EUROCONTROL and IATA en-route for a collaborative approach to ATM Safety and Navigation

08/03/2010

EUROCONTROL and IATA are combining forces in the field of ATM Safety and Navigation. Close partnership between stakeholders is essential in these two areas and will contribute to reaching Single European Sky objectives of safety, flight efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions. 

In the field of safety, the partnership will concentrate on Voluntary ATM Incident Reporting. The core part of the work will relate to data collection, analysis and identification of main concerns and experts will ensure follow up with the proper solutions. The two Organisations will make better use of safety data available on the European level, sharing databases, data related to the aircraft equipment as well as networks and projects. “The partnership between IATA and EUROCONTROL is part of a proactive approach to safety. It will allow the two Organisations to react quicker, better and together on a number of safety issues,” said the chairman of the EUROCONTROL Safety Team, Erik Merckx. Navigation is the second area covered by the partnership. Performance Based Navigation (PBN) is key to making better use of en-route and terminal airspace. 

 

The joint efforts of IATA and EUROCONTROL will speed up the PBN programme and ensure that the right priorities are set. Through the precision obtained, more direct routes and continuous descent approach (CDA) will be designed, increasing as a result flight efficiency, reduction of fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and safety of flight operations. “The Single European Sky creates a major opportunity for the ATM industry to work much closer together than today, resulting in better targeting, synergies and major savings.

 

 I am convinced that partnerships between various stakeholders are a must, at national as well as international levels,” said David McMillan, Director General of EUROCONTROL. “Safety is our industry’s number one priority. Improving environmental performance is a shared responsibility for all industry players. And efficiency is a matter of survival for airlines that, as an industry, have lost US$5 billion a year for a decade. Effective air traffic management plays a role in all three of these critical areas. Our enhanced partnership with Eurocontrol will help us to take advantage of the opportunities created by an effective Single European Sky to make flying safer, greener and more efficient,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO. 

 

Source: Air Transport News