms, and provides electronic strips. For some larger airports (such as Melbourne) the system will also integrate both air and ground surveillance displays, such as Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control Systems (A-SMGCS). ^
THANK YOU ATHENS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT who was the main sponsor of the IFATCA TOC and PLC meeting in Athens. IFATCA President, Marc Baumgartner, had a very fruitful meeting with Mr. Jan Metsovitis, the Director of Aviation Unit, giving also a chance to TOC & PLC members to ask questions about the activities of the major Greek airport, the traffic forecast and the future developments in that airport. ^
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4 Asia News
Runway Safety
4 Day view from tower Photo credit: PhP
Phil Parker Asia Pacific ^ by Regional editor ICAO, in Doc 9870, defines an airport ‘Hot Spot’ as ‘a location on an aerodrome movement area with a history or potential risk of collision or runway incursion, and where heightened attention by pilots/drivers is necessary’. Doc 4444 PANS/ATM promulgated procedures in November of 2007 for the designation of a ‘hot spot’ in Para 7.6. using the words “runway safety” instead of “runway incursion”. Therefore, hot spots are also applicable to runway or taxiway areas where there have been incidents with safety implications relating to taxiway/runway confusion. A hot spot can result from such things as poor infrastructure design, confusing taxiway layout, inadequate surface facilities poor procedures or communication or a deficiency of signs, lighting or surface markings. The whole idea of designating hot spots is so they can be notified on aerodrome charts published in the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP). This in turn allows them to be published in aeronautical charts such as those published by Jeppesen, to improve pilot airport ground situational awareness. So why would you need to publish a Hot Spot at an airport which fully complies with all ICAO requirements with regard to layout, markings, lighting and signs? Hong Kong International Airport has had 3 attempted take-offs on a taxiway in the last 6 years. It has always been on taxiway ‘A’, which is the closest parallel taxiway to 07L/25R and the aircraft has lined up and commenced rolling on the taxiway instead of Runway 07L. All 3 incidents have occurred early in the morning between 0330 & 0415. On each occasion, correct ATC procedures and R/T phraseology was used and acknowledged. On each
occasion, all required lighting was on and operational. On each occasion, the subject aircraft was the only departure and there was no time pressure involved. On each occasion, a take-off clearance was given coincident with deselecting the stop-bar. On each occasion, the controller on duty saw what was happening and prevented a serious incident. On two occasions there was a vehicle on taxiway ‘A’. (Think SIA 006 in Taipei). So what went wrong? Well, we don’t know. It would be easy to dismiss the pilots as unprofessional, but what Human Factors elements may be in play here? The low point of the day with regard to circadian rhythms may be a factor. Reduced human visual acuity at night may be another. Why are we declaring the area approaching the 07L Holding Point a Hot Spot? The reason is that from the investigation, all crew from these incidents exhibited poor situation awareness at a critical time of their departure. By declaring a Hot Spot, we will hopefully improve the situation awareness of all pilots operating in this area. As controllers here, we are all aware of these 3 incidents and this is an aid to us in how we operate. We want pilots to have the same knowledge. ATC Management took the lead in this Hot Spot declaration here in Hong Kong. I honestly don’t know how many other airports in the Asia/Pacific region have done the same. There are certainly many which do not have the same degree of ICAO compliance that Hong Kong does and would most certainly have Hot Spot locations. As controllers, it could be said that we don’t have direct involvement in the declaration of a Hot Spot: That it should be up to airport owners, regulators and ATS providers. There is however
Hong Kong International Airport has had 3 attempted take-offs on a taxiway in the last 6 years.
4 Google view Photo credit: Google
a perceived reluctance on the part of these organizations to make these declarations. It’s as if any such declaration would reflect badly on them personally. As controllers, we are the front line. We know where these hot spots are and we should do all in our power to ensure that they are published so as to notify pilots about them, and improve aviation safety. After all, isn’t that what our primary obligation is? ^
philatcinhk@netvigator.com
4 Taxiway hotspot Photo credit: PhP
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4 Hong Kong airport Photo credit: PhP
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4 Africa News
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ASECNA Controllers Motivation Mick Atiemo, ^ by Africa Regional Editor The recent detention of some ASECNA controllers after a radio silence action to back a long standing demand for better remuneration and working conditions comes to add to the already bad situation, where air traffic controllers are detained, demoted and sometimes forced to change their profession especially in Africa. This I believe is due to the fact that, most top management of air navigation service providers,national investigators, prosecutors and security personnel do not understand the rules and regulations by which air traffic controllers perform their duty. With the current trend of just culture in some parts of the global industry, as a way of making incident reporting and findings an integral part of safety management with non punitive action to encourage incident reporting, it has become necessary to take a critical look at the way reports are made, investigations are conducted and what or how findings are used in enhancing safety, An accident or incident is usually the end product of systemic failure(s) rendering safety barriers ineffective. Controllers in Africa often work for low remuneration with limited equipment mostly due to being unserviceable, obsolete procedures which have been overlooked or sometimes hidden. All these may be some of the findings, but still controllers may suffer just because of the blame game. Sometimes controllers are blamed not for an incident/accident but because management or political pressures put demands that are beyond their control. For example an aircraft lands at an airport with a different identity, cargo or passengers that what it announced. How can controllers in a tower know the nature of the goods on board or the true identity and intentions of the crew when that aircraft lands at their airport? There have been instances whereby the callsign of an aircraft is changed en-route but the pilot is the only source of information. What he says is what the controller uses to provide air navigation service, unless other sources confirm otherwise, often long after the flight landed or passed.
flexible shift system and better pay for the past five or more years etc, should certainly have the right to embark on such a course action as a last resort. An under paid controller is a safety issue, as is an unlicensed or over stressed controller. Some airports procedures have serious safety implications. A good example is what happened some months ago. An airliner had lost all electronic equipment and as such the pilot could not locate his position. Later the aircraft landed at an international airport with only five minutes of fuel endurance after orbiting this airport for some time, while the controller was observing the aircraft. The runway lights were off due to security and energy conservation procedures for the said airport. The controller realized that the aircraft wanted to land, but yet he could do nothing to help, why? Well your guess is as good as mine. This was a near disaster. The aircraft landed within a minute after the runway lights were switched on upon the advice or request by the pilot of an aircraft on the ground at the airport (preparing for departure), after informing the authorities that an aircraft was in an emergency and was compelled to land. This airport is an international destination and alternate destination for some major international airlines that operates to this part of Africa, yet runway lights are off until fifteen minutes before departure or arrival of normal scheduled flights. This is an outdated procedure still in use today. By trying to be very neutral about this issue I have deliber-
An under paid controller is a safety issue, as is an unlicensed or over stressed controller. ately left out the identities of the airline and airport involved in this incident. I therefore make a passionate appeal to governments, Civil Aviation Authorities, Air Navigation Service Providers. All IFATCA members, especially we on the African continent, to strive to resolve all safety related issues, including stoppage of any form of injustice or harassment for the air traffic controllers performing their noble duties of keeping airplanes safely apart. In the name of aviation safety, we should all support any arrangement for negotiation of an agreement that would address the ASECNA controllers’ grievances and restore good working relationship between them and their employer. Remember safety meets security on the ground and this is in the hands of the controller. ^
kwapong05@yahoo.com
Controllers who strike to press home their demand for license, refresher course, a more
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4 Mick Atiemo at work Photo credit: MA
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4 Africa News
Interview Serge Tchanda, President Cameroon Controllers Association
The 6th day I was allowed to call a lawyer, who managed to get us free. We were released on August 5.
Consequences of a strike in Africa
Ph: What did you do when you left the jail? Serge: I went directly back to the Control Centre and asked when I should report for work. I was then handed over a letter suspending me from work without salary. I was then sent in front of a disciplinary board which charged me with organizing and participating in an illegal strike. While waiting for their verdict I remained at home without any salary. Not even the minimum allowance everyone here receives from the Sate to feed his family. During that period I received some financial support from my association (CATCA) to which I express my gratitude
Philippe Domogala, ^ by Editor
4 Serge in Douala Control centre in happier days
Photo credit: Thierry Carquet
4 Serge today Photo credit: Thierry Carquet
Philippe: Did you organize in Cameroon the action on 29 July 2008 planned in the 17 ASECNA States? Serge: No, I only coordinated what the controllers in Cameroon wanted. It was on their demand. We made the action (the radio silence) on that day and it lasted for 26 hours. 17 of the 20 controllers in Cameroon supported the action. Ph: What was the reaction of your employer (ASECNA)? Serge: Since the day we gave ASECNA notice of the action, there were pressures on me to cancel the action, but without immediate negotiations. You
“Renseignements Generaux” office (Cameroon equivalent of the CIA) I learned that 2 other controllers (those on duty at the time) were also arrested. The 5 of us were then transferred to Douala Prison. The next day (30 July) 2 of them were set free. The other 2 and I were kept in jail for 6 days, in a cell without running water and mixed with common criminals. We had to sleep on the mud floor.
know we considered that some oil was thrown on the fire as we learned that the recruitment of new controllers had just been done under the old conditions (secondary school education) again despite an earlier agreement signed by ASECNA that they would recruit only from university level as from October 2007. They did not want to discuss this as soon as we cancel the strike action, only pressure on me to cancel the action.
Ph: How long did this last? Serge: This lasted for 2 months. On 1st October 2008 the verdict fell: I was told I would no longer be a controller, will receive another post with a 24 months career setback. I was then transferred to GAROUA, a small airport some 2000 Km North of Douala without my family and was to act as a “landing fee collector”. On 17 February 2009, they finally reinstated me as a controller but maintained my career setback to 24 months. But I am still posted in Garoua. Ph: What are you doing now and how do you feel about this ordeal? Serge: I am now the controller of an airport with one commercial aircraft a day, and still 2000 Km away from my family. I feel very frustrated, de-motivated and disappointed. But without IFATCA and The Controller articles I would probably not be a controller today. I hope I will be fully reinstated one day and be able to return to Douala. ^
ed@ifatca.org Ph: What happened to you on the day of the action? Serge: As soon as we started, I was called by the local authorities for a meeting. When I arrived there with two of my colleagues, Policemen were waiting and they shackled us. I was told I was under arrest for disturbing public order. I was arrested in the presence of my direct superiors and brought to the
We were arrested and kept in jail in a cell with common criminals for 6 days.
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4 Africa News
Interview Mr. Youssouf Mahamat, Director General ASECNA
Ending the dispute
Photo credit: ASECNA
Philippe Domogala, ^ by Editor
Philippe: It seems there are some serious problems between ASECNA and some Controllers Associations in your member States. What is your version of the situation? Youssouf Mahamat: I would like to remind you that we at
ASECNA, are a community of 18 Member States, managing an airspace roughly 1,5 time that of Europe. ASECNA exists for 50 years and we have capitalized on a huge experience in community life. It happens sometimes that some events are more covered by the media than others. And it is true that one of these events happened last year. End of June 2008 some Air Traffic Controllers’ Professional Associations gave us a warning that they would follow a “radio silence”, something that no one in the world has ever heard of before. My administration immediately contacted all the Presidents of these Associations to inform them that we were about next day having an extraordinary meeting of the Committee of the Ministers that supervise our Agency. Also the majority of the Agency workers’ Associations and Unions disapproved the action. It is a fact that the current signed agreement with our employees, of which the controllers are a signatory part, take into consideration their specific problems, and is a social peace engagement. In addition, the agreement mentions as well the necessity to respect National laws that apply in these types of actions, and that certain Air traffic control centers have particular missions to maintain services beyond the State that harbor them. The closure of these centers could even weaken the Agency existence. My administration, following our tradition of dialogue and in the interest of calming
We have lifted all sanctions […].and are concerned with maintaining the conditions for calming down the situation and having a dialogue.
down the situation, proposed to receive the controllers after the Ministers’ meeting to discuss their grievances. They did not want to do so and the consequences are perhaps those that you have heard. Ph: What do you propose to resolve this dispute? YM: This question is now completely solved. We have lifted all sanctions and intervened towards the States for more clemency in favor of the controllers that were punished in some States. We are concerned with maintaining the conditions for calming down the situation and having a dialogue. Ph: What are ASECNA priorities in the coming years and does it include an improvement of the controllers working conditions? YM: To provide Air Traffic Control Services is first and foremost to “communicate “with ground and Air. Therefore our first priority is Communications, through extension and augmentation of the VHF coverage and the progressive introduction of data link. The major steps in our investment plan, which starts for the next 5 years, are to consolidate what already exists and to integrate new technologies that will considerably improve our controllers working conditions, and by natural consequence, safety. Ph: Do you have the intention to include the controllers in your list of participants to define the future ATC system in the African continent, as SESAR and Nextgen are doing? YM: Our controllers are fully involved in all ASECNA projects which are related to the definition of operational requirements, and their viewpoint in more than decisive. Ph: SESAR and Nextgen are motivated by an increase in Safety and capacity while reducing the costs. Performances of the various ANSPs will be put in concurrence, especially regarding costs. This is not the case in Africa at the moment. Is ASECNA prepared for this mutation? YM: ASECNA is an institution created by its Member States in which the primary goal is Safety. There has been no aeronautical charges increase in ASECNA since 2004 and we fully and actively participate to the Airlines “SAVE ONE MINUTE” campaign. We have also signed with IATA, our main customer, a strategic partnership, which is a framework for consultations and exchanges in all matters related to ATM. Those consultations occur every year with the Airlines on all operational, technical and economic matters. ^
ed@ifatca.org
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4 Africa News
Agreement ASECNA-IFATCA On new relations between ASECNA and its Controllers 4 The meeting participants Photo credits: Thierry Carquet, FATCOA
GUEYE, (CELICA ATC Office Chief) met with IFATCA Executive Board, ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation), a number of ASECNA ATCOs and FATCOA (The French Air Traffic Controllers’ Association) on 22 April 2009. The issues discussed focused on the problems raised since 1996 by the ASECNA controllers, and the subsequent “Radio Silence“action that took place last July. (see article previous page)
4 Mr. Mohamed Moussa, ASECNA ‘s Director Human Resources signing the conclusions.
During the IFATCA Conference in Dubrovnik, ASECNA Officials (Mr. Meissa N’DIAYE, Director operations, Mr. Mohamed MOUSSA, Director Human Resources and Mr. Malal
The meeting drew four main conclusions: • A plea was made to ASECNA to lift totally the sanctions taken again some controllers involved in the July 2008 action, in order to bring back confidence and motivation; • All participants agreed on the necessity to organize a training forum on controllers Union and Association rights and duties within ASECNA (date and place to be determined later); • The meeting also agreed on the forma-
^
tion of an organization that would represent all ASECNA Controllers; • IFATCA, ITF and FATCOA recommended that ASECNA expedite actions on issues such as career developments, license finalization process, English training program and upgrading the education level needed to access ATC Training. Besides those conclusions, ASECNA also promised that the situation of the controllers involved in the strike would be resolved expeditiously. The conclusions of the meeting were set on paper and signed by IFATCA (Mr. Henry NKONDOKAYA), ITF (Mr. Joe MAGEE) and ASECNA (Mr. Mohamed MOUSSA). ^
+ 2009
JOHN OSIRE
John died at the age of 43 on 9th April, 2009 after a short illness. John was born in 1966 to his late parents Ogwang and Amutos. He lived and worked in Entebbe, Uganda for the last 11 years of his life as an Air Traffic Controller. He was a dedicated member of the Uganda Air Traffic Controllers Association (UGATCA) which he joined in 1993. He served the association as General Secretary up to the time of his death. He was a calm dedicated member who whole heartedly served UGATCA to its best interests. The fruits of his hard work will forever be remembered by the association. John is survived by his wife Florence and his five children; Douglas, Allan, Phoebe, Leah and Titus. He was buried in his home in the Kumi district on the 11th April, 2009.
OBITUARY
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4 Asia Pacific News
Air Traffic Control in Iran ^
by Alireza Haghighi, IRAN ATCA domestic and international airports, inter alia, all air traffic control units.
4 Tehran ACC radar control position
The Islamic Republic of Iran is the 18th largest country in the world and it has a population of over seventy million. It is a country of special geostrategic importance. We have borders with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Caspian Sea and Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Oman Sea and the Persian Gulf, and on the west by Iraq and Turkey. Iran used to serve as a bridge between central Asia, and Europe for the flow of commodities, so-called Silk Road since the ancient times. Now the Silk Road has been replaced by airways to play the same commercial and the geostrategic role of Iran in the modern world.
Air Traffic Control in Iran
Civil Aviation Organization (CAO) in Iran is the governing body of civil aviation. However, air navigation and other aviation services are provided by non- and semi-governmental organizations and entities. Of them the Iranian Airports Company (IAC), is a semi-governmental entity, which solely provides air navigation services in the territorial airspace of Iran. IAC was established in1998, and it administers 54
IAC is responsible for the provision of facilities for communication, navigation and surveillance and air traffic management services. Presently, about 1000 air traffic controllers, provide air traffic control services for civil and military aircraft operating in air traffic control areas. Nonetheless, the Flying controllers provide ATC services to privately owned airports on a mission basis.It is worth mentioning that IAC is on the process of being privatized in the near future. The privatization will absolutely have an enormous effect on the types and quality of services provided by air traffic management system.
Training and Recruitment Process
Air traffic controllers are recruited from the age group of 17 to 20 years old, who have terminated their pre-university course. The would-be air traffic controllers are tightly selected from the contestants who have succeeded in General Contest for University Entrance. Then, an oral interview is conducted to assess the intelligence, General knowledge and language competence (Farsi and English) of the candidates. The interview is followed by medical examinations and finalized candidates register with the Civil Aviation Technology College (CATC). The selected, having studied for about two and half a years in CATC, are graduated and assigned to different ATC units as on the job trainees. They undergo OJT for a period of six month to one year, depending on the complexity of the task, before qualifying for an ATC license. During OJT and if need arise, recurrent and remedial trainings is alternatively provided.
4 IKIA (Tehran) Airport Control tower Photo credits: IRAN-ATCA
Iranian Air Traffic Controllers’ Association (Iran-ATCA)
Iran-ATCA officially inaugurated in 2000 by the permission from our Ministry of Interior It has closely coordinated, cooperated and negotiated with CAO, IAC, overall aviation community of Iran and the relevant governmental organizations to gain ground and support to deal with the issues of concern for ATM and air traffic controllers. Then, following the effort made by its executive board the organization was affiliated to IFATCA in 2003 to exchange news and views in international fora. Just after its inauguration, Iran-ATCA, as a Nongovernmental Organization has had great achievements, such as the exoneration of the accused controllers in an C130-crash. Because of these Iran-ATCA has now more than 550 members. Iran –ATCA hosted recently IFATCA’s president, Mr. Marc Baumgartner, in a one-day seminar organized by us and IAC that was attended by more than 400 controllers from all over the country From the national and international point of view, this event was important because it offered us the opportunity to get acquainted with IFATCA’s role in the industry, recent issues in aviation and specifically ATC current and future challenges. ^
The Silk Road has been replaced by airways to play the same commercial and the geostrategic role of Iran in the modern world. a.dirini@yahoo.com
4 Mehrabad airport apron THE
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Charlie‘s Column
Charlie‘s Corner Aircraft and women
During the wedding of a pilot friend (a well known womanizer for years) some of his colleagues wrote and read a little poem during the ceremony, on the differences between airplanes and women and why they believed aircraft were the better option… Here’s a sample (some are unfortunately not for publication): • An aircraft will kill you quickly; a woman takes her time. • An aircraft does not object to a preflight inspection. • Aircraft come with manuals. • Aircraft have strict weight and balance limits. • Aircraft don't have parents. • Aircraft don't whine unless something is really wrong. • Aircraft does not care about how many other aircraft you have flown before. • Aircraft do not mind if you look at other aircraft, or if you buy aviation magazines. • Aircraft do not comment on your piloting skills. All this is fine and funny, but they missed an obvious similarity: just like with women, when an aircraft suddenly goes quiet, the outcome is usually not very good.
Overheard on the R/T: Controller: Air France 1234, traffic 10 o’clock, 1000 above, it is a 737. Pilot: looking up. Controller: Ah, correction, it’s an A320 Pilot: still looking Controller: Ah, sorry Sir, it is really a 737, but Oh, well, what’s the heck, it’s dark!
Shortest Flight for an A340 ever?
During the last G20 summit last March, the French Government decided to make a stand on global warming, as it flew one Airbus A340-200 for 42 Km and 9 minutes flight time. It ‘operated’ between Strasbourg in France and Baden-Baden in Germany, just across the border. Perhaps an urgent secret mission? Hardly, as it was just to bring back some delegates from a gala dinner. Some joked that the trip to the airport, boarding time, disembarkation and again trip from the airport to their final destination in town probably took longer than just driving on a bus. And of course, they were discussing the effects of the economic crisis for the average citizen. As an old saying goes: everyone is born equal, it is afterwards that things deteriorate for some…
Call sign confusion
During the same Summit, a lot of US Air force aircraft were flying around in the airspace. Air Force One of course but many other American C17s using Air Force callsigns, like those transporting the special helicopters used by B.Obama. Keeping in mind that the upper airspace center controlling the area is ‘Rhein radar’, the following situation developed: A Ryanair flight called Rhein and said ‘Ryanair four one five on the frequency’ with perhaps a bit too strong an accent. The stressed and confused controller understood: Rhein, Air Force one five (Ryan- air for-one-five)‘ and immediately transferred him to a military controller for a direct. After the confusion was sorted out, the pilot of the Ryanair, came back to Rhein and said: ‘we don’t mind the confusion, but can we keep the VIP treatment?
IATA perfect flight
During the IFATCA Conference IATA made a presentation of their Perfect Flight™: A Perfect Flight™ is when their aircraft gets off the gate on time, taxis on one engine without any stops, makes a rolling take off, gets an unrestricted continuous climb to their requested cruising altitude, a direct route, an unrestricted continuous descent from the optimal descent point, a straight-in approach, fast taxi without stopping to the closest gate, full of people waiting to service it. IATA plans to ask everyone, including of course us, controllers, to strive and work to get their aircraft a Perfect Flight™. Mind you, not to save any money however… It’s to save the planet from global warming as a Perfect Flight™ will emit far less CO2! This is serious stuff, but what I find humorous in that presentation is that this dreamland version is still based on the old concept ‘I am alone in the sky’ and on the perception that controllers are there to restrict the freedom of airlines. Going to JFK airport on a Friday afternoon will possibly revise the notion of ‘taxiing fast without stopping’ and as someone remarked after IATA’s presentation during the conference: the reason you level off in your climb is perhaps due to the fact that there is another aircraft up there, or do you really think I level you off for my personal entertainment? You wanted a photo of the very first and probably last perfect flight ever performed? here it is below: ^
charlie@the-controller.net
4 Wright brothers first and last perfect flight, 17 December 1903
Photo credit: nasa
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