All CANSO Blogs
CANSO staff discuss the latest industry news, updates, and events from the world of Air Traffic Management.
- May 2012
- April 2012
- 24 Apr 12A Successful Month for CANSO Middle East Office
During the recent 5th CANSO Middle East Conference, aviation and Air Traffic Management (ATM) leaders and experts from Africa, Europe and the Middle East met in Cairo to discuss and further progress global harmonisation.
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- 23 Apr 12Another Month of Progress for the SSC
The CANSO Safety Programme has had yet another month filled with progress across our industry, from the work with our external partners such as ICAO, ACI and IATA, to collaborative work with the OSC, to our analysis of submitted data. Following are updates on a few of our current initiatives.
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- March 2012
- 30 Mar 12Eventful Month for the Safety Standing Committee
Last month, in beautiful Amsterdam, I had the opportunity to meet many of you with whom, until now, I’ve only communicated via phone or e-mail.
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- February 2012
- 29 Feb 12Collaboration – The Responsibility of All
Since the creation of the Latin America CANSO CEO Committee (LAC3) at the EGM in Amsterdam last year, the LAC3 has been working in close coordination with CANSO’s global Standing Committees in Safety, Operations and Policy; it has worked on developing key positions and it has been represented at several forums in order to promote the value of CANSO’s work in the region.
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- 21 Feb 12Europe’s “Unfriendly Skies”
February saw this year’s first meeting of Europe’s aviation club. Held about six times a year, the meetings provide a key note industry speaker for the influential aviation community that ply the corridors of power in Brussels. Tony Tyler, the DG of IATA was the guest of honour on this occasion.
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- 7 Feb 12Change or Die?
Sometimes, in focusing on the day to day tasks, the pace of change that we are experiencing is not very apparent. Yet the financial realities of the present day are most definitely impacting the ATM industry. Looking at the largest users of ANSP services, the airlines, we have just the first month of the New Year behind us, and already we have clear indications that the world around us is changing. Last week has seen the demise under mountains of debt, of two airlines in Europe, Malev and Spanair. Both it seems because we have at last reached the end of the road for the state funding of loss making airlines in Europe.
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- January 2012
- 31 Jan 12Europe Continues Shaping its Approach Towards SESAR Implementation
On December 22, 2011 the European Commission published a Communication to the European Council and Parliament on the Governance and Incentive Mechanisms for the Deployment of SESAR, the Single European Sky’s technological pillar. This communication introduces a three layer model to govern the implementation of Europe’s new ATM technology and describes potential incentive mechanisms to support the implementation. The political level, represented by the European Commission, will have the main responsibility for the deployment. For this the EC will be supported by its Single Sky Committee, the Performance Review Body, Eurocontrol/Directorate Single Sky, EASA, the European Defense Agency and a consultative expert group on the social dimension of the SES
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- 31 Jan 12Divide the Tasks, Multiply the Success
Charles Darwin once said "In the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” This quote demonstrates how necessary it is that we collaborate with one another in order to find advances. In aviation, whether we talk of safety, security, efficiency or sustainability, the need for collaborative approaches to addressing the challenges we face today is more important than ever. The implementation of operational improvements like PBN or CDM requires that we work with our partners and stakeholders – ICAO, IATA, ACI, IFALPA, IFATCA, ICCAIA, the ANSPs, aircraft operators, manufacturers and systems providers, and indeed, policy-makers and regulators. Likewise, further improvements in the area of safety require collaborative approaches to sharing data and information that will enhance understanding and foster the development and implementation of solutions. By combining the skills, perspectives, and experiences we all possess, together we can accomplish much more than we could if we worked a problem by ourselves.
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- 30 Jan 12Building Momentum in Africa
Meeting the Airspace Users From 20 to 22 November 2011, we attended the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) Annual General Assembly in Marrakech, Morocco. CEOs from most of the continent’s Airlines attended, giving us an ideal opportunity to network and introduce CANSO to the region’s airspace users. The discussion points during the assembly covered improving aviation safety across the continent, environmental issues, infrastructure development, communications, corporate governance, restructuring and aero-political and regulatory issues. The assembly also elected its new Executive members and announced its new president and vice president. On behalf of CANSO I would like to congratulate these individuals and welcome them to their new positions. Emerging Issues for Air Navigation Services In December we attended and presented a paper at the Regional Air Transport Safety and Security Conference in Dakar, Senegal where I had the opportunity of presenting a paper on ‘Emerging Issues for Air Navigation Services’. We also introduced CANSO and clarified what services the organization is offering to ANSPs and other aviation stakeholders in the region. There was a lot of interest around CANSO, specifically from organisations like ASECNA which showed an interest becoming a member.
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- 30 Jan 12Gearing up for the Global ATM Operations Conference
It’s about to get busy again! The CANSO Global ATM Operations Conference is just around the corner and once again we will be in Amsterdam, 8-9 March. The agenda, which you can download from www.canso.org/operationsconference2012, is shaping up well and I think we should have another great event. Day one will allow for key messages to be presented by both CANSO and our partners as well provide an interactive session to help us understand what you see as key issues for 2012 and beyond. We will also be unveiling a new cross committee process/work concept that is envisioned to not only ensure the highest quality output but also reduce the overall time it takes to complete a project. At the first full OSC WG meeting in Las Vegas, we asked that you submit initiatives/projects that would be considered as potential activities to be taken on under this new concept. I am still accepting and soliciting for candidate projects. On the second day of the conference we will be presenting an Aviation Systems Block Upgrade (ASBU) and System Wide Information Management (SWIM) workshop. These are intended to provide an overview as well as issues being faced and what CANSO is doing in these areas. Both will be informative and beneficial.
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- 30 Jan 12Discussing the Key Issues
The Greek historian Herodotus wrote that "Egypt was the gift of the Nile"; an unending source of sustenance and a source of inspiration. The great people of Egypt decided to celebrate the first anniversary of the revolution, which happened to coincide with CANSO’s planned 5th annual Middle East Conference on 25 of January. We cannot afford but share our Egyptian colleagues’ jubilation as we wish them a happy anniversary and all the best for establishing a democratic state, reflecting their aspirations for a better future for the coming generation. This is truly what they rightfully deserve. Therefore, out of respect and in order to honor the occasion, we took the decision to postpone the Middle East Conference to 26-28 of March 2012. Discussing the Key Issues The Middle East Conference is designed to encourage constructive dialogue on the key issues facing the aviation industry in the region. The main objective is to create a platform that can captivate the inspiration of all stakeholders, and put forward innovative ideas for reshaping Middle East airspace in a way that responds to the ever- growing traffic demand in a safe and efficient manner.We have lined up a number of aviation leaders from around the world to present their views on the hottest industry topics: ASBUs , SBAS, CDM and many more . You can find more information in the conference programme, available to download from the event page.Since the conference is being held in Egypt, the theme we have developed is ‘Joining Three Regions’, with the intention of bringing together leaders from Africa, Europe and the Middle East. These regions are critical to the development of global aviation and we need to develop suitable solutions to common challenges if we are to preparare for future harmonisation.
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- 30 Jan 12Decisions, Decisions…
I’ve been working as the CANSO Safety Programme Manager since November 2010 on a two year secondment from the FAA and I can honestly say I’ve enjoyed every minute of it (okay, almost every minute). Therefore, when an opportunity came to me to take on a new position in the FAA-ATO Safety Office, a position that represents a significant increase in my area of responsibility and interests me a lot I still had to pause. That’s because if I accepted I wouldn’t be able to continue as the CANSO Safety PM. In the end I decided to take the new position for the reasons I’ve mentioned plus it’s an area where I think I can contribute a lot. So, I’ve left my role as CANSO Safety PM and I’m now the ATO Manager for Safety Performance and Analysis. I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead and using what I’ve learned while with CANSO to meet those challenges. Experience and Opportunities In conversations about the position with Joseph Teixeira, the ATO Vice President for Safety, I spoke at length about what a great experience my time with CANSO has been. The opportunity to work closely with service provision, airline, airports and regulatory professionals from around the world has provided me experiences and opportunities to learn the industry in ways that aren’t available from purely domestic positions. Joseph has an extensive international background and is actively involved in CANSO, so I wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t know.
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