CANSO Chairman: 'Increased ANSP Co-operation vital for Middle East'
16 January 2008
CANSO holds first Middle East Dinner.
At its inaugural dinner for Air Navigation Service Providers in the Middle East, CANSO Chairman Ashley Smout called for increased ANSP co-operation as the only way forward for a region witnessing huge growth in air transport movements.
Speaking in Dubai, Mr Smout identified a shortage in the numbers of air traffic controllers, a lack of ATC training facilities, and classic civil/military airspace management issues, as the main challenges facing ANSPs in the Middle East. He added that these were all issues that CANSO members had great experience in dealing with, and that therefore the organization could be extremely helpful to the region. He gave the example of the work CANSO is undertaking with IATA in the Asia Pacific region, where potential savings to airlines of some $30-40m have been identified.
Introducing the dinner, CANSO Secretary General Alexander ter Kuile described CANSO’s increasing involvement in the region, typified by the recent arrival of GACA, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as a member of the organisation. He also welcomed senior representatives from a number of ANSPs from across the world, including Airservices Australia, Airways New Zealand, ATNS (South Africa) AustroControl, DFS (Germany) NATS (UK), and the United States FAA/ATO, as well as from Serco, the company responsible for air navigation services at Dubai airport, and sponsors of the dinner.
Grant Rumbles, Serco’s COO, explained that they were experiencing double-digit growth in movements, and that CANSO had “an important part to play” in helping Middle East ANSPs transform their operations to meet the significant challenges ahead of them.
ENDS
For more information, contact Chris Goater, Director of Communications, on 0031 23 568 5380, or email
chris.goater@canso.org
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