European air traffic controllers have proposed a list of actions to remedy the lacklustre performance of the Single European Sky programme.
International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations (IFATCA) with the collaboration of the UK’s GATCO have published and sent to the European Commission the white paper Single European Sky III – Mission Possible?.
- create a simplified regulatory framework which increases investment in key capacity-increasing areas and which includes a flexible pricing structure based on the law of supply and demand.
- modernise the airspace structure, the operational procedures and the separation standards of the European ATM system to increase its capacity without compromising safety.
- move away from highly customised and non-interoperable technological solutions and define international standards enabling the creating and use of COTS ATM systems and products.
- incorporate the airports to the Network Manager so the management and optimisation of the network is based on a true gate-to-gate approach.
- make the Joint Human-Machine System concept the foundation of the future European ATM system.
IFATCA and GATCO said they remain committed to and have been supporting the SES since its inception and they believe the SES is possible.
“However,” they insist, “the onus is on all the stakeholders to collaborate, leave vested interests aside and find a way forward, which avoids the mistakes of the past and addresses the current problems of the ATM system. Only then will the SES become a reality.”
You can read IFATCA’s white paper here.