ifatca the controller - october 2011

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CONTENTS

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Alexis BrathwaitePresident andChief Executive Officer

Patrik PetersDeputy President

Patrick ForreyExecutive Vice-President Technical

Scott ShalliesExecutive Vice-President Professional

Darrell MeachumExecutive Vice-President Finance

Keziah OgutuExecutive Vice-President Africaand Middle East

Ignacio Oliva WhiteleyExecutive Vice-President Americas

D. K. BeheraExecutive Vice-PresidentAsia and Pacific

Željko OreškiExecutive Vice-President Europe

Philippe DomogalaConference Executive

Adell HumphreysSecretary

PUBLISHERIFATCA, International Federation ofAir Traffic Controllers’ Associations1255 University Street, Suite 408Montreal, Quebec H3B 3B6 CANADA

Phone: +1514 866 7040Fax: +1514 866 7612Email: [email protected]

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFPhilip MarienVan Dijcklaan 31B-3500 Hasselt, Belgiumemail: [email protected]

Deputy EDITORPhilippe Domogalaemail: [email protected]

CORPORATE AFFAIRSVacant

October 2011Volume 50 Issue 3ISSN 0010-8073

COPY EDITORSPaul Robinson, Helena Sjöström,Stephen Broadbent, Brent Cash,Andrew Robinson and David Guerin

PRINTINGLITHO ART GmbH & Co.Druckvorlagen KGFriesenheimer Straße 6aD 68169 MannheimGERMANY

Tel: +49 (0)621 3 22 59 10Fax: +49 (0)621 3 22 59 14email: [email protected]

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this magazine are those of the International Federation of AirTraffic Controllers’ Associations (IFATCA) only when so indicated. Other views will be those ofindividual members or contributors concerned and will not necessarily be those of IFATCA, exceptwhere indicated. Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information contained in thispublication is correct, IFATCA makes no warranty, express or implied, as to the nature or accuracy ofthe information. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or used in any form or by anymeans, without the specific prior written permission of IFATCA.

Want to contact IFATCA? Write to [email protected] to know more about IFATCA? Visit our web siteswww.ifatca.org and www.the-controller.net

The editorial team has endeavored to include all ownerinformation, or at least source information for the imagesused in this issue. If you believe that an image was usedwithout permission, please contact the editor viahttp://www.the-controller.net

EXECUTIVE BOARD OF IFATCA

Editorial 4

Foreword 5

The PastHistory of ifatca 6History of the controller 18

The PresentState of atc across the world 25

The FutureWhere does ifatca go from here 82ifatca’s position on the future 96

Cover:Simon Smith In this issue:

TheController50Pt1V2:Layout 1 21/9/11 23:15 Page 1

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EDITORIAL

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Celebrating our50th Birthday: Dreamsand RealityBy Philippe Domogala, editor of the50th anniversary issue

It’s a privilege to be back asEditor for (but only for) thisspecial 50th anniversary issue.

When I celebrated my own 50thbirthday, it was not only a time tocelebrate, but also to reflect onachievements and think about whereone has arrived in one’s life. Thisincludes lots of things to be proud ofincluding family, children, career, etc.

Can we do the same for IFATCA?We started from very little 50 years ago in Amsterdam,

where 12 Controller Associations got together to createthe Federation. Today, our membership of 137Associations spans the entire world; we have apermanent representation in ICAO; and a realinternational influence in helping to define present andfuture standards of ATM. But what has really changed inall those years?

When I started my career in aviation in 1969, the B-747 was introduced to replace the B-707; men werewalking on the moon; and civil SSR radar was beingintroduced. Navigation was done using NDBs and VORs.Air Traffic Controllers had a (round) radar screen, VHFfrequencies (or HF in Oceanic) and paper strips. And youneeded a pencil to work...

I would never have dreamed that 40 years later, the B-747 would still be in production, be it in an upgradedversion. Sadly, all the ultra modern capabilities it nowcarries in the cockpit are of little or no use in ¾ of theworld where HF, VHF, paper strips and pencils are stillbeing used on the ground.

As IFATCA, we have achieved a lot, as you will see inthe first part of this issue, which covers our history up tonow. While the last part of the magazine explains that thefuture looks bright, it is our exclusive survey that shouldserve as an eye-opener: it tries to capture the state of airtraffic control and its controllers in the world today. We

surveyed our Member Associations and from the replies,one can see that there is still a lot to work on bothtechnically and professionally. Staff shortage is endemicalmost everywhere, forcing sometimes extremeovertime and adding to pressure and fatigue. Despitegood will and ICAO standards, the infamous EnglishLevel 4 is still not yet implemented everywhere, andSafety Management Systems (SMS) and Just Culture arestill a paper exercise in some countries. Combined withIFALPA data, it also shows that technical deficiencies stillexist in too many places.

So while there are a lot of reasons to celebrate our50th anniversary and to be proud, there is also the sadrealisation that we’ve not been able to change much forthe average air traffic controller in many places in thisworld. There are still places today where Air TrafficControl hasn’t changed much from 50 years ago, andcontrollers still working using some of the same tools asin 1961.

This special edition is a reflection of IFATCA, past,present and how it sees the future. It will be distributedto thousands of controllers all over the world, but also,exceptionally to thousands to CEOs of ANSPs, AirlineCompanies, Ministries, Civil Aviation authoritiesGovernments officials and Air Forces. Hopefully they willfind some articles educative and as a result mightinfluence the policies leading to changes. Who knows?

Enjoy this issue and join me in wishing this Federationa happy 50th anniversary and 50 more long successfulyears (at least!)

Philippe DomogalaEditor of the 50th Anniversary issue

There are still placestoday where providingATC has not changedmuch from 50 yearsago, and controllersstill working usingsome of the same toolsas in 1961.

Piarco Oceanic ACC opsroom (2010). Workingsome of the same toolsas 50 years ago.Photo: dp


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FOREWORD

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ForewordBy alexis Brathwaite, ifatcaPresident and ceo

Fifty years later, manyof the same imperativesthat drove the foundingof IFATCA are still withus – and maybe withgreater urgency.

“where we disagree isnot simply because weare resistant to change.Air traffic controllersappreciate, evendemand improvementsin technology andprocedures.”

On 20 October 1961, air traffic controllersresolved that it is indispensable that Air TrafficControllers of all nations unite in a worldwideprofessional Federation for the furtherance ofsafe and efficient air navigation and for theprotection of our common professionalinterests.

In his inaugural address, Leo Tekstra, IFATCA’s firstpresident submitted that building a federation called formember associations to bind themselves “to promote,maintain and enhance the stature of the air traffic controlprofession and to develop and disseminate knowledgeof the control of air traffic in all its phases andapplications. This task, taken up voluntarily, calls for agood measure of idealism, a quality which appears tohave become a rare asset of humanity, especially in thebetter off countries of our Western Hemisphere. Only thefuture can prove whether the air traffic controllers whofounded this Federation expected too much of theindividual members of our national associations.”

Mr. Tekstra further stated that we fully realize “that wehave a great variety of professional problems which callfor a solution. We do not have the pretension to know allthe answers, but we have reason to believe that we haveinside knowledge of the questions. A clear statement ofthe problems will reduce half the work of coming to asolution. We are confident on the feasibility of thisultimate goal but we realise that it is not just around thecorner. Therefore, we start our work with even moredetermination, in the knowledge that we are sincerelytrying to make a contribution to safety in air navigation,to which the professional life of every air traffic controlleris dedicated.”

Fifty years later, many of the same imperatives thatdrove the founding of IFATCA are still with us – andmaybe with greater urgency. There is a continuing andgrowing demand that exceeds capacity. There isemerging technology that needs collaboration with airtraffic controllers to ensure that they work as intended toimprove the system. And it is still evident that solutionsproposed for our regions, whether in Europe or North

America, Asia or Africa will be more effective by beingharmonised and interoperable. IFATCA’s globalperspective will be crucial to this process.

IFATCA’s success as a federation has proven that theair traffic controllers who founded the federation did notask too much of our individual members. IFATCA’sstrength has been that many air traffic controllers havededicated their professional lives to improving the safetyand efficiency in air navigation. Many questioned theneed for a federation, but our founders demonstratedprescience in many ways, not least in the Federation’sstated objectives that placed the sustainability of theaviation system ahead of self-preservation. Thechallenge for us is to sustain our success, to evolve as theworld around us evolves.

Today, no one questions the need for an IFATCA. It isnow evident that air traffic controllers are, and havealways been, fundamental members of the aviationcommunity, willing to cooperate fully with all otherstakeholders for our mutual benefit. Collaboration withaviation stakeholders is a founding principle and one ofthe key objectives of the International Federation of AirTraffic Controllers’ Associations. It is appropriate forIFATCA to support or even challenge proposedconcepts and solutions. We provide the valid and uniqueperspective of air traffic controllers; and where wedisagree is not simply because we are resistant tochange. Air traffic controllers appreciate, even demandimprovements in technology and procedures, and thepositive impact that brings to capacity and productivity.History has so far shown that the technology does notreduce the need for human involvement. Rather, in manyinstances, the technology only works as intendedbecause of the human input. Air traffic controllers’involvement in the process leads to better and moreefficient adoption of innovation.

We look forward to what the next fifty years offers ourprofession and the industry.

Alexis Brathwaite


Photo: Civil Aviation Historical Society collection, Australia

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IFATCA HISTORY

“You don’t knowwhere you’re goingif you do not knowwhere you’recoming from”This famous saying is very true. IFATCA is now50 years old and Neil Vidler, former Vice-President of theFederation and author of the book ‘Under Control’, willguide you through the birth and the milestones thatpaved the road of our Federation over the past 50 years.

You will also find a brief history of this magazine,as The Controller is as old as the Federation itself.

HISTORY of IFATCA


7tHe controller

Those first steps in 1961towards forming aninternational federationwere viewed by manyStates and theirrepresentatives withmisgiving, fearing the riseof an international union.

FIRST DECADE (1961-1970)In the years following the Second

World War, the new International CivilAviation Organisation got busypromulgating international agreementsand regulations thus permitting a highdegree of international consistency.However, there remained myriad localinterpretations and nationalisticapproaches to much of the problemsolving. In large part it was theseuncoordinated approaches andincompatible solutions that prompteda number of European air trafficcontrollers to look beyond theirborders and confer with theirneighbours. Calling upon their localexperiences, it was the controllersthemselves who identified the moreesoteric needs and who initiated grassroots domestic and international actionto satisfy them.

When they met in Amsterdam, 12European ATC Associations originallyintended to form a pan-Europeanbody but, becoming aware of more

Neil was a controller for33 years. He spent 29 years inthe Sydney AACC and almost4 years in Hong Kong ACC. Heheld various positions in theAustralian Associationincluding three terms (6 years)as Vice-President.

In 1986 he became IFATCARegional Vice-President Pacificand in 1990, following the re-structure, Executive Vice-President Asia-Pacific. From1993-1997 he was DeputyPresident of IFATCA. He is theauthor of the book detailingIFATCA’s history, ‘UnderControl’.

The first 50 years...By neil Vidler

Walter Endlich (left) at the first conference in Amsterdam.

Photo: WE

wide-spread interest in their activities,they extended their horizons andformed a truly InternationalFederation. And it was an alreadywell-established ‘can-do’ attitude of‘Tek’ Tekstra that propelled him intothe position of President when thosetwelve Associations founded IFATCAin October, 1961.

Those first steps in 1961 towardsforming an international federationwere viewed by many States and

IFATCA HISTORY

1961 - 2011


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IFATCA HISTORY

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having only 4 months to prepare,Field and his Committee submitted 6lengthy working papers. Key amongthese was ‘Control of Flights in VMC’,‘Cruising Level Systems’ and ‘ATSPersonnel Responsibilities’. The firstpaper proposed extension of airtraffic control to aircraft flying VMC incontrolled airspace and the latterrepresented a move for clear ICAOguidelines to controllers to take intoaccount terrain clearance when radarvectoring aircraft. ICAO accepted theIFATCA position outlined in thevarious papers and ‘granted’‘Extended Control’ as requested,instituted the table of hemisphericalcruising levels and defined air trafficcontrollers’ terrain clearanceresponsibilities. This collectiveacceptance represented anoutstanding achievement for such ayoung organisation and was reflectiveof the high quality input from theindividual professionals.

IFATCA was then asked toassist in the preparation ofproposals for the introduction ofprimary control procedures inICAO’s PANS/RAC document.When ICAO released its draftprocedures mid 1964, substantivecontribution had been made byonly 5 States (France, Germany,Spain, the UK and the USA) and 1international organisation –IFATCA! The Federation’scontribution to the final draft in 1966formed the basis for the standardsand procedures in use to this day.

Whilst making these great stridesin the ‘Technical’ area, IFATCA wasalso paying close attention to HumanFactors. The Federation was in thevanguard of development of thisdiscipline and created its ‘Human andEnvironmental Factors in ATC’Standing Committee in 1964.However, this SC was born with ahigh degree of nervousness andtrepidation in that it might impingeon areas that IFATCA’s charterforbade, namely, industrial matters.History has shown that it trod warilybut successfully. The 1964 conferencealso charged Ireland (as the firstAssociation responsible for the SC)with creation of the InformationHandbook.

The Geneva conference of 1967directed the Swiss Association to

their representatives with misgiving,fearing the rise of an internationalunion. IFATCA’s officers were,however, determined from the outsetto dispel these fears and strove toestablish their reputation as atechnical organisation and theirefforts were focussed on the technicalaspects of the profession. Thisapproach is evident even in the pre-IFATCA years when the Europeanswere discussing their separate butoverlapping problems and, inIFATCA’s nascent period, its futureofficers demonstrated great foresightand were embracing the newtechnology and related procedures.

The UK Guild of ATCOs joinedIFATCA at the first annual conferencein 1962 and immediately assumedresponsibility for StandingCommittee I (SCI) – Technical Mattersin ATC. Arnold Field was the firstChairman and remained so until 1970when he was elected third Presidentof the Federation. It was largelythrough the work of this Committeethat IFATCA established its reputationin international civil aviation.

Just prior to its 1963 annualconference, IFATCA received its firstinvitation from ICAO. IFATCAattended the RAC/OPS DivisionalMeeting as an observer. Despite

‘Tek’ Tekstra, firstIFATCA President

1961-1968.

Bernard Ruthy, treasurer 1966-1969.

Photo: MB

When ICAO released itsdraft procedures of the

PANS/RAC document mid1964, substantive

contribution had beenmade by only 5 States

(France, Germany,Spain, the UK and the

USA) and 1 internationalorganisation – IFATCA!

The Federation’scontribution to the final

draft in 1966 formed thebasis for the standards

and procedures in use tothis day.

Flight service, 1960s in Bundaberg, Australia.

Photo: Civil Aviation Historical Society collection

develop ‘The Manual’ and BernhardRuthy (then Treasurer) accepted thetask of producing this himself. Hecontinued with full or partialresponsibility for amendmentsthrough until the next millennium!We also saw the ILO make a firstappearance at conference in Geneva.

At this conference, the ILOformed the opinion that they shouldseriously consider the problems of airtraffic controllers. As an earlier studyof ATC had not studied the problemsdeeply enough, the ILO determinedupon another more rigorousinvestigation and commenced a‘Study on Conditions of Service inATC’ in 1969. The study was besetwith problems one of which wasICAO’s insistence on review of thedraft report. The report was finallyreleased in late 1972. Considerable

Photo: WE


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IFATCA HISTORY

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Koln-Bonn to Montreal and return.The flights’ call signs were ‘IFATCA70’! Further underlining theuniqueness of the event, theconference opening was addressedby the President of ICAO, Mr. W.Binaghi who commented thatIFATCA has “...given ample proof ofyour dynamism... you have givenbetter and better service throughoutcities and regions...”.

The attendance by Mr. Binaghiwas a concrete measure of therespect with which IFATCA was nowheld.

And so ended IFATCA’s firsteventful decade. It had been aconstant struggle financially.Unreasonable obstacles had beenplaced in its path. There was growingunrest over working conditions.

The difficulties of honorary officewere manifest. Major controversies

laid major emphasis on human andsocial conditions in ATC.

The meeting settled upon no lessthan 52 Conclusions which coveredevery professional aspect of acontroller’s employment. TheConclusions provided a broaddefinition of the needs of thecontroller and conferred upon theiremployers the onus to provide andallow them. These Conclusions havesubsequently formed the basis orprovided the background for almostevery ATC claim in the world.

In the meantime, IFATCA hadventured beyond their Europeanborders and travelled to Montreal forthe 1970 conference. Whilst themembership of the Federation wasnow 26 Associations, only six of thosewere from countries outside Europe.So it was still very much a Europeandominated organisation and travel toCanada was viewed as a major step.The fear of a small attendance wasovercome in extraordinary fashionwhen the Air Force of the FederalRepublic of Germany provided 2B707s to transport delegates from

ILO General Assemblyin Geneva.Photo: ILO

Luftwaffe Boeing 707 -Callsign IFATCA70 - broughtdelegates to the IFATCAConference in Montreal.

Photo: Manfred Faber

Whilst the membershipof the Federation in1979 was now 26Associations, only six ofthose were fromcountries outsideEurope. So it was stillvery much a Europeandominatedorganisation and travelto Canada was viewedas a major step.

input was made by Jean-DanielMonin (who became PCX in themeantime) and within a very shorttime IFATCA was being routinelyinvited to important ILO meetings.

There followed in 1974 apreparatory meeting for the‘identification of social and labourproblems and scope for ILO actionin the field of civil aviation’.Indicating another serious step up inrecognition (despite someobjections from participating States),IFATCA also represented the‘workers’ at a tri-partite meeting inlate 1977. From this meeting ofICAO, ILO and IFATCA sprang themost important event theFederation was associated with in itsthen 18 year history. May 1979 sawthe ILO’s ‘Meeting of Experts withbut a single agenda item: ProblemsConcerning Air Traffic Controllers –Identification and Possible Solutions.The ILO immediately signalled thatthey were looking to the real experts(ie, the controllers themselves) forauthoritative opinions and concreteproposals. IFATCA delivered and


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had arisen. However, the elected officerswere justifiably proud of the progressmade: now 33 MAs after Montreal with12,000 individual members. It was aconservative era and the Federationreflected the times in achieving its earlyobjectives.

SECOND DECADE (1971-1980)The second decade was destined to

be an entirely different affair. Itcommenced in the shadow of continuingand escalating industrial activity andthreatening politics. Despite its charter,IFATCA was unable to remain aloof.

The decade’s first conference (Athens)saw so many Human and EnvironmentalFactors subjects on the agenda that aspecial sub-Committee A was deemednecessary. This sub-committee morphedinto Committee C a year later in Dublin.This conference saw the election of Jean-Daniel Monin as President. Monin was tobecome deeply involved in bothindustrial disputation and politicsthroughout his 3 terms. 1973 saw twoserious back-to-back industrial disputesin France and Germany. The Frenchstrike saw replacement militarycontrollers utilised and President Moningiving press interviews and makingappeals to the President of France. Sadlyit was brought to a conclusion by a mid-air collision and the death of 68 peopleon board one of the aircraft. Alldismissed controllers were eventually re-hired. The go-slow action in Germanycaused havoc and, despite achieving ameasure of success with the Bonngovernment, Monin saw the dispute endwith the German Association levied withsevere punitive fines.

Whilst these events were transpiring,the Federation held its most significantconference since its formation. Reykjavik(1973) saw sweeping constitutionalchanges, a changed Executive Boardstructure and formation of the ExecutiveCouncil. There were also lengthy debateson the question of one State/one MA (vizthe dual American Associations’applications) and the EGATS affiliation.

Melbourne Flight service 1976.The French strike saw replacement military controllersutilised and President Monin giving press interviewsand making appeals to the President of France.

Sadly it was brought to a conclusion by a mid-aircollision and the death of 68 people on board one ofthe aircraft.

Jean-Daniel Moninin the 1970’s.Photo: A. Avgoustis

Devonport airport, Australia 1975.




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IFATCA HISTORY

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And then the hi-jacking epidemiccommenced. In several countriescontrollers were placed under severepressures as they faced this newscourge to international aviation.IFATCA faced the issue squarely andThe Controller provided controllers withinternational and national statutes onpiracy and comprehensive details onrelated aspects of international law.

With this as a backdrop, discussionson confirmation of Tel Aviv for the ’74conference entered new realms. Loudand many were the calls for this venueto be cancelled because of the geo-politics being played out. But IFATCA’sEB quite correctly carefully avoidedmaking a decision based on politicalconsiderations and relied solely uponIFATCA rules and procedures indeciding that it was not constitutionallypossible to alter a decision which hadbeen made by Directors at the 1972conference and confirmed in 1973. It ishistory that a very successful (and, forthe first time, outsourced) conferencewas held. Then in 1975, the Federationmade a giant leap for IFATCA-kind with

success over the IATA 200 issue. Two ofthe Federation’s 3 largest MAs had nowwithdrawn. There were now bigprofessional and financial holes to filland it took some years of belttightening before the Federation wasback on its financial feet.

The second decade ended, as hadthe first, with a conference in Canada,this time in Toronto. (The CanadianAssociation did a magnificent job in just9 weeks due to a late notice change ofvenue.) But the decade also ended as itstarted with major industrial disputes.The 1970s were plagued by ‘air trafficdelays’ throughout Europe ascontrollers took various actions tocompensate for low controller numbersand aging inadequate equipment. Inaddition to the French, German andCanadian actions already mentioned,there were also significant disputationsin Spain, Australia, Mexico, Italy andGreece. Air traffic controllers were nothappy!

THE THIRD DECADE (1981-1990)IFATCA’s third decade commenced

most inauspiciously. In the USA, inAugust 1981, 13,000 members ofPATCO (out of a total membership of15,000) downed their headsets. PATCOhad only re-joined IFATCA the previousyear. Naturally, havoc ensued butinstead of compromise attempts it wasaccompanied by unbelievablePresidential intransigence andvindictiveness. IFATCA subsequentlybecame involved in the protracteddiscussions but, in the face of totalobduracy, nothing could be done toprevent the eventual dismissal of some11,300 professionals and the shockingsight of some being led away in chains.It is to be hoped we never see such

its first foray into the SouthernHemisphere. The distance to travel toMelbourne was viewed as a possibledeterrent but, as usual, delegates tookit in their stride and a record number ofparticipants registered. IFATCA waslooking good!

But then 1976 happened!In the space of a year, the generally

high levels of optimism, anticipationand organisational success weredashed. First, the USA Association,PATCO, resigned without prior warning.The Cyprus-Turkey problem arose andcreated problems and tension. The veryserious bi-lingual issue in Canada cameto the fore and there was much ill-feeling over IFATCA’s (primarily J-DMonin’s) participation. The world’s mostinfamous hi-jacking occurred. Thisconcluded in Uganda and resulted inthe execution of four Entebbe towercontrollers. Even worse, Septemberwitnessed the (then) world’s worst mid-air collision over Zagreb, Yugoslavia.The criminal trial and subsequentimprisonment of controller on dutyGradimir Tasic placed a heavy pall overthe Federation. Finally, the AustralianAssociation withdrew towards the endof the year citing anger at a lack of

PATCO action button 1981.Photo: DP

Striking PATCOcontrollers 1981.

Photo: PATCO/NATCA

Ted and Peggy BradshawEdward ‘Ted’ Bradshaw was from Scotland and became VP Administration in1975. In 1979, this function transitioned into that of Executive Secretary andTed transitioned with it. His wife Peggy was the driving force in their team.She ran the secretariat from their home and was quick to immediatelyanswer everyone. She ran the Conferences secretariat as well with an iron fist- mostly holding a glass of gin & tonic in one hand, a cigarette in the other.

They were a fantastic tandem and always ready to help. Sadly thatcommitment proved fatal for Ted: attending the appeal trial of Gradimir Tasi(the controller involved in the Zagreb collision in 1976) for IFATCA, he wasfatally hit by a city tramway in Zagreb in November 1982. Despite this,Peggy continued alone both with the secretariat, and with the organizationof the 1983 Conference in Split, Yugoslavia. Both were jointly awarded theScroll of honor in 1983 “for the outstanding contribution they made toIFATCA“. Peggy remains the only non-controller thus honored to this day.Peggy herself passed away in 1999.

Philippe Domogala

In the face of totalobduracy, nothingcould be done toprevent the eventualdismissal of some11,300 PATCOprofessionals and theshocking sight of somebeing led away inchains.

Ted (left) and Peggy (right)Bradshaw in 1975.

Photo: Ted Tilly


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reducing delays and continually soughtcontroller participation in the process.Obviously these entreaties were paidno attention for, by the mid 80s, withinECAC there were 30 States with 54ATC centres utilising 22 computeroperating systems and 30+programming languages!

Despite an initial rebuff, IFATCA wasdogged in its determination and finallywas rewarded with participation in theFuture European ATS Systems WorkingGroup in 1988. With major Europeancontroller input (primarily the UK’s SteveHall and RVP Philippe Domogala),IFATCA ensured that the two mainareas of Air Traffic Flow Managementand Human Factors were adequatelyaddressed and accordinglyconcentrated their efforts in theseareas. The ATFM policy was noted andpartially accommodated while the HFprinciples were accepted in totality andthe entire IFATCA input was included inthe final FEATS report in 1989. A sidebenefit of this acceptance was ICAOacknowledgement that staff shortages(and resultant poor relations withadministrations) were real and that thetraffic problems rampant at the timewere not attributable to industrialactivity alone.

THE FOURTH DECADE(1991-2000)

IFATCA’s recognition as theresponsible voice of air traffic controlwas then further boosted whenObserver status was granted to theEuropean Air Navigation PlanningGroup and attendance at an ECACmeeting from which EATCHIP wasborn. Finally, the European States werereally addressing their traffic congestion

Sydney TWR in 1989.


Lex Hendriks, Eric Sermijn, Harri Henschler and Pat O’Dohertyin San Jose, Costa Rica Conference 1986.

Photo: DP

Bundaberg, Australia Flight Service in 1986.


workload at an obviously tragic timeand ensured the 1983 conference wentahead. They were both jointly awardedthe Scroll of Honour in Split.

For its silver jubilee, IFATCAtravelled to Costa Rica, the first suchvisit to Central America. Thisconference saw the retirement of HarriHenschler after an outstanding 8 yearsas President. During this time IFATCAhad progressed from a strugglingadolescent organisation to a mature,self sufficient body routinely invited toworld forums and widely respected forits views. Promotional work and thevalue of the ILO Conclusions were alsobearing fruit by this time. The San Joseconference requested the ILOundertake a study into ATC conditionsin developing countries and the CostaRican government enthusiasticallysupported the move. Subsequently, theILO reviewed the situation in bothCosta Rica and Panama.

The introduction of every new pieceof technology has always engenderedconsiderable discussion, debate,argument and feeling and probablynone more so than automation. Whilstwary, controllers have been cognisantof its benefits and its abilities toimprove their capabilities and toincrease capacity whilst maintaining theessential safety element. So, whenIFATCA was asked for comment on thereport of ICAO’s fourth AutomationPanel in 1967, they immediatelyaddressed the issue of compatibility.Little resulted from these early ICAOdiscussions, however, and it wasn’t until1986 that real action occurred.Throughout the intervening years,IFATCA continually stressed thatharmonisation of equipment was key to

sights again. It was years before anysort of normality returned to the USaviation scene and it was the late 1990sbefore President Clinton relented andallowed those dismissed to be re-hired.Of course, by then it was far too late formost.

Again, fiscal restraint became theorder of the day and deficit budgets for1982 and 1983 were approved.Meeting attendance was severely cutback and two Standing Committeeswere disbanded.

Sadly, the Federation’s ExecSec TedBradshaw was killed (by a tramcar)whilst on IFATCA business in late 1982in Zagreb. Heroically, his widow Peggyshouldered most of the Secretariat

IFATCA HISTORY

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problems and the European ATCHarmonisation and IntegrationProgramme was the vehicle. Not quite inthe driver’s seat, IFATCA neverthelesswas on board and EVP-EUR (and soon-to-be PCX) Preben Lauridsen was in thevanguard of calls for automation tosupport and assist the controller, notreplace him. At the same time, EVPPBert Ruitenberg was in Montrealramping up IFATCA’s commitment toHuman Factors at ICAO’s Second GlobalSymposium.

Being accepted as a full member ofthe EATCHIP Project Board meantIFATCA was now at the forefront ofdeliberations and decisions andextensive reliance was placed upon anIFATCA paper on European Air TrafficManagement Systems. The resultingcuts in ATM delays were realisedthrough increased investment intechnical facilities and system upgradeswhich provided a high degree ofcomputer harmonisation. When theEATCHIP Human Resources Teamcommenced its work in 1994, itconcentrated on ATC selection, training,licensing and safety related conditions.IFATCA called upon the States to greatlyimprove their investment in training andpushed for more flexible use of airspace.

Further afield, major changes wereunder way in the Pacific region.Formation of the Informal South PacificATS Coordinating Group saw Mach

Number Technique trials initiated andmuch reduced separation standardsapplied over the long sectors across thePacific from Australia to the USA andJapan and those to Singapore and NewZealand. IFATCA was accepted as amember of this group from the outsetand continued with input from severalmembers in the Pacific area throughoutits lifetime. It was an extremely dynamicgroup vigorously pursuing change andoften leaving the ICAO Bangkok office“breathless”.

By ISPACG/6 the airlines hadinvested heavily in the new FANS/1package and data link equipment butthe service providers now found itnecessary to back away from someearlier optimistic promises and hithertoagreed timetables started to slip.Nevertheless, over the period of its life,ISPACG delivered an incredible amountof change which facilitated similaradvances in other quarters. As isfrequently the case, IFATCA didn’tchange a great deal itself butsometimes we were able to keep theother participants focused on theimpact of their proposals on theworkface controllers and, occasionally,reined in the more ‘adventuresome’ ofthose present.

The mid ‘90s also saw IFATCAparticipate in the South China SeaWorking Group which introduced a newand much more efficient routestructure, a new RNP Operationsmanual and amendments to ICAOdocuments to support the regionalintroduction of a 50nm longitudinalstandard and lateral standards betweenaircraft approved to RNP 10 or better.IFATCA maintained that DCPC wasessential with 50/50 lateral standards.

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IFATCA HISTORY

Philippe Domogala presentsJean-Daniel Monin with a token ofappreciation for his support toIFATCA in ICAO, 1995.

Photo: ICAO Paris

Bert Ruitenberg.Photo: DP

TCAS demo on board the Jetstar in 1991.

TCAS was invented and developed in the USA and the firstoperational version (6.02) started to fly in the USA in 1990. Pilotsand controllers were not trained and software shortcomings causednumerous hair-raising situations. Controllers were all against it at thetime. But disregarding expert advice, the USA neverthelessmandated 6.02 in 1991 in the US.

The rest of the world chose to wait. The manufacturers were tryingto convince us that this was a good thing and in 1991 I wascontacted by the then main manufacturer, (Dalmo Victor): they wereeager to demonstrate the system to IFATCA. We agreed to use theEuropean Regional Meeting in Strasbourg, France that year to dothis. They flew over their business jet (a Lockheed Jet Star) and useda local beech 90 as ‘intruder’ in a series of demo flights. Each flightcould take 5 controllers from the meeting.

After the demo we remained skeptical and we were proven right.Glitches of the 6.02 version were partially cured in the 6.04 updatesome years later. Several more updates brought moreimprovements, but the fact that there’s now a plan to update again,to version 7.1, proves that the saga continues. It’s a perfect exampleof a technology which is introduced without fully understanding theoperational impact and which de-facto is being tested in live traffic.

Philippe Domogala

TCAS - The mostcontroversial piece ofequipment for ATC

Preben Lauridsen (then EVP Europe, Gerard Astegiani,(President APCA, France), Ilka Schwickert (VDF) onboard the Jetstar.

TCAS was a classic case of systems designersdeveloping a product without due regard of the effectsit would have upon the front end users of the airspacesystem. It was a system driven, initially at least, byexecutive decision and political whim rather thanoperational need.

tHe controller


14 tHe controller

Similar to these ASP contacts (althoughperhaps not quite so extensive), otherimportant contacts were alsodeveloped with first invitations to the1989 AFI RAN and the 2nd CAR/SAMRAN. All of these growing regionalcontributions clearly indicated IFATCA’sincreasing influence and development

both as an originator of policy and as acontributor to international guidelines.

This was also clearly demonstratedwith the development and introductionof TCAS. By the time of PresidentReagan’s intemperate calls for airbornebeacons in 1987, IFATCA already hadpolicy in place which supported suchprovision but on the proviso that theground based ATC service remainedthe primary method of separationassurance. There were calls now for fullyautomated ATC systems but, despiteperhaps feeling some paranoia,Directors at the 1990 conference stilldidn’t condemn nor dismiss thetechnology (despite myriad problems)but rather maintained strong supportfor its introduction, just on thecontrollers’ terms! By the time TCASwas introduced to Europe (1992), manyof IFATCA’s members had considerable

scale”. The initial committee laid thefoundation and established its ownwork programme. IFATCA wasaccepted as a full member of the workgroup from the outset. FANS was thefirst ICAO group to grant IFATCA full,as opposed to observer, participation.Of course this then required hithertounseen personal involvement. EVP-T(Netherlands’ Lex Hendriks)participated in each FANS WG meeting(no small commitment as they were 3week affairs!) and there were plenty of‘spin-off’ groups, such as the AutomaticDependence Surveillance and theReview of the General Concept ofSeparation Panels, to keep othersoccupied in between the WGmeetings. When FANS morphed intoFANS II (also known affectionately asSon of FANS), RVP Philippe Domogala(and several others) continued the highlevel personal and technical input.

When FANS II completed its work in1993, IFATCA was then invited withObserver status to the even higher levelCNS/ATM Systems ImplementationTask Force where it was treated as a fullmember whose opinion was eagerlysought. IFATCA’s input was so valuedthat at least one State believed that theFederation should take the lead onCMS/ATM discussions! During all thisinvolvement IFATCA formulated itspolicies around a concern over theimpact that the transition to a moreautomated system would have on thecontrollers and delegates to themeetings were continually reminded ofthe human factors aspects. Loud werethe calls for “the evolution of ATM tomaximise the efficient use of airport andairspace capacity”. It was basically

experience with, and knowledge andunderstanding of, the problems thrownup by the facility, the lack of any trainingand the lack of universal guidelines, somuch so that they were able toformulate and adapt cogent and timelypolicy on its introduction and trainingrequirements.

The introduction and adoption ofTCAS as a safety tool represents acasebook study into how not tomanage new technology. It was aclassic case of systems designersdeveloping a product without dueregard of the effects it would have uponthe front end users of the airspacesystem. It was a system driven, initiallyat least, by executive decision andpolitical whim rather than operationalneed. Nonetheless, IFATCA always hadin place for its members adequatepolicy guidelines and espoused thesecontinuously at various forums and theeventual standards and guidelinesintroduced closely mirrored theFederation’s policies formulated andadapted over the years with the benefitof user experience and systemknowledge.

While all these and several other‘regional’ developments wereoccurring, even more important eventswere unfolding globally with the onsetof FANS. The Future Air NavigationSystem was established by ICAO in1983 and its initial review concludedthat “satellite based communication,navigation and surveillance systems willbe the key to improvements of the airnavigation environment on a global

Wendy and Edge Green

Photo: EG

Ulli Windt., Ralf Riedle(then President VDF)and Geert Maessenon first rowConference 1989,Frankfurt.

Photo: DP

Edge and Wendy GreenEdge andWendy are amongst the figures that have left their mark onIFATCA. When Edge was appointed Executive Secretary in 1990. Backthen, the secretariat was all run from one’s own home and it usuallywas a family affair. Wendy not only helped Edge run the Federations’administration on a daily basis, but also took over the secretariatduring all Conferences thereafter. Her constant smile and naturalauthority charmed everyone (except perhaps some of the localconference helpers!), ensured everything was kept running smoothly.

Edge stepped down in 1998, but she was asked to run theConference secretariat again for the 40th anniversary Conference inGeneva in 2001. She was the first (and still only) recipient of theHonorary Associate Membership award, presented to her in 1998 inToulouse. Sadly, Wendy passed away in 2008, but both she and Edgeare fondly remembered amongst those who’ve had the privilege towork with them.

Philippe Domogala

IFATCA HISTORY


15

IFATCA HISTORY

Dave Grace in 2006Photo: DP

In late 1992IFATCA was able toutilise its apoliticalposition tofacilitatediscussionsbetween HongKong (China),Japan and Taiwanand solve acomplex trafficcongestionproblem.

down to IFATCA (and, to an extent,IFALPA) to ensure the safety and humanimpacts were protected against theefficiency and machinerydevelopments. History has nowrecorded how successful we were.

Other external events were alsoimpacting. The late ‘80s was a time ofincredible traffic increases with chaosand huge delays throughout theEuropean system in particular. Therealities of declining controller numbersversus the tremendous traffic growthbecame obvious and explained theindustrial action in many countries.Recognising the problem, ECACsupported a recruitment and trainingprogramme and a review of ATCprocedures.

Decisions at the Rio de Janiero (’88)and Frankfurt (’89) conferences sawwork commence on creating four‘super’ regions for IFATCA to replacethe existing ten region structure. Muchof the requisite huge workload wasaccepted by DP Ulli Windt. The Boardconvened a Special Conference inAcapulco immediately prior to thenormal conference. ‘Restructuring theFederation’ was the sole agenda itemand this special meeting enabled thenew structure to be agreed and in placefor the normal scheduled conference.Despite some misgivings over the sizeof the new ‘super’ regions, creatingExecutive Vice-Presidents to replaceRegional VPs was the right thing to doand the increased status of thosepositions had immediate impacts inseveral areas with favourable resultsimmediately forthcoming.

Dave GraceDave is another of those pillars of IFATCA, often in the background butholding the Federation together and providing invaluable expertise whenrequired. Dave’s ‘thing’ is technical. While also president of GATCO, the UKGuild (until 1994), he became Chairman SC1 (tech standing committee, nowcalled TOC) in 1992. From 1996, he combined Chairman SC1 with TechnicalSecretary until 2006.

He served as EVP technical in 2006-2007 but always remained at handafterwards to give knowledge and valuable input. Dave’s infectiousenthusiasm and drive can even today still be felt in the broad technicalexpertise amongst IFATCA’s volunteers.

Philippe Domogala

In late 1992 IFATCA was able toutilise its apolitical position to facilitatediscussions between Hong Kong(China), Japan and Taiwan and solve acomplex traffic congestion problem.The resultant parallel route structureand direct routings considerably easedcongestion in peak times and saved theairline operators significant sums.Simultaneously in Europe, IFATCA wasachieving high level recognitionthrough participation in the EATCHIPforums.

The 1993 Christchurch conferencewitnessed Charles Stuart of Australiastep down as PCX and Denmark’sPreben Lauridsen step in. IFATCA’smembership hit 100 during this sameconference!

The February 1994 EBM assumedmore significance than usual. Thismeeting formed a working group toinvestigate the feasibility of apermanent secretariat and how it wouldfunction. A positive report to the ’95conference resulted in an in-principleagreement by the Directors to apermanent office. A life long dream wasrealised when the Secretariat openedits doors in Montreal in 1997. Duringthis same time frame, realisation camethat rank and file controllers neededsome ‘individual’ education of the fastmoving technological advances. Thus a

series of very successful educationalseminars was held in Kuala Lumpur,Fukuoka, Panama City, Harare and Baliover a 3 year period.

In 1997 the IFATCA conferencetravelled for the first time to Asia. It wasat this conference in Taipei that we firstsaw (in Committee C) formalintroductions of working papers by wayof audio/visual presentations. Thisprogressive approach has becomealmost universal and has greatly aideddelegates’ understanding of the topicunder discussion.

When Preben Lauridsen steppeddown from PCX in 1998 we could tracemuch of the definition of the ‘new’IFATCA (especially in Europe) directly tohim. Among a host of otherachievements Lauridsen presided overaccession to the top strategic bodies inEurope, defined the Federation’s visionfor the next millennium’s ATC system,oversaw creation of the permanent officeand ably administered a 25% growth inmembership and an even larger inclusionin world aviation affairs.

The Federation has only onceemployed the ultimate sanction of MAtermination. This occurred in 1999 whenZambia was terminated forunconstitutional activities in Zimbabweduring that MA’s protracted industrialdispute.

tHe controller

Geneva40th anniversaryConference2001.

Photo: skycontrol


16 tHe controller

Despite this dark shadow, thedecade came to a close with theorganisation in better shape than it hadever been in. It was financially soundand making serious input to theimplementation of the newtechnologies. Partnerships with ICAOand the ILO were on excellent footings.IFATCA had achieved much over 40years, retaining the necessarydynamism, professionalism and idealswhilst developing a pragmatism andsophistication essential for growth,acceptance and contribution.

THE FIFTH DECADE (2001-2010)The new millennium started

extremely well for IFATCA but its firstyear ended with the consequences ofan event that changed the world – 9/11!This 40th anniversary year wascelebrated in style in Geneva withformer President Jean-Daniel Moninreprising his role as Chairman of theorganising committee. The final plenarywas held in the most impressive oldSociete des Nations (United Nations)building, where we learned that IFATCAwas granted Observer status to ICAO.But the later events in New Yorkdramatically reminded us of the widerworld. PCX Sam Lampkin and his teamhad a tough job as civil aviation and air

traffic control seemed to be in the newsheadlines every day thereafter.

On a more positive note, theFederation appointed its third officemanager, Tatiana Iavorskaia. She is stillwith us today!

Throughout the ‘noughties’ we wereto see some serious challenges by wayof major promotion of more liberal,deregulated ideas on commercialisationand privatisation of ATC. To face thesevery serious issues, IFATCA was mostcapably led almost entirely through thedecade by Swiss Marc Baumgartner.CANSO and EASA in Europe andNEXTGEN in the USA were in thevanguard of radical concepts, the like ofwhich we had not seen since the 90s.IFATCA had to be present everywhereand the pressure on our representativesincreased tremendously placing greatstrain on resources and finances. But asbefore, IFATCA met the challengecountering with reason and rationalargument.

Only once before venturing intoAsia, IFATCA then witnessed an ‘Asianperiod’ whereby the Federation hadthree consecutive conferences (HongKong, Melbourne and Kaoshiung) inthat region. In part, this reflected thebooming aviation market in Asia-Pacificand IFATCA concerns that the

infrastructure was not always keeping up.Global warming and environmental

aspects were also becoming hot topics(no pun intended!) in these years. Asalways with new challenges, IFATCAresponded responsibly by creating anenvironmental team. Conferences sawwide discussions and appropriate policiesformulated. On the more traditional front,technical challenges posed by ADS-B andUAVs (to name just two) were also faced.

When IFATCA travelled to Arusha in2008, again this was response to criticalfactors. The entire region and continentfaces huge problems and, frequently,local controllers are enduring extremelyharsh working conditions with very lowsalaries. When the African ASECNAcontrollers organised a multi-national halfday industrial action, the same old tacticsof individual punishment and firings wereemployed. Again IFATCA was calledupon to mediate and during the 2009conference in Dubrovnik a tri-partiteagreement (ASECNA, the controllers’associations and IFATCA), coveringmeasures to end the dispute, was signed.

The final conference of the decadesaw PCX Baumgartner step down after amajor 8-year contribution. IFATCA ‘s 11thPresident, Alexis Braithwaite naturallybrought a new personality and a newworking style and was immediatelyconfronted with some new challenges,but some old ones as well. The ill-considered verdict of jail for two Italiancontrollers and the new concept ofremotely operated towers are instanced.But, significantly, large-scale industrialactions in the homeland of Europe wereon the rise again. In this matter, theemployer actions in Ireland and Spainwere particularly problematical. In a

Marc Baumgartner.

Opening ceremonyConference Kaohsiung,Taiwan 2006.

Albert Taylor in ArushaTanzania Conference 2008.

All present and formerEB members in Amman,50th conference, 2011.

Andrew Beadle.

The 2001 Conferencefinal plenary was heldin the most impressiveold Societe des Nations(United Nations)building, in Genevawhere we learned thatIFATCA was grantedObserver status toICAO.

Tatiana Iavorskaiain 2001.

All photos: DP

IFATCA HISTORY


17tHe controller

familiar scenario (at least for the olderamongst us), support for draconiancrackdowns on the controllers wasgiven by CANSO whilst advocatingrestriction of union rights and bans onstrike action. And we thought that allthe work in building social dialogue wasdone!

But the next decade at leastcommenced in celebratory style withthe Federation’s golden jubileecelebrated in Amman amidst significant‘winds of change’ in the region. Thecatch phrase used during thecelebrations was ‘One Sky, One VoiceSince 1961’. But, more on this duringour next major birthday recounting!

CONCLUSION:From the humble beginnings and

involvement of those 12 countries andfew individuals in 1961, through thededication and commitment of somany more over the ensuing years,

IFATCA has today matured into a trulyprofessional representative of the airtraffic controller and his or herprofession. Twelve founder associationshave increased more than ten-fold.Sparse technical input has developedinto consistent and valued contributionto several disciplines in the world’saviation forums. The very raison d’êtreof the organisation, once questionedand even opposed, is now championedand its views and policies now sought,perhaps not universally but certainly bythose who really matter.

IFATCA’s aim has always been topositively establish operational

experience and expertise as an integralcomponent of system design,evaluation and implementation. Theapproach has always been to fostermeasured evolution rather than rapidrevolution. Far from being a barrier toprogress, IFATCA’s concerns have morebeen calls for a measured, cooperativeintroduction of new procedures andnew technologies giving due regard toall aspects of such introduction for theultimate benefit of all stakeholders. Thiswas the approach of ‘Tek’ Tekstra andhis colleagues in 1961; fifty years later in2011, this remains the approach of theworld’s controllers.

Carol Gilroy andJanette Arthur.

Photo: DP

IFATCA delegates attending Conference2009 Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Photo: Eugen MILJAN

The 1961 Founding fathersof IFATCA at FoundationConference in front of the‘Centraal Hotel’ in 1961.

Photo: Neil Vidler/Walter Endlich

The Present executiveBoard together with DutchGuild in front of the sameHotel, now called NHAmsterdam Centre, in 2011.

Photo: C. Meachum

The ATC Maastricht 2006 BoothWhen ATC Global was called ATCMaastricht, back in 2006, IFATCA got theoffer from the organizers (Jane’s in those days) to set up a free booth in theexhibition hall. We took the challenge and, with the help EGATS (especiallyPatrik Peters), spent a lot of time finding material for the decoration. Therewere surplus copies of The Controller magazine to give away and we evenoffered Neil Vidler’s book ‘Under Control’ for sale.

Charming female controllers manned the booth, Carol Gilroy from Irelandand Jeanette Arthur from EGATS. We had a lot of interested visitors andsuccess during the 3 days, but the effort proved very costly in the end, andthe project was abandoned the subsequent years.

Philippe Domogala

Back to the rootsBy Philippe Domogala

The forefathers of IFATCAmet in Amsterdam in October1961 to lay the basis of the constitution that foundedIFATCA. They did so in the ’Centraal Hotel’ near theLeidseplein square in the middle of the city. The addresswas Leidse Bosje. (meaning: little wood of Leiden ).

The hotel name no longer exists, and the address sincechanged to Stadhouderskade, so it took a while to relocatethe building, but the little wood still there and we found it:it is now called the NH Amsterdam Centre.

The manager had even a photo of the old ‘Centraal Hotel’in his office, and the meeting room where our forefathersmet is still there, but totally remodeled now, with allmodern communications and amenities.

The current IFATCA executive Board had its last EBmeeting In Amsterdam last June, and together with theDutch Guild decided to visit the hotel and have a 50thbirthday drink in the place where it all started 50 years ago.

The very raison d’êtreof IFATCA, oncequestioned and evenopposed, is nowchampioned and itsviews and policies nowsought, perhaps notuniversally butcertainly by those whoreally matter.

IFATCA HISTORY


By neil VidlerThe Controller magazine is almost as old as theFederation itself. In fact, in some ways, it is even older!

First editor Walter Endlichrelied on the logistic supportof his wife, Ursula.

Photos for both: WE

50 YEARS ofTHECONTROLLERMAGAZINE

Whilst switching fromthe outset to English,early editions alsocarried inserts invarious languages forits multinationalreadership.

The founding conference ofIFATCA in October, 1961immediately addressed the needfor a respected vehicle toconvey and facilitate opinionexchange and disseminateinformation.

As a result, the journal came intobeing in January, 1962 – only 3months after the formation of the newworld ATC body. But the ‘new’magazine was in fact born from thealready existing German Association’spublication Der Flugleiter, which hadbeen published in one form oranother since the late 1950s.

Whilst switching from the outset toEnglish, early editions also carriedinserts in various languages for itsmultinational readership. However,initially IFATCA was unable to manageits new publication and the GermanAssociation’s (VDF) accepted theoverall management of the magazine.This support, including an all-important financial guarantee,continued until late 1967.

As first editor, Germany’s WalterEndlich also assumed an ExecutiveBoard position. Invaluably assistingWalter in the quarterly task ofproducing The Controller was his wifeUrsula. She typed the articles, soughtand sold advertising space andhandled all the correspondence.Walter was solely responsible for

compiling articles, layout, proof-reading, production and distribution.Only the actual printing was out-sourced.

Walter Endlich had to eventuallystep down and he did so in 1972 tomassive praise after almost 12 years asEditor. Without his and his wife’sincredible contributions, TheController would never have survived.

Coincident with Ge de Boer (SouthAfrica) assuming the role of Editor, theEB delivered a new commitment tore-establish the magazine’s pre-eminence. The original coverdepicting several air routes meetingover a fix was changed in 1973 toshow a map of the world overlaidwith a radar scope. It remainedthat way for a further 17 years.Hard hitting editorials were afeature of de Boer’s stewardshipas the Federation moved in a‘new’ direction. He was editor forjust 4 years but in that time hetotally revitalised andconsolidated the Federation’smasthead.

Following Brian Jones’s earlyresignation late in 1978, novolunteers were forthcoming. VPProfessional Andreas Avgoustis(Cyprus) stepped in as an interimeditor. He remained until 1986!Avgoustis broke new ground byfrequently sharing his editorial page

18 tHe controller

IFATCA HISTORY


with President Henschler. With a legalbackground, ‘AA’ often provided veryinformative international law articles.

The next important aspect of thelife of The Controller occurred in 1983with the formation of the ‘ControllerManagement Group’. This dedicatedband of three Swiss controllers reinedin the deficits and placed themagazine’s financial affairs on a muchsounder footing and maintained tightoversight for 12 years. The newlyaccrued reserves enabled importanttechnological changes such asdesktop publishing and increasing useof colour to make the publicationmore attractive. New equipment wasable to be purchased from TheController’s own reserves thus placingno strain on the Federation’sresources.

Ex-President Henschler (Canada)assumed the reins in late 1986. With awealth of experience and copiousindividual input, Henschler added tohis already significant IFATCAcontribution. And it was he who, in1990 introduced the photographiccover page finally retiring the verydated radarscope graphic!

New technologies enabled TerryCrowhurst (UK, 1991-99) to radicallyimprove the magazine’s appearanceand layout. Regional contributingeditors were introduced. Withincreasingly wider contributions, the

magazine certainly became readable.With the dawning of the new

millennium, fellow Briton Chris Stockassumed editorial responsibility. Stockcontinued the process of improvingthe format of the magazine, takingdesign ideas from contemporarypublications, making The Controllermore attractive and desirable to thewider aviation industry. He introducedthe idea of devoting issues to majorthemes and gave more emphasis totechnical material. One of the morememorable issues dealt with ATCaspects of 9/11!

EGATS’s Philippe Domogala tookover in 2005 making a seamlesstransition for he had been heavilyinvolved in contributing articles foryears. Domogala introduced a newstyle, new layout, new cover and morecolour and photos and a new editorialteam. He was also directed to presentThe Controller as the Federation’svoice to the outside world. A majorsubscription campaign was launched.This resulted in a greatly increasedand wider readership because of, andenabling, improvements in quality anda return to financial viability.

When, in 2009, the post of DeputyEditor was created, Philip Marien, alsofrom EGATS, was appointed. Then, in2010, Domogala and Marien switchedroles. Again, a new Editor meant newenergy and new ideas. Innovatively,

Marien created a dedicated web sitewhere past issues are postedalongside teasers for the current issue.

The Federation has been veryfortunate in attracting high qualityeditors throughout its life. Theirapproaches have varied as one mightexpect. Whilst the style, content andquality of their editorials may havefluctuated - usually reflecting the times- The Controller’s standard, format,importance and relevance haveremained high andsteadily improved. It is apublication of which theFederation can be justlyproud.

19tHe controller

Former Editor ChrisStock took over fromTerry Crowhurst in1999.

Photo: DP

Current Editor PhilipMarien (EGATS) inbetween two issues.Photo: HM

Cover of the first issuefrom 1962

Cover announced the 25th anniversary ofthe Federation. The magazine’s coverremained the same for some 17 years.

In 1990, under the editorial leadership ofH. Henschler, the magazine had its first fullcolor photographic cover.

The Federation hasbeen very fortunate inattracting high qualityeditors for TheController magazinethroughout its life.

IFATCA HISTORY


20 tHe controller

We had set our goal high in 1961:The IFATCA Journal was not only intended as a source

of information for our fellow controllers, but was alsoaddressed at civil and military aviation authorities,international aviation organizations, aviation industry,pilots, airline staff, executive aircraft operators, airportadministrators, human engineering experts, and otherrelated parties. The air traffic control profession neededrecognition. It was widely unknown; Its particularrequirements and problems were often underestimated bythe appropriate national authorities. Reasons enough forme to acquaint all these parties with The Controller.

Much work ahead – and very limited resources. Wewere short of manpower, funds, office and communicationfacilities, transport, etc. you name it. Transport to AnnualConferences was a particular problem. Sometimes wewere granted free tickets by airlines.

A real highlight in this context was when, in 1970, theGerman Air Force flew some 180 European Controllerswith one of their Boeing 707s from Cologne to theMontreal Conference. Their tactical call sign was “IFATCA70“, much admired by all controllers and the ATC unitswhich guided these flights.

Annual Conferences – platforms for definingFederation policy – vividly fostered ‘togetherness’ andlifetime friendship. And the social activities at theseoccasions were events to remember. For instance, when –during the Rome Conference – His Holiness Paul VIreceived IFATCA Officers at the Vatican. Or when IFATCAPresident Maurice Cerf was instituted as Honorary Chief of

the Mohawk Indians in Montreal. Corporation Membersprovided decisive input to the Conferences, and to the IFATCAwork in general. A special Corporation Members Day wasorganised for them during Conference, which I usuallymoderated.

Human Factors was a key subject of my editorial objectives,right from the start. This greatly relied on the support ofrenowned aviation/psychology scientists, who providedsubject contributions such as The Importance of the HumanFactor for Collision Prevention in the Terminal Area, Man asData-Processing Link in the Air Traffic Control Service, Stressand Performance in Air Traffic Control, Human Factors in AirTraffic Control Displays, etc. We also attempted to publishearly information on new subjects – for instance foreignsystems and weather phenomena, which had been grey areasat the time: ATC in Russia, Vortex generation, Clear AirTurbulence, Wind Shear, etc.

Many air traffic controllers, pilots and aviation staff are radioamateurs, myself included. This caused my fellow Ham friendErnie Bracy, W1BFA, and myself to create an International AirTraffic Control Net. Ernie was Head of FAA Flight Service inMaine and operated the net on 14.277kHz every day until earlythis year, when he unfortunately passed away.

Many Controllers will remember him, when he operatedHAM stations at various Annual Conferences; and spread theIFATCA gospel around the World. My editorial for the firstissue of the Journal started something like... one future dayThe Controller may become the voice of controllers all over theWorld. During fifty years many dedicated controllers haveturned that vision to magnificent reality.

The Early Days ofTHE CONTROLLERMagazinenostalgic MemoriesBy Walter endlich, first editor ofthe controller (1961 - 1972)

Walter Endlich today.

Photo: DP

German Air Force B-707 brought IFATCA delegatesfrom Europe to Montreal for the 1970 Conference. Audition with Pope Paul VI, 1966.

President Maurice Cerfbecomes an HonoraryChief of the MohawkIndians.

We were short ofmanpower, funds,office andcommunicationfacilities, transport,etc. you name it.

Photo: WE

Photo: WEPhoto: WE

IFATCA HISTORY


21tHe controller

The older members of the National Associations willmost probably remember that in October 1961, wehad originally chosen EFATCA

(European Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’Associations) as the name for our organisation.

At the time I was Editor of DER FLUGLEITER (Journal ofthe German Controllers’ Association VDF), and I participatedenthusiastically in the preparatory work for the newFederation as did fellow controllers of the VDF like theirpresident Hans Thau, who was later elected IFATCA Secretaryat Amsterdam.

It was my Watch Supervisor at Frankfurt ACC, GerhardStallmach, who designed the round EFATCA logo, which waseventually accepted by the preparatory group.

Another great supporter was Heinz (‘Henry’) Arnim,Treasurer of the VDF. When we needed money, for instanceto print circulars and mail them to potential members of theFederation, etc. it was Henry who, after careful scrutiny, madeit available.

As the Constitutional Conference came closer, an

increasing amount of papers and documentshad to be prepared. In these hectic activities theprinting of the Charters of Affiliation for potentialMember Associations was very high on the priority list,for they were to be handed out at Amsterdam.

These Charters were beautiful, printed on light amber,hand-made paper. Looking towards the future, we hadprepared more than the original number needed, hoping thatmany others would soon join the Federation.

When the name of the Federation was discussed at theConference, it was - if I recall correctly - Mr. Gilmore, the IATARepresentative, who suggested to replace ‘European’ by‘International’ as it would be far more appropriate for a trulyInternational Organisation than EFATCA. When his proposalwas unanimously adopted, Henry sighed: “A good decisionfor the Federation, but what a pity for the beautiful Charterdocuments”.

After the conference Gerhard Stallmach redesigned thelogo, we had corrected documents printed and sent them toall the new Member Associations.

Where IFATCA got its Name and LogoBy Walter endlich, first editor the controller (1961)

When I was elected at Dublin in 1972, I was aware thatour Associations were expecting more from theIFATCA Executive Board (EB) regarding human factors.

Just before the election, Paul Lacour, then President of theLuxemburg association, asked: “What are you going to do forus?” I promised I would consider the matter of what could bepossible within the constitution and by-laws of the federation. Asa first step, I suggested that Associations encounteringdifficulties should invite the Executive Board to meet within theirrespective country, which would possibly allow meetings withlocal and national authorities. The first attempt was made inLuxemburg in February 1973 and it proved to be successful. Thiswas somehow the first move towards having the Federationdealing with problems Associations were having.

Regarding ‘The Controller’, the first issue dated Winter1961/62 was a transition from ‘DER FLUGLEITER’ (Journal of theVDF Verband Deutscher Flugleiter) to ‘The Controller’. Itrepresented an achievement by the Editor, Walter Endlich.During nearly twelve years, Walter promoted the image ofIFATCA with unremitting dedication. However, having changedfrom the DFS to EUROCONTROL, Walter met difficulties inproducing the journal. In 1971, only three issues were producedand nothing in the first three quarters of 1972. At the EBmeeting in the fall, Walter detailed the situation. He proposed toproduce one issue only (volume 11 1/4) which would mark the

tenth Anniversary. It would essentially contain re-prints from thepast decade. The main problem however was of financial nature.The reserve fund had vanished and requests for advertisementwere scarce. Walter suggested that the EB provide the necessaryfunding which, if my recollection is right, amounted to eightthousand Swiss francs. At first the discussion was rather sharpand a decision postponed to the next day. Leaving the room,Walter was very much depressed. Chatting with him, Walterconvinced me that not publishing any issue for a full year couldeventually mean the death of ‘The Controller’. I also strongly feltthat one could just not forget all the dedication Walter had put inthe publication since its inception in 1961. After long discussionsdeep into the night, the EB supported Walter's proposal. Theanniversary issue was dated December 1972. The position of theEB was eventually agreed upon by Reykjavik conference in may73 and Ge de Boer was elected new editor. The vol. 12, No 1/3was issued in August 73 and No 4 in November. From then on,the journal was again issued regularly on a quarterly basis.

This indeed is now part of history but I think it illustrates howsuch ‘small’ decisions made at a given time have had animportant impact on the development of IFATCA.

With all my best wishes to the future of IFATCA and indeedits publication, ‘The Controller’.

J-D. Monin

Early expectationsJean-Daniel MoninPresident ifatca, 1972-1978

IFATCA HISTORY


22 tHe controller

Anyone who has been involved with IFATCA, eitherdirectly or peripherally, cannot help but look upon its50th Anniversary with a substantial amount of prideand satisfaction regarding the Federation’s ongoingsuccesses.

That is not to say that the ATC profession has achievedadequate recognition everywhere in the world, but, mostassuredly, much advancement has taken place, and asubstantial portion of that can be credited to IFATCA’s efforts.

The founders of IFATCA fifty years ago, had the foresightand determination to create a representative internationalbody for the profession.

The forethought of this small group of controllers,representing their national associations, who laid thecornerstone for the future international family of air trafficcontrollers worldwide, deserves out unequivocal admiration.The initial European formation quickly developed into IFATCA,and the ensuing ‘global village’ where ideas were exchanged,developments in technology were discussed, shortcomingswere identified, and solutions proposed.

Over the years, we have often heard it said that ATC,carried out by humans, would soon be a thing of the past.IFATCA has always maintained that the controller cannot bereplaced by a machine, regardless of how sophisticated thetechnology may be. It is reassuring that this principlecontinues to hold, while improvements to the supportingequipment are always welcomed.

This notion of the supremacy of the human component inaviation, including air traffic control, has proven to be validthroughout IFATCA’s history. It has been corroborated timeand again in the fruitful co-operative processes the Federationhas achieved, often after prolonged efforts, with suchauthoritative bodies as the International Civil AviationOrganization (ICAO), the International Federation or Air LinePilots’ Associations (IFALPA), the International LabourOrganization (ILO), and numerous others.

The ongoing co-operation and interchange of ideas withother international aviation bodies have significantlycontributed to streamlining and updating air traffic control andair traffic management procedures, and encouraged a much

deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of theaviation system, and of all participants in it.

Of course, IFATCA’s path has not been, and will not be,without challenges and occasional crises. One major one, nodoubt, was the PATCO USA strike. It was turned, by thegovernment, from a labour strife into an act that warranted notonly dismissing controllers by the thousands, but they werearrested and dragged out of their homes in handcuffs andshackles.

Despite IFATCA’s best efforts, we were unable to achieve achange of mind in the administration, and – it is my opinion –that the US ATC system suffered for years thereafter.

Also, of course, a worrisome ignorance still exists in someparts of the world: some governments don't realise the roletheir ATC systems have in safety, but are also indifferent to thecontribution of ATC to the national economy, including thetourism industry. These are the areas where ATC is under-funded and understaffed, using equipment one would expectto find in an aviation museum.

Still, as stated at the outset, the Federation has come along way and continues to stride into a positive future. All thisis due to the selfless efforts of so many people who sogenerously donate their time and effort.

These individuals would not be able to offer themselves tothat extent without the selfless assistance of their spouses andpartners. Here, I speak from experience, having been thefortunate recipient of limitless support over many years. Allefforts on behalf of the Federation are group efforts, as are itssuccesses.

To close on a personal note, since retiring we have movedto the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, Canada. We livein a semi-desert climate, mild winters, hot summers and littleprecipitation, surrounded by orchards and vineyards. Forsome years now, I have been a member of the Executive ofour local branch of Habitat for Humanity, building homes forless fortunate families, an activity I find genuinely fulfilling.

Harri Henschler

Past reflectionsafter 50 yearsBy Harri HenschlerPresident ifatca, 1978-1986

“IFATCA has always maintained thatthe controller cannot be replaced by amachine, regardless of howsophisticated the technology may be.”

“ In some parts of the world,[...] ATC isunder-funded and understaffed, usingequipment one would expect to find inan aviation museum.“

IFATCA HISTORY


23tHe controller

How did I become President? Reluctantly.Actually the reluctance was a year before when I was

persuaded to become VP Technical. No one had ever donethis from a country as far away as Australia. Any meeting not inAsia was at least 24 hours away. Even Asia was seven hoursaway. I didn’t know whether I would get the support of Qantasor my employer. As it turned out both were terrific.

I became President in Acapulco in 1990. I also inherited abrand new constitution and makeup of the Executive Board.As EVP Tech I had been part of a five man Board. TheFederation also had a Council consisting of the Board andCouncillors for the various regions (more than we have now).The Council met once a year. Conference had decided thatthis did not give sufficient day to day contact from membersto the Board so they changed the Board to what we havenow, and demolished the Council. We now had a Board ofnine and a different way of operating. We had to make it work.It’s success is that it is still operating twenty one years later.

I was the first President to address the Commission ofICAO at the 10th ANC. I was lucky in that I had made verygood friends with the Director of the ICAO Air Navigation

Bureau, Bill Fromme, who really supported us. I had alsoknown the President of ICAO, Dr Assad Kotaite, since 1974when he was Secretary General. All this helped us when tryingto be a member of the CNS/ATM Systems ImplementationTask Force (CASITAF). The first meeting did not includeIFATCA. The next did. Another member of our Board, BertRuitenberg, also made a singular impression on ICAObecoming a worldwide expert on Human Factors.

I was the first IFATCA President to address the IFALPAGeneral Assembly. As President of the Australian ATCAssociation I had always had excellent relations with theAustralian Federation of Airline Pilots and this gave me a solidintroduction and support with IFALPA.

There have been many highlights but space is too short toname them all. I was supported by the most amazingexecutive board. Outstanding. Having been born in Egypt,lived in India, educated in England, went to sea and based inEast Africa, and finally going to Australia gave me a reallyinternational background. I made many, many friends. I lovedit and I am forever grateful for having had the opportunity.

Charles Stuart

Presidency fromdown underBy charles StuartPresident ifatca, 1990-1994

Although we started the celebrations and did a toastalready in Amman, Jordan, it gives me great pleasureto take this opportunity to salute the federation withits 50th birthday.

In my young days as a controller I had the pleasure ofworking with Mr. Henning Trane of Denmark, one of theindividuals who took part in the establishment of IFATCA backin 1961. Celebrating 50 years in Jordan, brought backmemories of Henning and the dedication with which ourfounding colleagues from back then, worked to create IFATCA.

Although some of the old-timers have passed away, it wasan extreme pleasure to meet and greet with so many oldaquaintances and with my fellow boardmembers from the

1990s. Sharing memories, getting updates on how life is today,taking a photo for the IFATCA album and so on, felt great andonly confirms the words from the Eagles ‘Hotel California’;”You can check out anytime you like – but you can neverleave”. This is how I believe many of us feel about IFATCA, theprofession of Air Traffic Control and the friends we have gainedthroughout the years. It simply stays in your blood!

Thank you IFATCA, for having given me the opportunity tohave served you – thank you for having given me friends for lifeand thank you for having given me an insight in air trafficcontrol that can not be found elsewhere.

Sincerely and from the heart!

Preben Lauridsen

Happy 50thanniversary!By Preben lauridsenPresident ifatca, 1994-1998

IFATCA HISTORY


24

IFATCA HISTORY

tHe controller

Dear IFATCA,When we met the first time you were in your mid thirties

and for me full of mystery and discovery. Participating at myfirst European Regional Meeting it appeared to me that youwere a powerful organization which started to become wellknown for it’s professionalism and it’s awesome knowledgein air traffic control matters. During my first attendance atthe conference in New Zealand you flabbergasted mecompletely.

I was stunned and couldn’t believe what it meant to bepart of such a huge family which was gathering around you,your ideals, your dedication and all these good men andwomen passionate about you and your prime goal. I wascharmed by the way you managed to motivate all thosedelegates around the world to gather with the force and thepassion only air traffic control can display about thereprofession.

I spent over a decade with you (first as EVP Europe andthen as President), in the morning you were the first thingwhich came to my mind and you were the last thing which Ispend a few thoughts before falling asleep. You havechanged my life in a unforeseen and a enjoyable way. Whenyou turned forty, you not only continued to exert anattraction on many air traffic controllers around the world butyou charmed ICAO as well with your way of being, whichlead to a new era – that of being officially recognized at theAir Navigation Commission of ICAO.

And now you are 50, strong, respectable and still veryattractive. You have become outspoken, respected and anintegral part of the global aviation family. I wish you for thecoming years stamina, success and a hope that you willremain as attractive for others as you still are for me.

Happy birthday

Marc Baumgartner

IFATCA:A declarationof loveBy Marc BaumgartnerPresident ifatca, 2002-2010

I join the chorus congratulating the Federation onher 50th birthday.

The Federation’s growth in those 50 years is evidence ofthe valuable service the Federation provides air trafficcontrollers worldwide and its invaluable contributiontowards the development of air traffic management globally.I especially humbly enjoyed the opportunity to serve as

President of the Federation and I recall fondly the manyfriends who sacrificed countless hours each and everyweek to ensure our voice was heard. I wish the Federationcontinued success in the coming years and decadesahead.

Sam Lampkin

Wishing IFATCAcontinuedsuccessBy Sam lampkinPresident ifatca, 1998-2002


25tHe controller

THE STATE OF AIRTRAFFIC CONTROLACROSS THEWORLD

On the following 40 pages, you’ll find the results of an ambitious survey thatthe IFATCA Board and Editorial Team initiated. The idea was to present anoverview of the ‘State of ATC’ across the globe by asking the Federations’Member Associations a few simple questions...

Some of the information is self-evident. Other questions need some context to beinterpreted correctly:

• Population and GDP data, maps and flags were obtained from the online version of theCIA World Factbook (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html). The info is continuously updated – the info in our survey was takenin Spring 2011.

• We consulted IFALPA’s Annex 29 (from November 2010), which lists problems for airlinepilots in the different countries. This ranges from no reported issues, to topographicalissues, to minor problem and critical deficiencies. If you need clarification on any ofthese issues, please contact IFALPA.

• For ‘Automation Level’, one star was awarded to places with predominantly proceduralcontrol. Two stars had basic radar, without flight plan processing. Flight plan processingcombined with radar got three stars.

• The salary level and social working conditions are scored by the MA, relative to the restof the population in their country. For the salary, they were asked to compare to theGDP for their country: below, they scored 1 star; about the same was 2 and above was 3stars. While not scientific, it should give a good idea of the controllers’ position withinsociety in each country.

As you’ll see browsing through, there’s still a lot of work out there for IFATCA.

The Editorial Team

IFATCA SURVEY

Photo:©FengYu|Dreamstime.com

Photo:©Nomadsoul1|Dreamstime.com


26

IFATCA SURVEY

tHe controller

Europe

Population:2,986,952 (July 2010 est.)

GNP per capita:$8,000 (2010 est.)

UN Economic Category: 2

Controllersalary level: ��

Social workingconditions: �

Automation Level: ��

AlbaniaAlbanian Air TrafficControllers’ Association

First joined IFATCA 1994

ATS facilities: 2

Number FIRs controlled: 1

Controlled Airports: 1

Number controllers: 46

Staff Shortage: 30-40%

Future modernization projectsNew TWR and ACC underconstruction (ready end 2011)

External training requirementTraining is required for Sky-Linesystem and VCS

Safety management system: Yes

Just culture in place: No

CISM: No

Fatigue Management: No

ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: No reportedissues

Other problem areas: No reportedissues

Africa & Middle East





Social workingconditions: ��


AlgeriaSyndicat National des Personnels dela Circulation Aérienne de Algeria


ATS facilities: 33




Staff Shortage: 25%

Future modernization projectsADS-B; 2nd FIR in the south with fullradar coverage and ADS-B(southwest) with an automated system

External training requirementCurrently no external trainingrequirements



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes


Other problem areas: ATC License notestablished yet

Americas







ArgentinaAsociación de Controladores deTránsito Aéreo de Argentina


ATS facilities: 40





Future modernization projectsRadar APP Control in near future;New ATFM system; Longterm plansfor TRACON

External training requirementEnglish; Refresher courses



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: No

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesAirport deficiencies in Buenos Aires,Cordoba, Mendoza. Non standard R/TEnglish standard marginallyacceptable.

Other problem areas: Labourdiscipline

Americas

Population:86,754 (July 2010 est.)





Automation Level: �

Antigua andBarbudaThe Guild of Antigua & BarbudaAir Traffic Control Officers


ATS facilities: 3

Number FIRs controlled: 1 CTA



Staff Shortage: 32%

Future modernization projectsRADAR and AIM pendingimplementation

External training requirementProcedural APP/ADM; Qualityassurance; Supervisory training;examiner/OJTI training

Safety management system: No


CISM: No

Fatigue Management: Yes

ICAO level 4: No

IFALPA Safety level: Minor Issues,airport deficiencies in VC Bird

Other problem areas: Reliability ofcomms equipment; Facilities areoutdated


27

IFATCA SURVEY

The ConTroller

Nepal - FACTSPopulation: 21.4 millionGDP per capita: 1,200 USD

Rice (instead of bread)1kg 1 USD

Milk 1liter 0.5 USD

Cup coffee 0.25 USD

Taxi 10 km 4-10 USD (bargaining)

Movie Ticket 3 USD

Service Provider Facts & FiguresName: Civil Aviation Authority of NepalStatus: Government agencyTotal number of employees: 1,065 of which 200are controllers. Of these, 120 are in active duty.Number En-route ACCs: 1Number int’l airports: 1IFR Traffic/Mvts per year: 140,000

Why did you become a Controller?My family worked in aviation and I wasfascinated by aviation in general. While I knewthat the money was low, I wanted to work withaircraft and applied as a controller.

How is the training organized in yourcountry?We spend 14 months in Kathmandu in ourown ATC school. Then, it takes about 2 weekson-the-job training to validate in a smallcontrol tower somewhere in the country. I wassent to Rumjahar, an airport with only 2 flightsa day! After staying there for one year, I movedto a bigger airport (Biratnagar) for 6 monthsand then to Kathmandu International as TWRcontroller. Within 3 years, I managed to getthe remaining qualifications: approach radarand ACC.

What do you like in your job?Working in aviation.

What is the current operational hottopic you have in your place of work?Management, lack of manpower, lack ofadvanced equipment, lack of automation, westill have to write all the strips by hand forinstance.

What is the most unpleasant situationfor you in your daily job?Eating. We don't have good canteen facilitiesand the first thing everyone discusses when wecome to work is: ”What are we going to eattoday?“

What would you change in your workingenvironment?If I was given the chance, I would go forautomation: better and more advanced ATCequipment.

What is the funniest thing thathappened to you while being acontroller?Coordinations with China: Their English issometimes.... basic. I called them one day andstarted with “Good morning. How are you?“After some silence, a Chinese voice on theother side replied: “Are you? RU? Say againcall sign?“

e-mail: [email protected]

To be acontroller in...

Nepal

Name: Devendra Prasad ShresthaWorks in: KatmanduAge: 39House: Lives with his parentsMonthly Salary: 800 USDMarital Status: Married, 2 childrenCar: Doesn’t own a car

All photos: DP

“I would like better andmore advanced equipment”


28

IFATCA SURVEY

The ConTroller

Europe






Automation Level:��

AustriaAustrian Air TrafficControllers Association


ATS facilities: 7



Number controllers: ±300

Staff Shortage: 25%

Future modernization projectsNew ATM system; new TWR inSalzburg; new stripless system atairports; CPDLC

External training requirementNot yet



CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesAirport Technical deficiencies inInnsbruck, Klagenfurt and Salzburg


Asia & Pacific







AustraliaCivil Air Operations Officers’Association of Australia


ATS facilities: 27(2 ACC, 4 TCU, 22 TWR)




Staff Shortage: 10%

Future modernization projectsReplacement ATM System (TAAATS);Implementation of WAM PRM;Automated conflict detection

External training requirementTertiary qualification for entry; alltraining internal


Just culture in place: Yes

CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor Issues,Airports Technical deficiencies inLearmouth (YPLM)

Other problem areas: Uncontrolledairports

Americas







BarbadosBarbados Air TrafficControl Association


ATS facilities: 1




Staff Shortage: 10%

Future modernization projectsRelocation

External training requirementSafety & Quality Management; AccidentInvestigation; Quality assurance



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesAirport deficiencies Bridgetown; lackATC awareness

Other problem areas: Organisationstructure; Succession planning;training.

Americas







ArubaAssociacion di Controladornandi Trafico Aéreo di Aruba


ATS facilities: 1




Staff Shortage: 0%

Future modernization projectsNew Flight Data Processing System to becompliant with new Flight Plan format.




CISM: No


ICAO level 4: No


Other problem areas: Nocommunication with Maiquetia ACCand SVJC airport @ 40 Nm from TNCA;Workload; training; Equipment;Leadership/management withoutvision.


IFATCA SURVEY


Italy

29The ConTroller

Why did you become a Controller?By chance. My brother was, and still is, an airtraffic controller and I became really curiousabout this world. Moreover, when I passed theselection to become a controller, it was the firsttime that women had the possibility to applyfor this job in Italy. I must say that I neverregretted my choice.

How is the training organized in yourcountry?Professional training is carried out at ENAVAcademy in Forlì. Student Air TrafficControllers follow a 14-month course whichtakes them from initial training until becomingfully radar APP qualified (APS). This initialcourse is then followed by on the job trainingand further professional training once theyarrive at operational units.

What do like in your job?Shifts, working in teams and making a job,which is not a routine one.

What is the current operational hottopic you have in your place of work?All topics related to controllers' legal liability.

We are very concerned about the urgency toharmonize and integrate the technicalstandards and regulations, that we have toapply when working, with the Italian legalsystem and civil code according to whichcontrollers are judged in case of an incident.

What is the most unpleasant situationfor you in your daily job?It is neither easy nor nice to work when there isno team integration.

What would you change in yourworking environment?The poor regard that public opinion oftenhave for us. Usually pilots enjoy a highreputation while controllers are still consideredas those “who are always on strike” more thanas professionals.

What is the funniest thing thathappened to you while being acontroller?It was funny to hear Italian pilot’s surprisewhen, more than twenty years ago, they firstheard our female voices on frequency.

Name: Maria Beatrice CandeloriWorks in: Rome ACCAge: 48House: Owns her own apartment inRomeMonthly Salary: 7,800 USDMarital Status: Married, 1 daughter.Car: 2009 Renault Clio

Photos: MBC, © Swisshippo | Dreamstime.com

“I have never regretted mychoice to become a controller”

Service Provider Facts & FiguresName: ENAVStatus: A joint-stock company controlled by the Ministry of Economy andFinance and supervised by the Ministry of Infrastructure and TransportTotal number of employees: 3,267 of which 2/3 in operational tasks.Number En-route ACCs: 4 - Rome, Milan, Padua, BrindisiNumber int’l airports: 39, of which 2 are major internationalhubs (Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa)IFR Traffic/Mvts per year: more than 2,000,000

Italy - FACTSPopulation: 61 millionGDP per capita: 30,700 USD

Rice (instead of bread)1kg 4 USD

Milk 1liter 2.2 USD

Cup coffee 1.1 USD

Taxi 10 km 25 USD

Movie Ticket 10 USD


30

IFATCA SURVEY

The ConTroller

Europe







BelarusBelarusian Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 8




Staff Shortage: 0%

Future modernization projectsNew automated ATC system + 3 newradars by 2014




CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes



Europe







BelgiumBelgian Guild of AirTraffic Controllers


ATS facilities: 6




Staff Shortage: 10%

Future modernization projectsFurther implementation of Mode S




CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes


Other problem areas: Mistrustbetween management and ATCOs atall levels; no political impulse due to alack of government.


Population:9,056,010



Controllersalary level: �



BeninAssociation Professionnelle desContrôleurs Aériens du Benin


ATS facilities: 1




Staff Shortage: 25%

Future modernization projectsConstruction of new control towerwith new automation system;implementation of ADS

External training requirementEnglish & ATC refresher courses



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes


Other problem areas: Staff shortage

Americas







BoliviaAsociación de Tecnicos enControl de Tránsito Aéreo


ATS facilities: 1


Controlled Airports: NR


Staff Shortage: 60%

Future modernization projectsNone reported




CISM: No


ICAO level 4: No




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32

IFATCA SURVEY

The ConTroller

Bosnia andHerzegoviniaBosnia & Herzegovina Air TrafficControllers' Association


ATS facilities: 5




Staff Shortage: 0%

Future modernization projectsNew ACC & APP facilities in Sarajevoand Banja Luka

External training requirementTraining is done externally



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes



Europe











Controllersalary level: NR

Social workingconditions: NR


BotswanaBotswana Air TrafficControllers' Association


ATS facilities: 10




Staff Shortage: 25%

Future modernization projectsUpgrade of 2 existing radar antenna'sto mode S + 1 additional mode Santenna

External training requirementOJT instructors, TRM, Refresher, etc



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesAirport Technical deficiencies inGaborone and Maun; No radar.

Other problem areas: Awaitingresults of Functional Analysis and JobEvaluation exercise

Americas







BrazilBrazilian Federation of Air TrafficControllers’ Associations


ATS facilities: 106



Number controllers: 3200+

Staff Shortage: 25%

Future modernization projectsSAGITARIO project: new radar consoleand FDP in ACC's and APP's using radar;modernisation of flight strip system inTWR and non-radar environments

External training requirementCurrently no external training requirem.

Safety management system: Ongoing


CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Ongoing

IFALPA Safety level: Minor Issuesairport deficiencies in Rio, Sao Paulo;deficiencies in VHF coverage in FIRs andpoor English phraseology.

Other problem areas: No independent par-ticipation of ATCO in new implementations;no HF experts take part in projects.

Europe







BulgariaBulgarian Air TrafficControllers' Association


ATS facilities: 9(1 ACC; 3 APP; 5 TWR)




Staff Shortage: 15%





CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes




33

GUEST ARTICLE

Entry Point North (Sweden)Sometimes it actually makes sense

that the mountain comes to theprophet. It’s a globalized world anddepending on the nature of yourprofession, your network may reachfar. As an ATM Training Academy,Entry Point North has had clients fromdifferent countries for different typesof courses, often including hours in asimulator. This has led to the idea ofbringing the simulator to the clientsfor certain training needs. It’sconvenient for the client; there are noassociated travel costs for courseparticipants or even travel time, thatmakes it easier to fit required training

MobiletrainingsimulationBy Anders halskov-Jensen,Air Traffic Controller,Training Specialist

Mobile Tower simulator trailer.Inside the simulator.

into an operational roster. There is ofcourse an upper limit to the size of amobile simulation setup, but EntryPoint North can propose twodifferent solutions.

The MOS-trailer, which isequipped with a high resolution 180°TWR simulator, including twocontroller positions with radar screensas well as pilot positions, ready to goto i.e. a remote airfield suitable forsmall scale simulations. Secondly, theMOS-box which can carry a largernumber of sim-positions set up onthe client’s premises, using localfacilities. Either solution will comewith various level of support fromsetup and configuration of thesimulator to include exercise – andairspace production, pseudo pilots orinstructors.”For Entry Point North, it’san important step towards offering asflexible solutions as possible when itcomes to meeting client’s needs”says Peter Kantner, BusinessDevelopment Manager. The newsimulation concept is still in its earlydays, but has already been used withsuccess in several places.Photo: EPN Photo: EPN


The ConTroller








Burkina FasoAssociation Professionnelle desContrôleurs Aeriens du Burkina


ATS facilities: 3




Staff Shortage: 40%

Future modernization projectsAs part of new global approach by ANSPASENCNA, airspace will be redesigned;Area service will be provided byneighbouring Niamey centre, leavingTWR and APP local.

External training requirementCurrently no external training requirem.



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Whole FIR Comms.deficiencies (IFBP) Ouagadougou airportAPP is over slaughterhouse, bird hazard.

Other problem areas: As traffic isgrowing everyday, there is a criticalneed of radar, ADS,








CameroonCameroon Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 3




Staff Shortage: 75%

Future modernization projectsFlight Information Centre / RADAR /ADSC

External training requirementEnglish Immersion & AdvancedTraining Courses



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes





GNP per capita:$300 (2010 est.)





BurundiBurundi Air TrafficControllers' Association


ATS facilities: 2




Staff Shortage: NR

Future modernization projectsNew tower that meets internationalstandards

External training requirementNot reported

Safety management system: Partial


CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes



Americas







CanadaCanadian Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 53




Staff Shortage: 7%





CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesAirport technical deficiencies in allairports and Toronto in particular.


34

IFATCA SURVEY


IFATCA SURVEY


Uganda

35The ConTroller

Uganda - FACTSPopulation: 33 millionGDP per capita: 11,000 USD

Bread 1 USD

Milk 1liter 0.5 USD

Cup coffee 1 USD

Taxi 10 km 10 USD

Movie Ticket 7 USD

Service Provider Facts & FiguresName: Civil Aviation Authorities UgandaStatus: Government owned companyTotal number of employees: 1000 of which 40 are controllers.Number En-route ACCs: 1Number int’l airports: 1IFR Traffic/Mvts per year: 60,000

Why did you become a Controller?I saw an advert and was in search of a job. So Iapplied, did the aptitude tests and passed oralinterviews and I was finally offered the job.However, along the way, I fell in love withaviation and ATC

How is the training organized in yourcountry?Induction course is done at home and theother professional courses done at other CivilAviation training centres, especially Dar EsSalam, Nairobi and Johannesburg. Currentlyonly one operational Controller has trained inSearch and Rescue and only about two inSMS, while none has OJTI.

What do you like in your job?The spirit of teamwork that controllers exhibitwhile performing their duties and theresponsibility to safety that the job carries.

What is the current operational hottopic you have in your place of work?The staff shortage problem with the four eyeprinciple, becoming harder to abide with andthe job re-evaluation exercise. We hope, thistime around the ATC job will be evaluatedappropriately.

What is the most unpleasant situationfor you in your daily job?Working with procedures that compromisesafety and nobody is willing to take on thechallenge of changing them, yet the Controlleris expected to perform error free. Time shouldbe invested in establishing an enablingenvironment for high performance.

What would you change in yourworking environment?Improve the welfare of the operationalController in terms of both remuneration andfacilitation. Trying, as much as possible, toimplement the IFATCA resolutions as stated inthe manuals, or better, create a mechanism ofupdating the existing procedures to fit in withtechnological changes...

What is the funniest thing thathappened to you while being acontroller?A time when a pilot delivered a carton oftinned Carlsberg beer to the Control Tower, inappreciation of the service. We had awonderful evening after our shift ended!


Name: Daniel WANJALAWorks in: Entebbe, UgandaAge: 35House: OwnerMonthly Salary: 600 USDMarital Status: MarriedCar: 1990 Toyota Corolla

All photos: Tierry Carquet

“I fell in love withaviation and ATC”


36

IFATCA SURVEY

The ConTroller








ChadAssociation des ContrôleursAériens au Tchad


ATS facilities: 4




Staff Shortage: 50%

Future modernization projectsNew airport project

External training requirementEnglish training



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Critical IssuesN’Djamena FIR Communicationsdeficiencies (IFBP)

Other problem areas: Association hasbeen dissolved and experiencingdifficulties in the creation of a newone.








ComorosAir Traffic Controllers’Association of Comoros


ATS facilities: 4




Staff Shortage: 26%

Future modernization projectsNew technical building including TWR,AIM unit, MET office and othertechnical dept.




CISM: No


ICAO level 4: 84%

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesTopography in Moroni.


Americas







ColombiaAsociación Colombiana de Controla-dores de Tránsito Aéreo of Colombia


ATS facilities: 102




Staff Shortage: 40%

Future modernization projectsCentral Flow Management; update ofcomms equipment in ACCs and TWRs

External training requirementNR



CISM: No


ICAO level 4:15% is training; no plan for others


Other problem areas: Outdatedsystem; no plan to bring remaining85% of staff up to ICAO level 4

Americas







ChileColegio de Controladores deTransito Aereo de Chile


ATS facilities: 27




Staff Shortage: 7%

Future modernization projectsNew FPL format - ADS/B

External training requirementAirspace design; ATFM



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes




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And whether you want the fully automated power of NAVCANsuite, or the advanced

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So come and see the only innovative ATM technology solution with anoperational advantage – NAVCANatm.

www.NAVCANatm.ca

IF YOU COULD SEE WHAT I SEE


38

IFATCA SURVEY

The ConTroller

Congo,Democratic Republic of theAssociation des Contrôleursde la Circulation Aérienne


ATS facilities: 21 (11 TWR; 8 APP; 2 ACC)




Staff Shortage: 50%

Future modernization projectsModernise Ndjili, lubumbashi & Kisan-gani airports including ATS; CompleteVHF coverage of FIRs; acquisition ofRadar and ADS-B equipment.

External training requirementICAO LVL4; Radar; ADS-B



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: No

IFALPA Safety level: Critical IssuesKinshasa airport deficiencies, ATCoverloaded, numerous airprox reports,Kinshasa FIR Comms, deficiencies (IFBP)

Other problem areas: Area control isstill in the container








Congo,Republic of theAssociation Professionelle desContrôleurs Aérien du Congo


ATS facilities: 3




Staff Shortage: 52%

Future modernization projectsNew ACC; new runway and terminal inBrazzaville

External training requirementHuman factors; PBN; English level 4



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Critical IssuesWhole Brazzaville FIRCommunications deficiencies (IFBP

Other problem areas: Workingenvironment(improper); Unreliableequipment; Staff shortage; uneasyrelationship with CAA















Côte d'IvoireAssociation Professionnelle desContrôleurs de la Circulation Aérienne


ATS facilities: 1




Staff Shortage: 45%

Future modernization projectsNew tower incl. better facilities forstaff, but delayed due to conflictsituation; Project to segregatecontrollers to only work TWR or ACC

External training requirementIncident & Accident Investigations;CISM; Procedure design;communications



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesAirport deficiencies in Abidjan

Other problem areas: Staff; lack ofrefresher/currency training

Europe







CroatiaCroatian Air TrafficControllers' Association


ATS facilities: 15(10 TWR; 4 TMA; 1 ACC)





Future modernization projectsNew ATM system for Zagreb by 2014;new ATM system for TMAs by 2011

External training requirementRadar training



CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes




IFATCA SURVEY


IslamicRep.of Iran

39The ConTroller

Iran - FACTSPopulation: 77.891 millionGDP per capita: 11,200 USD

Bread1kg 0.6 USD

Milk 1liter 0.8 USD

Cup coffee 0.5 USD

Taxi 10 km 4 USD

Movie Ticket 1 USD

Service Provider Facts & FiguresName: Iran Airport CompanyStatus: Semi-governmentalTotal number of employees: 5,000 of which 900 are controllers.Number En-route ACCs: 1 ACC - TehranNumber int’l airports: 8IFR Traffic/Mvts per year: 144,000

Why did you become a Controller?I’ve always been interested in aviation. Idecided to become a controller in the last yearof high school.

How is the training organized in yourcountry?Basic training, including simulator, is done inthe Civil Aviation Technology college, inTehran. It lasts 2.5 years. I then did nearly 18mounts OJT before my first rating in 1999.

What do you like in your job?I appreciate the Continuous Training Program– it gives me a chance to stay on top of thingsand shows that the job is actually quitedynamic.

What is the current operational hottopic you have in your place of work?Safety Enhancement

What is the most unpleasant situationfor you in your daily job?Airspace mismanagement. And lack of ATFM.

What would you change in yourworking environment?Recruitment Training system.

What is the funniest thing thathappened to you while being acontroller?Aircraft going around because of camel onrunway! (Go around instructed by the ATCOafter strange RWY incursion by the animal)

e-mail Controller: [email protected]

Name: Ali HaghighiWorks in: ShirazAge: 34House: Owned by the airportMonthly Salary: 1,200 USDMarital Status: Married, 1 daughterCar: KIA Pride from 2005

All photos: DP

“I have always beeninterested in aviation”


40

IFATCA SURVEY

The ConTroller

Europe







CyprusCyprus Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 3 (2 TWR; 1 ACC)




Staff Shortage: 50%

Future modernization projectsNew premises for the ACC; Newstripless system for ACC expected tobe online by 2012




CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Critical IssuesNo coordination with the Northernportion of the FIR controlled due topolitical situation.


Europe







Czech RepublicCzech Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 5 (4 TWR; 1 ACC)




Staff Shortage: 30%

Future modernization projectsNew radar data processing system




CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes


Other problem areas: Just Culturerules needs to be improved; RAdownlink rules need crucial revision.

Europe







DenmarkDanish Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 11 (1 ACC; 10 TWR)




Staff Shortage: 0%

Future modernization projectsSoftware upgrade of Thales radar systemjoint venture with Sweden, Ireland andDenmark (COOPANS) mid 2012. Croatiaand Austria will be joining COOPANS,Free routing in NUAC (Danish/SwedishFAB) implemented by end of 2011

External training requirementCommon ATCO training academy withNorway, Sweden and Denmark.Placed I Malmö southern Sweden



CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: No reprtd. issues









DjiboutiAssociation Professionnelle desContrôleurs de la Circulation Aérienne


ATS facilities: 7




Staff Shortage: 20%


External training requirementNone reported



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: 10%

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesAirport deficiencies




Japan

41The ConTroller

Service Provider Facts & FiguresName: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.Status: State ownedTotal number of employees: Unknown, but about 2000 controllersNumber En-route ACCs: 4 (Sapporo, Tokyo, Fukuoka, Naha)Number int’l airports: 5 (Kansai, Narita, Chubu, Tokyo, Osaka);about 25 larger domestic airportsIFR Traffic/Mvts per year: > 2,500,000

Why did you become a Controller?I watched a TV program that featured a femaleair traffic controller at Tokyo int’l AP when I wasa high school student. I found the jobinteresting.

How is the training organized in yourcountry?I studied at school for two years includingsimulator training. OJT at the first facility tookme about 20 months. I have lots ofmemorable experiences, good ones. Thanks,everyone! Now, fresh people study at schoolfor a year, and will be transferred to facilities.OJT periods vary from six months to threeyears (or more?).

What do you like in your job?No discrimination. Shift work, having days offon weekdays is irreplaceable, but hopefully nonight shifts for beauty sleep.

What is the current operational hottopic you have in your place of work?A new parallel taxiway? Our airport has onerunway for 135,000 IFRs per year andtechnically one parallel taxiway for domesticflights (most of it). This means the taxiway isused for push-back / taxing / towing, andcreates delays. The installation of another

parallel taxiway will make a BIG difference. Idon’t know when.

What is the most unpleasant situationfor you in your daily job?Hearing a kind of sullen voice. I wonderwhether I’ve done something wrong.

What would you change in your workingenvironment?I desperately hope that ‘Just Culture’ concept islegally adopted in Japan. Also as a minor thing,I’d like to have the color of ATC console andwhole work environment changed using colortherapy. As stress management is effective inreducing human error, color therapy could workon that at a small cost.

What is the funniest thing thathappened to you while being acontroller?Working as an APP controller, I dropped mypen between the RDR display and the table.We had a gap there. “Dropped it” in Japanese,the same word used for “it’s crashed,” saidinvoluntarily. At the same time, I leaned forwardand unfortunately stepped on the radio foot-bar. The voice was on radio... I had some trafficthat time. It was so embarrassing.

e-mail Controller [email protected]

Name: URAHISA MayumiWorks in: Fukuoka APAge: 36House: Rented, 3 roomsMonthly Salary: 3,500 USDMarital Status: MarriedCar: 15 year old SUZUKI JIMNY Jeep

Photos: UM,© Sean Pavone/dreamstime.com, Hiro Tade

“Having days off onweekdays is irreplaceable”

IFATCA SURVEY

Japan - FACTSPopulation: 61 millionGDP per capita: 11,200 USD

Bread1kg 4 USD

Milk 1liter 2.2 USD

Cup coffee 1.1 USD

Taxi 10 km 25 USD

Movie Ticket 10 USD


42

IFATCA SURVEY

The ConTroller

Americas







EcuadorAsociacion Nacional deControladores de Tránsito Aéreo


ATS facilities: 27




Staff Shortage: 40%

Future modernization projectsUpdate RADAR PresentationGuayaquil ACC, Multilareation andRADAR other airports

External training requirementSome in house, other done by externalcompanies



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: TopographicalIssues, Mountains/Topography inSucre (SEQU)


Americas







DominicanRepublicAsociación Dominicana deControladores Aéreos Inc.


ATS facilities: 10



Number controllers: NR

Staff Shortage: 45%

Future modernization projectsNew ACC in Santo Domingo; new TWR& APP in Punta Cana




CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes



Europe

Population:N/A

GNP per capita:N/A

UN Economic Category:N/A




EGATSEurocontrol Guild ofAir Traffic Services


ATS facilities: 1 ACC




Staff Shortage: 0%


External training requirementCommon-core ATCO training



CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes










EgyptEgyptian Air TrafficControllers' Association


ATS facilities: 37




Staff Shortage: 30%

Future modernization projectsRe-sectorisation; complete radarcoverage at airports

External training requirementCISM; PBN



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesAirport technical deficiencies inAswan, Cairo, Luxor and Sharm elSheik

Other problem areas: Staff shortage


AIR TRAFFICMANAGEMENT

SAFER SKIESFROM TAKEOFF

TO TOUCHDOWN.For more than 60 years, Raytheon has delivered the most

innovative Air Traffic Management (ATM) solutions. Weinvented or perfected many of the technologies that

form the backbone of today’s global ATM infrastructure,and continue to pioneer innovations that provide the

safest transportation for more passengers than any othercompany in the world. Raytheon solutions will make

it possible for initiatives like NextGen to modernizethe airspace and enhance customer safety.

INNOVATION IN ALL DOMAINSwww.raytheon.com | Keyword: SaferSkies

© 2011 Raytheon Company. All rights reserved.“Customer Success Is Our Mission” is a registered trademark of Raytheon Company.

Follow us on:


44

IFATCA SURVEY

The ConTroller

Europe







EstoniaEstonian Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 3




Staff Shortage: 0%

Future modernization projectsNew ATM system (Thales) is plannedto replace EUROCAT2000 in 2012.




CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes



Europe







FranceFrench Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 47

Number FIRs controlled: 11(5 mainland + 6 overseas)

Controlled Airports: 42(36 mainland + 6 overseas)


Staff Shortage: Unknown

Future modernization projectsMAESTRO; COFLIGHT; EUROCAT

External training requirementCurrently no external training reqs.



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Critical IssuesNice (LFMN) airport APP proceduresinvolving low altitude turns, dualopposite direction runway use etc.

Other problem areas: Disagreementwith ANSP on European integration;Varying opinions on different FABECmodels

Europe







FinlandFinnish Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 21




Staff Shortage: 3%

Future modernization projectsThales FRESUP around 2012; TWRRadar; AFS/TZAD included in ATS-Initio-training




CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesAirport deficiencies in Kittila.

Other problem areas: Quality ofcooperation with Finavia

Europe







FYR ofMacedoniaMacedonian Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 2




Staff Shortage: 0%

Future modernization projectsNew ATC system in the specification phase;Skopje RWY extension and new terminalnear completion.

External training requirementAb Initio training outsourced; refreshertraining uses external facilities but owninstructors



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: No rptd. issues




Finland

IFATCA SURVEY

45The ConTroller

Finland - FACTSPopulation: 5.26 millionGDP per capita: 35,300 USD

Bread1kg 4 USD

Milk 1liter 1 USD

Cup coffee 3 USD

Taxi 10 km 25 USD

Movie Ticket 15 USD

Service Provider Facts & FiguresName: FinaviaStatus: State-owned companyTotal number of employees: 1800, of which 300 controllers.Number En-route ACCs: 1Number int’l airports: 25, with Helsinki as the maininternational gatewayIFR Traffic/Mvts per year: 242,000

Why did you become a Controller?Aviation in its many forms has been my mainhobby and long time interest since teenager.

How is the training organized in yourcountry?Aviacollege is the training organization withinFinavia. It runs the basic controller course,which lasts about two years. This includestheory, simulator sessions and some practicalOJT at ATC units. Major ATC units arrangesome of the refresher training themselves.

What do you like in your job?Constant change and development for better(safer) ATC work. Busy traffic situations, whereall your training, procedures, tools andcreativeness are put to good use. Teamwork.

What is the current operational hottopic you have in your place of work?Controllers are getting used to a newelectronic strips system in the tower. It hasbeen in use for a few months now.

What is the most unpleasant situationfor you in your daily job?Major part of our traffic is crossing an activerunway, which creates some really ‘hot’ spotsto be guarded. Some equipment (ie. stop-barcontrol) is still not that user-friendly.

What would you change in yourworking environment?Not that much. Maybe build a tower with areal visibility of the whole manoeuvring area.Construct perimeter taxiways. Stop buildingterminal buildings into most cramped area inthe airport. This would reduce the number ofrunway crossings as well.

What is the funniest thing thathappened to you while being acontroller?Impossible to name the single funniest thing,since pilots are giving us a good laugh all thetime ;-)


Name: Kimmo KoivulaWorks in: Helsinki Airport (Tower andApproach Radar)Age: 38House: Own apartmentMonthly Salary: 11,000 USDMarital Status: Married, 2 daughtersCar: Old Honda CR-V

Photos: KK,© Stanislav Perov | Dreamstime.com, Finavia

“Constant change anddevelopment for safer ATC work”


DFS Worldwide Solutions.

DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung has over 50 years of experiencein the provision of air navigation services.

We provide consulting services in the following fields:■ System design & implementation■ Operational concepts & airspace design■ Simulations & implementation of ATC simulators■ Safety management systems■ Organisational concepts & financial issues■ ATM products■ Distant aerodrome control solutions■ Airport Collaborative Decision Making (in cooperation with theMunich airport operator FMG)

For more information, please contact:DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbHBusiness Unit Aeronautical SolutionsTelephone: +49 (0)6103 707-2051E-mail: [email protected]: worldwide.dfs.eu

Our know-how. Your success.


GUEST ARTICLE

Today, aerodrome control still seemsto be inseparable from an actual,physical tower. Controllers need theirworking position high above theground to observe traffic on the groundand in the air. As an alternative to thismodel, what can we expect fromremote tower control? Is it just aboutcreating a synthetic traffic picture bysupplying the controller with visual datafrom the airfield? DFS DeutscheFlugsicherung is heading in a differentdirection with their “Distant AerodromeControl Service”. It provides controllerswith reliable systems and instrumentinformation and the option forcomplementary visual data about thesituation on ground.

In 2007 IFATCA adopted a positionon remote operations saying that thecontroller must be provided with atleast the same level of surveillance asprovided by visual observation. Thisgoes in line with ICAO regulations thatallow only one alternative to visualobservation as the principle ofaerodrome control: the use of A-SMGCS. DFS has developed a solutionthat complies with these requirementsand that could change procedures fortower control operations in general.

“Distant Aerodrome ControlService” by DFS supports aerodromecontrollers with both instrument andvisual information and is suited forairports of all sizes. Instrument data is

Distant AerodromeControl ServiceBy Detlef Schulz-rückert, head of tower systems, and Stefan lentz,Director Aeronautical Solutions at DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung Gmbh

derived by the PHOENIX multi-sensordata fusion system, which displays theair and ground situation. Data aboutweather, flight plan and surveillance areprovided to the controller whilereviewing the traffic situation. Thesensor technology allows the controllerto easily switch from the air to theground situation. The ground situationdisplay shows runways, buildings andthe lighting system in great detail. Thisincreases situational awareness which inturn leads to improved safety, fewerlow-visibility procedures and, thus, morecapacity and better punctuality.

To provide visual data, DFS usesvideo sensors. The video sensor offerstower controllers a view of the airfield,and a way to automatically identify andlocate ground movements. DFS hassuccessfully demonstrated thattechnology fulfils the internationalrequirements for an A-SMGCS non-cooperative sensor. “Due to thereduced costs of an A-SMGCS usingvideo sensors, we can implement oursolution at small airports, too. At thesame time, the controller can use visualinformation from cameras in addition toinstrument data in unusual orunexpected circumstances such asemergencies or route deviations.”explains Detlef Schulz-Rueckert, head oftower systems at DFS.

The concept of the DistantAerodrome Control Service is frequently

discussed and developed with the aid ofDFS controllers at regular nationalconferences. The console has beendesigned with a strong focus onergonomics and human machine interfaces.After preparations at Munich, Cologne andErfurt, DFS is now in the process of settingup its Distant Aerodrome Control Servicefor operational use. At Munich Airport, theconcept will be implemented in the existingtower for the distant control of the thirdrunway instead of building a new tower. ForFrankfurt Airport, one could imagine aVirtual Contingency Tower being used. DFSis also considering the concept for theairport's ramp control. At large hubs, theidea provides a more flexible alternativewhen, for example, runway configurationsare changed or contingency operations arein use. Furthermore, DFS also plans tocreate a single control room to controlthree smaller aerodromes.

The concept of using instrument datatogether with visual information couldchange the paradigm of tower control.With this new technology, controllers wouldhave the option to follow visual orinstrument procedures, as pilots do in IMC."Why should tower controllers depend lesson instruments during landing or departurein adverse weather conditions than pilotsdo? We have the technology and we havereliable data. The fundamental task now isto promote the paradigm shift among theATC community to maintain ATC capacityin bad weather” explains Schulz-Rueckert.

At Munich Airport,the concept will beimplemented inthe existing towerfor the distantcontrol of the thirdrunway instead ofbuilding a newtower.

Tower Console withmonitors for air andground situation displayfor Distant AerodromeControl Service.Credit: DFS

47


48

IFATCA SURVEY

The ConTroller








GabonAssociation Professionnelle desContrôleurs Aeriens du Gabon


ATS facilities: 10




Staff Shortage: 60%

Future modernization projectsImplementation of ADS-B; FlightInformation Service (CDIV)

External training requirementEnglish Immersion programme



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes










GhanaGhana Air TrafficControllers' Association


ATS facilities: 8




Staff Shortage: 25%

Future modernization projectsNew ATC complex; upgrade of 4regional airports

External training requirementNon-operational specialised course(SMS, Airspace design, human factors)



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesAirport deficiencies in Accra.

Other problem areas: Equipment;Communications

Europe







GermanyGewerkschaft derFlugsicherung






Staff Shortage: 20%

Future modernization projectsPaperless strip system in all ACCs;Remote/Virtual TWR introduction




CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes


Other problem areas: Tough costsaving plans; increasing mistrusttowards management

Europe







GreeceGreek Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 20




Staff Shortage: 22%

Future modernization projectsOLDI at 4 airports




CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesSpecial topography; no publicationInstrument APP procedures affectingmany airports.

Other problem areas: Economic crisisthreatens salary & working conditions


49

IFATCA SURVEY

The ConTroller

Asia & Pacific







Hong KongHong Kong Air TrafficControl Association






Staff Shortage: 10%

Future modernization projectsNew ACC; New radar system;AISMGCS; EFSS; AMAN+DMAN; CDM

External training requirementBasic training overseas



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor Issueslack capacity on some routes resulting infrequent holdings, aircraft turnedback.

Other problem areas: No central flowmanagement; airspace design unableto cope with adverse weather

Americas

Population:748.486






GuyanaGuyana Association of AirTraffic Control Officers


ATS facilities: 4




Staff Shortage: 65%

Future modernization projectsImplementation of surveillancesystem and AIS automation

External training requirementPANS-OPS;Carthography; SupervisoryManagement; Advanced instructionaltechniques



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes


Other problem areas: Management;Supervision; Training; Industrialrelations

Europe







HungaryHungarian Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 3




Staff Shortage: 0%

Future modernization projectsContigency ACC+TWR; New ATScentre; new ATC simulator




CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes



Europe







IcelandIcelandic Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 4




Staff Shortage: 10%

Future modernization projectsADS-B; Oceanic Clearance Delivery

External training requirementBasic training



CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesAirport deficiencies Keflavik

Other problem areas: Controllers areleaving for jobs abroad


For further information please visit our website: www.crds.huOr get in touch with our contact: Gabriella Jehn - CRDS expert

Phone: +36 1 293-4234E-mail: [email protected]

Centre of Research, Developmentand Simulation

CRDS – Welcomes you to Budapest!

!"#%&'(%) *+&,"!-.+/' 0+,&/+1&"( 2'!0&%'2ESCAPE Platform3+!4' 2&.5,+1&"( %+6+%&1)7".6'1&1&0' 6!&%'2

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GENSPACE C+;'1) ('1 +66,&%+1&"(2D&!-4!"5(/ /+1+ ,&(EC1!&6,'22 '(0&!"(.'(1 D/0+(%'/ @AB 2",51&"(2


51

GUEST ARTICLE

“HUNGAROCONTROL futureperspectives.”

Hungary is a member of the CentralEuropean Functional Airspace Blockalong with Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, the CzechRepublic, Slovakia and Slovenia. Weasked Mr Kornél Szepessy, CEO ofHungaroControl, about futureperspectives.

Tell us about the latestdevelopments regarding theestablishment of the functionalairspace blocks.During its Presidency of the Council ofthe European Union, Hungary and theEuropean Commission co-organised aHigh-Level ATM Conference about theimplementation of the Single EuropeanSky, where the Budapest Charter wasadopted to define the air navigationstakeholders’ tasks. In May 2011, thegovernments and service providerssigned agreements for the frameworkof regional co-operation. Now we areon the right track towards the start ofaligned operation in December 2012.

What does HungaroControl do inpreparation for this period?HungaroControl is in a period of highlyintensive development. We have settwo directions: firstly, technological andinfrastructure upgrading, which isongoing; and secondly, two ventures inR&D, simulation and training, whichhave been launched in the interest ofthe entire region.

Describe your ongoing projects.Our biggest project is a complex

INTERVIEWKornél Szepessy, CEO of HungaroControldevelopment requiring over EUR 40million investment, with nearly EUR 6million co-financed by the EuropeanUnion under the TEN-T programme.As a result, by 2013 a new air trafficcontrol centre will have been built andequipped with state-of-the-arttechnology.

New ATC consoles, radio systems,a Frequentis voice communicationsystem and voice recorder will bepurchased. Simultaneously, allhardware tools will be replaced and thelatest version of MATIAS (MagyarAutomated and Integrated Air TrafficSystem) will be installed. This projectwill ensure long-term compliance withthe performance objectives, andimprove the standard of our services tothe satisfaction of airlines and theirpassengers.

A lot has been said about MATIASrecently. What makes it special?MATIAS is based on the ThalesEuroCat 2000E system, which wastailored to our specific needs. It hasseveral functions which considerablyenhance safety and capacity, includingthe Flight Plan Separation Tool, usedjointly with the Radar Separation Toolto calculate the minimum separationon the basis of the flight plan route.Thus in addition to the actualparameters of the aircraft, the plannedroute and the turns are also taken intoconsideration. MATIAS was the firstamong the world’s ATC systems todisplay the aircraft parametersbroadcast by a Mode S on-boardtransponder. The air traffic controllerscan see the altitude set on board, andcompare it with the altitude cleared bythe controller. Thus, Level Bust can bepromptly detected and prevented intime.

The new version will be capable ofprocessing the new format ICAO flightplan and allow connection to the fieldof Mode S ELS, cutting the shortage ofSSR code experienced in the core area.MATIAS also has a new simulatorfunction, and so in the medium termwe can create a simulationenvironment identical to the one madeby the currently operating system.

Tell us about your new ventures intraining, research and development.In May 2011, the Centre of Research,Development and Simulation was re-opened in Budapest under theauspices of HungaroControl. Webelieve that there is a great demand inthe region for an R&D SimulationCentre, as integration will entailchanges in procedures and processes,and increase the need for simulationservices. So we decided to purchasethe equipment and thus CRDS couldremain available for the serviceproviders.

Press rumour has it that an ATStraining academy was launchedunder the inter-FAB co-operation inBudapest.The Single European Sky increasinglychallenges ANSPs, regarding thehuman factor. The significance of high-standard, uniform training is growing.We could hardly improve the efficiencyof our training system on our own.Entry Point North proved to be an idealpartner in bringing our developmentideas to life. We have established theEntry Point Central academy jointly toprovide competitive knowledge andrecognised international qualificationsto air traffic controllers who study inBudapest.

You are clearly thinking in aninternational context. Why?The complete industry is facing a majorchange. One way is cost cutting, andthe other is service qualityimprovement. Cross-border co-operation is increasingly needed, and itis our common goal to facilitate FABs’effort to improve the efficiency andcompetitiveness of European airnavigation services. I hope we cancontribute to achieving the highestpossible standard of FAB CE operationas the key to our common future lies inbuilding successful regionalpartnerships.

The completeindustry is facingamajor change. Oneway is cost cutting,and the other isservice qualityimprovement.Cross-borderco-operation isincreasingly needed.


52

IFATCA SURVEY

THE CONTROLLER

Asia & Pacific

Population:1,173,108,018 (July 2010 est.)






IndiaAir Traffic Controllers'Guild of India


ATS facilities: 100


Controlled Airports: 90+

Number controllers: 2000+

Staff Shortage: 25%

Future modernization projectsAutotrack III; RNP; PBN




CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Critical IssuesObstacle (old TWR) near Ryw 14/32 inMumbai

Other problem areas: Workingconditions need to be improved;stress/fatigue management needed;weekly off; more automation isneeded; Exposure to controllers forbetter traffic management.

Asia & Pacific







IndonesiaAir Traffic Controllers’Association of Indonesia


ATS facilities: 120




Staff Shortage: 30%

Future modernization projectsATFM; PBN; ADS B/C

External training requirementAirspace capacity management; PBN;ADS B/C; ATFM



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesApproach procedures deficiencies inJakarta.

Other problem areas: Routestructure; lack of personnel

Europe







IrelandIrish Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 3




Staff Shortage: 5%

Future modernization projectsCOOPANS ATM System; Point Mergein Dublin




CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes


Other problem areas: Newgovernment may introducerestrictions on the right to strike forATCOs

Asia & Pacific







Islamic Rep.of IranAir Traffic Controllers’ Associationof Iran, The Islamic Republic of


ATS facilities: 65




Staff Shortage: 10%

Future modernization projectsATFM & capacity management; newACC by 2016

External training requirementRadar refresher course; CISM peertraining; supervisory course;Emergency course; english language



CISM: Ongoing


ICAO level 4: Yes


Other problem areas: Low salary; norecognition of specialised job as ATCO



Mexico

IFATCA SURVEY

53THE CONTROLLER

Service Provider Facts & FiguresName: SENEAMStatus: Government-ownedTotal number of employees: 2,500 of which 800 are controllers.Number En-route ACCs: 4Number int’l airports: 55IFR Traffic/Mvts per year: 2,300,000(1,620,000 IFR + 680,000 VFR)

Why did you become a Controller?I had intended to become a pilot, but Ichanged my mind when I heard an old friendof mine was a radar controller in Mexico City. Iwent for a visit and after I saw what they didthere, I knew my future would be in ATC,rather than any other career!

How is the training organized in yourcountry?We have only 1 service provider for the wholecountry. Sadly, training doesn’t seem to be apriority for them. We’ve managed to make it arequirement for our annual validation of ourATC Licenses, to have at least attended somecourses. It has even gone so far that ourassociation organizes some of the necessaryrefresher courses to ensure Mexican controllersstay up to date!

What do you like in your job?It’s a unique job, that only a very fewinhabitants of the country perform. It is achallenge every time! That and the momentyou hand over your position, knowing whatyou did there, you are ’filled’ with satisfaction.

What is the current operational hottopic you have in your place of work?We are struggling for good training andmanning of our shifts

What is the most unpleasant situationfor you in your daily job?Administration Policies. Example: They havebeen obliging 3 controllers to be present everyday at the recuperation room of the MexicoCity ACC, doing ‘nothing’ because they hadan incident 9 months ago. The management isnow looking for the licensing authority tocancel their license as a threat action to theother controllers.

What would you change in yourworking environment?It may look like a dream or an illusion, but weurge better administration policies, controllerdevelopment programmes and more efficienttraining.

What is the funniest thing thathappened to you while being acontroller?A constellation aircraft was on approach, invery bad visibility due to fog. After a long time,I asked them: “ Do you have the RWY insight?” When he told me “I hope so!”, I askedhim what he meant. He said: “We are onground now”. He had touched down withoutlanding clearance!


Name: VICTOR DAVID ANGUIANOWorks in: México CityAge: 61House: OwnerMarital Status: MarriedCar: 2002 Chevrolet Astra

Photos: VDA, SENEAM

“A unique job, that only a very fewinhabitants of the country perform”

Mexico - FACTSPopulation: 113.7 millionGDP per capita: 34,200 USD

Bread1kg 3 USD

Milk 1liter 1 USD

Cup coffee 1 USD

Taxi 10 km 5 USD

Movie Ticket 5 USD


54

IFATCA SURVEY

THE CONTROLLER

Europe







IsraelAir Traffic Controllers’Association of Israel


ATS facilities: 6




Staff Shortage: Unknown

Future modernization projectsElectronic strip system; mode S +datalink

External training requirementsimulation training; stressmanagement



CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesAirport technical deficiencies in Elat,Ovda, tel Aviv and FIR.


JamaicaJamaica Air TrafficControllers' Association


ATS facilities: 4




Staff Shortage: 48%

Future modernization projectsTwo new control towers at the twointernational airports

External training requirementAll training is done in-house



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesAirport deficiencies in Kingston andMontego bay

Other problem areas: Autocratic andcaustic management style

Europe







ItalyAssociazione Nazionale AssistentiControllori della Navigazione Aerea


ATS facilities: 32 (4 ACC; 28TWR)




Staff Shortage: 0%

Future modernization projectsCPDLC; MODE-S; ADS-B

External training requirementJudicial decision following Cagliariaccident is impairing the adoption ofthe Just Culture concept.



CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes



Americas







Asia & Pacific







JapanJapan Federation of AirTraffic Controllers


ATS facilities: 38




Staff Shortage: 10%

Future modernization projectsCombing small APP

External training requirementPartly by ANSP; partly privatecompany



CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesAirport/approaches deficiencies inNarita (Trees) and Okinawa (departurerestrictions)

Other problem areas: Agingcontroller population



Denmark

IFATCA SURVEY

55THE CONTROLLER

Denmark - FACTSPopulation: 5.5 millionGDP per capita: 36,000 USD

Bread1kg 5 USD

Milk 1liter 1.8 USD

Cup coffee 4.5 USD

Taxi 10 km 30 USD

Movie Ticket 12 USD

Service Provider Facts & FiguresName: NAVIAIRStatus: Semi-privateTotal number of employees: 700, of which around 300controllers.Number En-route ACCs: 1 ACC (Copenhagen)Number int’l airports: 2 (Copenhagen and Billund)IFR Traffic/Mvts per year: 600,000

Why did you become a Controller?My father saw an advertisement in thenewspaper for controller and in those days thetraining was paid and you were getting paidduring the training period. So I decided to giveit a shot. I did not know anything about AirTraffic Control before I applied.

How is the training organized in yourcountry?When I was recruited, they were short ofcontrollers so my training was shortened. Fromstarting the training to fully qualified took 2 yearsand 8 months. Today it takes about 3 years.

What do you like in your job?The decision-making and the responsibilities:working in a environment where everyone,whether it is pilots, airlines, airport services, allwork towards the same goal, is very satisfying. Ialso like to be and feel part of aviation as awhole.

What is the current operational hot topicyou have in your place of work?Our traffic has reduced considerably in the wakeof the world economic crisis .We are nowcontrolling the same level of traffic as in 2001.We were working with the expectations of 10%

more traffic every year, now we are losing 5%per year. Makes you worried about the future.

What is the most unpleasant situation foryou in your daily job?Generally I am happy in my job and the workingconditions are good in Denmark. My wife is alsoa controller so the main problem we have is tofind time slots in our shifts to take care of dailybusiness and the children. Arranging thelogistics can be stressful sometimes.

What would you change in your workingenvironment?The rest facilities: we spend many evenings andweekends at work, so it would be really nice ifthe rest facilities could be made more cosy andfriendly.

What is the funniest thing that happenedto you while being a controller?During the Icelandic Volcanic Eruption last April(2010) our airport was closed for a few days andwe came to work, sitting here doing nothing.Someone had the idea to organise a race on therunway. So we did and had a 7km race up anddown our main runway 30. That was great fun


Name: Mads ROVSINGWorks in: TWR & APP at CopenhagenAirportAge: 37House: OwnerMonthly Salary: 6,200 USDMarital Status: Married, 2 childrenCar: 1999 Volkswagen Passat

All photos: DP

“I also like to be and feel part ofAviation as awhole”


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JordanJordanian Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 3 (1 ACC; 2 APP)




Staff Shortage: 10%

Future modernization projectsNew radar system with mode S andADS-B; new VCS

External training requirementBasic and refresher training



CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes


Other problem areas: Earlyretirement policy resulted in the lossof a lot of experience








KenyaKenya Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 11




Staff Shortage: 20%

Future modernization projectsADS-B

External training requirementAirspace Design & Management;CISM; Incident Investigations; ATFM



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesAirport deficiencies Nairobi

Other problem areas: Training;Equipment

Korea,Republic ofKorea Air TrafficControllers' Association


ATS facilities: 37(1 ACC; 22 TWR; 14 APP)




Staff Shortage: 27%





CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes


Other problem areas: Staff Shortage

Asia & Pacific







Europe







LatviaAir Traffic Controllers’Association of Latvia







Future modernization projectsMulti-lateration and reduced lateralseparation in TMA; S-Mode Elementspresentation at ATCO‘s WP; Performance-Based Navigation implementation

External training requirementInitial training is provided by a commercialcompany ANS Training (situated in themain ANSP building and ‘well-connected’to us in all meanings). Until now, ANS hasalways won the yearly tender.



CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: No rptd. issues

Other problem areas: Nothing urgent



Argentina

IFATCA SURVEY

57THE CONTROLLER

Argentina - FACTSPopulation: 41.8 millionGDP per capita: 14,700 USD

Bread1kg 2 USD

Milk 1liter 1 USD

Cup coffee 2 USD

Taxi 10 km 8 USD

Movie Ticket 6 USD

Service Provider Facts & FiguresName: ANAC ArgentinaStatus: State-ownedTotal number of employees: 4550, of which 820 are controllers.Number En-route ACCs: 5Number int’l airports: 20IFR Traffic/Mvts per year: N/A

Why did you become a Controller?Because I’ve always loved everything relatedto aviation.

How is the training organized in yourcountry?The basic training takes 9 months and wascomposed of basic theoretical and practicaltraining in Buenos Aires, Argentina at the CIPEand then nearly 2 years of On the job training.

What do you like in your job?The working hours.

What is the current operational hottopic you have in your place of work?To finish the transition period from the militaryto the civil aviation. As the military stillrepresent the 70% of the controllers inArgentina, it is very important to finish thetransfer process. To have all Air TrafficControllers under the same labor regulations.To establish an effective flow trafficmanagement and better frequencies network.

What is the most unpleasant situationfor you in your daily job?As we are in a transition period from themilitary to the civil aviation, sometimes is verydifficult to work with some colleagues who stillbelieve ATC should be organised like a militaryoperation. This makes it very difficult toenhance the profession.

What would you change in yourworking environment?The lack of strategic and proactive vision onour profession of the middle management,who are responsible for giving advice to thehigh level management – where the decisionsare made.

What is the funniest thing thathappened to you while being acontroller?Having the opportunity to make friends withcolleagues from all over the world!

e-mail Controller:[email protected]

Name: Gabriela LogattoWorks in: Buenos Aires, ArgentinaAge: 35House: OwnerMonthly Salary: 2,320 USD,all-inclusive but no overtimeMarital Status: SingleCar: 2009 Honda FIT

Photos: GL

“Because I’ve always lovedeverything related to aviation”


58

IFATCA SURVEY

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Europe







LithuaniaThe Lithuanian Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 5




Staff Shortage: 0%

Future modernization projectsSMR with multilateration

External training requirementEnglish; SUP/OJTI/Assessor courses



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes


Other problem areas: FAB!

Europe







LuxembourgLuxembourg Guild ofAir Traffic Controllers


ATS facilities: 2 (1 TWR; 1APP)

Number FIRs controlled:[integrated into Brussels FIR]



Staff Shortage: 20%

Future modernization projectsASMGCS

External training requirementAll training is done externally

Safety management system: Ongoing


CISM: Partly


ICAO level 4: Yes










MadagascarAssociation Professionnelle des Cont-rôlleurs Aériens ASECNA à Madagascar


ATS facilities: 5




Staff Shortage: 50%

Future modernization projectsADS-B




CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes


Other problem areas: Lack of humanfactors training; VHF/HF equipmentnot reliable

Asia & Pacific







MalaysiaMalaysian Air TrafficControllers' Association






Staff Shortage: 9%

Future modernization projectsNew ATCC to be located close to KLinternational airport




CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes




Passing an ICAO English LanguageProficiency test does not guarantee long-termproficiency. Language proficiency is a skill,not knowledge. Recurrent language trainingespecially in non-routine events is just ascrucial as any other emergency training.

‘Miscommunication between pilots and airtraffic controllers continues to cause seriousincidents and aircraft fatalities. Therefore, thefocus should be on maintaining and improvingproficiency—not just achieving compliance.’Antonio Pelaez-Portales, Air Navigation SafetyManager, AESA/SENASA (Spain)

Beyond Level 4 for air trafficcontrollers and pilots

with 80 hours online tuition

maintained and prepares personnel forany ICAO English Language Proficiencytest

The tracking and reporting systemallows instructors to assess progressby generating meaningful andtimely reports.

RMIT English Worldwide is partof RMIT Universityin language proficiency training, adoptingthe latest pedagogy to ensure your personnelhave the greatest chance of maintainingand improving their proficiency.

Register your organisation for:

2 FREE Beyond Level 4courses, for a limited time

www.relta.org/bl4

Language proficiency training.Just as crucial as any other emergency training.

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60

IFATCA SURVEY

THE CONTROLLER

Europe







MaltaMalta Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 1




Staff Shortage: 15%

Future modernization projectsTwo new SSR radars and a new FDP

External training requirementAll training is done outside (currentlySkyguide)



CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes










MauritaniaAssociation des Contròleur dela Circulation Aérienne en Mauritanie


ATS facilities: 3




Staff Shortage: Yes

Future modernization projectsYes



Just culture in place: NR

CISM: No

Fatigue Management: NR

ICAO level 4: 81%

IFALPA Safety level: Critical IssuesAirport deficiencies in Nouakchott andNouhadibou | Nouakchott FIRCommunications deficiencies (IFBP)









MoroccoMoroccan Air TrafficControllers Association


ATS facilities: 27




Staff Shortage: 30%

Future modernization projectsRadar approach for all main airports;PBN; AIRE; RNAV approach




CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes



Americas







MexicoColegio de Controladores de TránsitoAéreo de México, Asocaición Civil


ATS facilities: 62




Staff Shortage: 2%

Future modernization projectsNew RADAR antennas;upgrade APPto RADAR; Ongoing ISO2001certification for units

External training requirementTraining is done in-house (butreported to be bad and systemless)



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesFrequencies deficiencies in Mexicoairport




Australia

IFATCA SURVEY

61THE CONTROLLER

Service Provider Facts & FiguresName: Airservices AustraliaStatus: Semi – Government Business EnterpriseTotal number of employees: 3,710 of which about 900 controllers.Number En-route ACCs: 2Number int’l airports: 6 international + 22 smaller airportsIFR Traffic/Mvts per year: Over 3,000,000

Why did you become a Controller?I initially wanted to be a pilot. I was employed as aFlight Data Officer in 1989. I took some flyinglessons, but decided it wasn’t for me after all.After taking redundancy from CAA and travellingfor a few years, I returned to Australia looking forwork. I decided I was ready to give ATC a go, andhave never looked back!

How is the training organized in yourcountry?Training consists of one year at the trainingcollege. Then about 6 months of on the jobtraining at your location, and on thesector/position you will be eventually rated on.

What do you like in your job?What I enjoy most about my job is how dynamic itis! Every day is a different day and no one solutionis always the same for every scenario. The moneyhelps too!!

What is the current operational hot topicyou have in your place of work?The topic is almost always the same. Staffshortages and management’s lack of grasp of howdesperate we have become! Discussion oftencentres on how many people are leaving, eitherthrough retirement or because of being offeredsomething better overseas.

What is the most unpleasant situation for youin your daily job?Drinking the coffee in the cafeteria!! ;-) From a purelyATC perspective the thing I hate the most is settingup a sequence, to have Flow change everythingaround! I hate after having vectored and slowed anaircraft to then have to speed it up, or vice versa!

What would you change in your workingenvironment?Morale! Most controllers feel very undervalued. Thereare things that could be so easily changed to improvethe work environment straight away. Unfortunatelyrelations between Management and Staff have beenso strained for so long, that there is a lot of suspicionbetween the 2 groups and not a lot of trust ofManagement. Which all adds to the low work Morale!

What is the funniest thing that happened toyou while being a controller?I received a new ATIS and proceeded to read it outloud to my aircraft without actually proof-reading itfirst. I got to an abbreviation that I had never seenbefore. I decided to play it safe and just spell out theletters. Whisky,Tango, Sierra, Papa, Tango. When Ifinished reading it to my aircraft, I then asked the guyswhat it stood for, as I had been about to say the onlything that came to mind when I saw WTSPT, and thatwas Wet Spot!! It caused a lot of laughter that day andI don’t think I will ever forget Water Spout again!!

Name: Karen DrummondWorks in: Brisbane, en-route,approachAge: 42House: OwnerMonthly Salary: 4,800 USDMarital Status: SeparatedCar: 2010 Mazda 6 wagon

Photos: DP, KD

“What I enjoymost ishow dynamic this job is”

Australia - FACTSPopulation: 21.8 millionGDP per capita: 41,300 USD

Bread 3.8 USD

Milk 1liter 1.7 USD

Cup coffee 4 USD

Taxi 10 km 30 USD

Movie Ticket 15 USD


62

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Americas







NetherlandsAntillesAir Traffic Controllers'Association Netherlands Antilles






Staff Shortage: 50%





CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes



Asia & Pacific







NepalNepal Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 10(8 TWR; 1 ACC; 1 APP)




Staff Shortage: YES

Future modernization projectsATS Automation; RNP AR (PBN);Automatic MSG handling system; newradar with wider coverage; GPSprocedure implementation




CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor Issues; No ILSin Kathmandu; ATC coord. deficiencies.

Other problem areas: Training;shortage of manpower; no automation;no CISM/Fatigue management

Europe







NetherlandsThe Netherlands Guild ofAir Traffic Controllers


ATS facilities: 5




Staff Shortage: 5%

Future modernization projectsiTEC




CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes



Asia & Pacific







New ZealandATC Council of the New ZealandAir Line Pilots Association


ATS facilities: 21




Staff Shortage: 5%

Future modernization projectsIntegrate ADS-B into current system;extend wide area multilat; ATMsystem hardware refresh in 2 years;ATS system replacement in 10 years




CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Queenstown (NZQN)dangerous airport and runway; Airportdeficiencies in Rotorua and Wellington.Taupo (NZAP) no ATS and NDB appprovides inadequate protection to terrain

Other problem areas: No rptd. issues



Republicof Congo(Brazzaville)

IFATCA SURVEY

63THE CONTROLLER

Republic of Congo - FACTSPopulation: 4.236 millionGDP per capita: 4,200 USD

Bread 1.5 USD

Milk 1liter 3 USD

Cup coffee 0.6 USD

Taxi 10 km 4.5 USD

Movie Ticket Nonestreet movie 0.2 USD

Service Provider Facts & FiguresName: ASECNAStatus: Private multinationalTotal number of employees: 5,550 of which 390 are controllers.Of these, 31 controllers work in the Republic of Congo.Number En-route ACCs: 1Number int’l airports: 2 (Brazzaville and Pointe Noire)IFR Traffic/Mvts per year: 130,000

Why did you become a Controller?I became an Air Traffic Controller because I like thejob. It’s a very demanding job but a noble one.

How is the training organized in yourcountry?The training consists of four parts:Part 1: The initial training which lasts for 28 monthsand it’s made of theoretical and practical lessonswith English immersion in some African Englishspeaking country. Part 2: The qualification trainingtakes place at the work place and lasts for 9months maximum. Part 3: The local refreshmentcourses which are organized twice a year for everycontroller at the local training center. Part 4: Thegeneral refreshment course which takes place atthe ASECNA training center based in Niamey(Republic of Niger). Every controller must take itthrough its career at a time interval of 4 years.

What do you like in your job?I like the way controllers keep passengers lives andaircraft safe, we sound like unknown heroes, andfor me it’s something very humble.

What is the current operational hot topicyou have in your place of work?Radio frequency is the hottest topic in our centerat the moment:– At the Approach position: Frequenciesinterference with neighboring stations, such as

Matadi approach (in DRC ‘former Zaire’) is a dailyreturning problem.– At En-route position: Poor VHF coverage in someparts of our FIR (Brazzaville FIR) makes the trafficmanagement quite difficult during peak trafficmoments.

What is the most unpleasant situation for youin your daily job?The most unpleasant situation is the frequent presenceof intruders on the active runway, when there areaircraft either on final approach and ready to land or online up position, ready for takeoff.

What would you change in your workingenvironment?- The reinforcement of the security at the entrance ofthe Tower and ACC building.- The ACC would need to be reorganized to offerbetter and more ergonomic facilities for the controllers.

What is the funniest thing that happened toyou while being a controller?I was working at the tower an afternoon, at rush hour.An A340 just landed and was backtracking the runway.As it was moving slowly I invited the crew to expeditedue traffic on final, and the answer I’ve got was: “Ok,but be advised that we are not riding a wheelbarrowSir, it’s an A343...” Everybody in the room laughed.

e-mail [email protected]

Name: Daniel BATASSOUAWorks in: BRAZZAVILLEAge: 31House: RentalMonthly Salary: 1,230 USDMarital Status: SingleCar: Doesn’t own a car

Photos: DP, Thierry Carquet

“It is a very demandingjob, but a noble one”


64

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NigeriaNigerian Air TrafficControllers' Association


ATS facilities: 28




Staff Shortage: 50%

Future modernization projectsADS-B; PBN/WGS84 project; AIM;complete VHF coverage

External training requirementTerminal & area radar; SAR;procedure design



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Critical IssuesAirport deficiencies in Lagos and PortHarcourt, Kano FIR Communicationsdeficiencies (IFBP)









NigerAssociation Professionnelle desContrôleurs Aériens du Niger


ATS facilities: 4




Staff Shortage: 60%

Future modernization projectsModernisation Radar - Eurocat-X

External training requirementEnglish Immersion



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes



Europe







NorwayNorskFlygelederforening


ATS facilities: 23




Staff Shortage: 5%

Future modernization projectsNew ATM-system; possible merge ofACCs & APPs; RTC; Airspacerestructuring

External training requirementInstitutional training in USA



CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Critical IssuesAirport deficiencies in nearly wholecountry; airspace North sea below10.000 ft uncontrolled despite heavyhelicopter traffic


Asia & Pacific







PakistanPakistan Air TrafficControllers Guild


ATS facilities: 36




Staff Shortage: 20%





CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesLahore poor ATC coordination withneighbours.

Other problem areas: Staff shortage;working conditions


THE CONTROLLER 65

Americas







PanamáRepública deAsociacion Panameña deControladores de Tránsito Aéreo


ATS facilities: 8(1 ACC;1 APP; 6 TWR)




Staff Shortage: 70%

Future modernization projectsHoward airport MPPA




CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes



Europe







PortugalAssociação Portuguesa dosControladores de Tráfego Aéreo


ATS facilities: 11




Staff Shortage: 5%

Future modernization projectsImplementation of multilateration inprogress




CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: TopographicalIssues; Special Topography affectingFunchal (Madeira) and Horta (Azores)


IFATCA SURVEY


66

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Europe







PolandPolish Air TrafficControllers' Association


ATS facilities: 15




Staff Shortage: 0%

Future modernization projectsNew INDRA ATM system by 2012




CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes


Other problem areas: Unfairreporting system so SMS is notworking well

Europe







RomaniaRomanian Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 20




Staff Shortage: 10%

Future modernization projectsNew stripless system (2011); mode S(2012); New ATM system (2015)

External training requirementBasic training; parts of refreshertraining



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes


Other problem areas: No earlyretirement; no CISM; Otopeni trial

Europe







RussiaFederation of Air TrafficControllers’ Unions of Russia


ATS facilities: 76

Number FIRs controlled: NR



Staff Shortage: 15%

Future modernization projectsRVSM implementation; modernisation &consolidation of ATS centres

External training requirementRVSM training



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes


Other problem areas: Medicalrequirements too strict; Low salary forthis job; non-constructive attitudebetween employer and FUATC ofRussia

SãoToméand PríncipeAir Traffic ControllersAssociation of São Tomé


ATS facilities: 1




Staff Shortage: 31%


External training requirementNone reported



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: 27%











67

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Saint LuciaSt Lucia Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 2




Staff Shortage: 22%

Future modernization projectsAirport redevelopment project; radarfeed from Martinique

External training requirementYes, including refresher training, SMS,HF, Quality, etc



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor Issues; Noradar; frequency congestion; mix VFR/IFR in Hewannorra and George Charles

Other problem areas: Lack of proper ATSfacilities & up to date training; outdatedand malfunctioning equipment; almostnon-existent staff mobility, lack of propercompensation for the job

Americas







Europe







SerbiaSerbian Air TrafficControllers’ Association






Staff Shortage: 10%


External training requirementOwn training centre



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes



With the Air Traffic Controllers working environment in mind

ACAMS offers solutions within these areas:

ALCMS /MET Display / NavAids monitoring / D-ATIS / VOLMET / FD Display / Info System / AFTN Display / EFSS / Alarmmonitoring / Crash Alarm / GPS Time / TWR Spot light / Sun shade / Video / Entrance Control /

Integrated or single systems for any civil or military TWR. Installations in more than 40 TWRs in 20+ countries worldwide.

ACAMS AS / Oslo / Norway / [email protected] / www.acams.com


68

IFATCA SURVEY

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Automation Level: NR

Sierra LeoneSierra Leone Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 3




Staff Shortage: 0%

Future modernization projectsNew Control Tower and a guest roomby the Control Tower

External training requirementYes



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: No

IFALPA Safety level: Critical IssuesAirport deficiencies in FreetownROBERTS FIR Communicationsdeficiencies (IFBP)









SeychellesSeychelles Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 3




Staff Shortage: 0%

Future modernization projectsMulti-lateration system for terminalarea; N-AFI SAT

External training requirementAll training is external



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: TopographicalIssues; special topography andweather conditions in Mahe airport

Other problem areas: StaffRemuneration; Staff experience &seniority not recognised

Asia & Pacific







SingaporeAir Traffic Controllers’Association of Singapore


ATS facilities: 2




Staff Shortage: NR

Future modernization projectsWill be getting a new ATC system soon




CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes



Europe







SloveniaSlovenian Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 5




Staff Shortage: 0%

Future modernization projectsNew ACC




CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes




From takeoff to touchdown and everything in between. The aviation world looks to Thales for its ATM systems, navigation aids and airport solutions. Managing the airspace of 170 countries, we providea complete range of solutions and services that span the entire flight planand security chain. From design and integration through to installation and maintenance, Thales offers seamless gate-to-gate coverage through providing world-leading intelligent systems that excel from start to finish.www.thalesgroup.com

Intelligent Systemsfor Air Traffic ManagementSTART WITH THALES


70

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South AfricaGuild of Air TrafficControllers of South Africa


ATS facilities: 22




Staff Shortage: 2.30%

Future modernization projectsADS-B Multilateration; Electronic strips;PBN with RNP-AR approaches; CNSupgrade; Computerized aeron. database

External training requirementSafety Event Investigator; Proceduredesign



CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Critical issuesComm. deficiencies in part ofJohannesburg Oceanic Airspace (IFBP)









SudanSudanese Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 13




Staff Shortage: 35%

Future modernization projectsVSAT COM; Eurocat upgrade; ADSB;Radar for APP & ACC; Airspacereorganisation

External training requirementArea & APP radar; basic training



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Critical IssuesKhartoum; FIR Communicationsdeficiencies (IFBP)









SomaliaSomali Air TrafficControllers’ Assocation


ATS facilities: 4




Staff Shortage: 40%

Future modernization projectsCPDLC at FIC




CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: No

IFALPA Safety level: Critical IssuesMogadishu FIR Communicationsdeficiencies (IFBP)


Europe







SpainUnión Sindical deControladores Aéreos


ATS facilities: 40


Controlled Airports: 33 civil; 42 total


Staff Shortage: unknown- company claims it is 0%

Future modernization projectsAssociation is no longer informed byANSP of any projects

External training requirementAssociation is no longer informed byANSP of any projects



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: No


Other problem areas: Totalbreakdown in industrial relations


71

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SwazilandSwaziland Air TrafficControllers' Association


ATS facilities: 1




Staff Shortage: 75%

Future modernization projectsNew airport (SIkhuphe InternationalAirport) scheduled to open at the endof 2011. This includes new equipmentsuch as Eurocat C SSR.

External training requirementUntil now relied on South Africa butdiversifying to Kenya and UK forexample



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes


Other problem areas: Some tensiondue to change of employer; Lowstaffing; Training challenges

Americas







SurinameSuriname Air TrafficControllers' Association


ATS facilities: 4




Staff Shortage: 65%

Future modernization projectsUnknown

External training requirementIf training is done, it's done in house...



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes


Other problem areas: Advancedsystem (radar + flight plan processingsystem) is installed but no one istrained, so work is still procedural;staff shortage

Europe







SwedenSwedish Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 35




Staff Shortage: 0%

Future modernization projectsCOOPANS (Eurocat upgrade); RemoreTWR centre; Nordic Unified ATC

External training requirementExternal companies



CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesÖrnsköldsvik (ESNO) no ATC in mediumdensity airport, in uncontrolled airspace.

Other problem areas: No localagreement since oct 2010; 40h/week forall ATCOs and frozen salaries; ATCmarket is open

Europe







SwitzerlandSwiss Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 10



Number controllers: 450(incl 100 military)

Staff Shortage: 10%

Future modernization projectsStripless en-route; CPDLC; Mode-S




CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes

FALPA Safety level: No reportedissues

Other problem areas: SMS needsto link concepts with OPS reality.Safety case ≠ OPS reality; statisticnumbers are not ‘real’


73

GUEST ARTICLE

Cultural diversity, yes.Fragmentation, no! Is it possible tomaintain the one without creating toother? FABEC has committed tomaking a big contribution toharmonising the European air trafficmanagement system. Deliveringsubstantial performance improvements,strengthening safety while considerablylowering costs and limiting the impacton the environment will not be easy.But in line with the objectives of theSingle European Sky, the FABECpartners and one step ahead to therequired regulation FABEC States haveagreed on a common FABECPerformance Plan containing commontargets and objectives for safety,capacity and flight efficiency. Oneconcrete example: From 2012 onwardsFABEC ANSPs have – and this is reallynew – to reach one common delaytarget: 0.5 minutes of en-route ATFMdelay – for the whole FABEC area.

Managing the core area ofEurope

The core area of Europe has one ofthe highest traffic densities in the world.The FAB Europe Central airspace,which covers Belgium, France,Germany, Luxembourg, theNetherlands and Switzerland (totalling1,713,442 km2) is characterised byclosely interlaced civil and military trafficroutes. Most of the large Europeanairports and major airways are locatedin this area. Owing to its size andcentral position in Europe, FABEC is acornerstone of the Single European Sky.A total of almost 18,000 civilemployees, including some 5,400ATCOs plus military staff in 14 ACCsacross this area serve 5.5 million flightsper year, equating to 55 percent of allEuropean air traffic.

Added value for all airspace usersFABEC is 7 ANSPS: (Luxembourg

(ANA), Belgium ( Belgocontrol),Germany (DFS), France (DSNA),

EUROCONTROL Maastricht Centre(MUAC), Netherlands (LVNL) andSwitzerland (Skyguide).

It is no easy undertaking and it willnot be done in a rush. Considering thecomplexity of the endeavour and ofinternational organisational set-up,implying the European Commission,national ministries of transport anddefence, military ANSPs and civilaviation agencies, airlines and otherairspace users, the seven civil FABECANSPs and their employees who havediverse and sometimes opposinginterests, it would be naïve to believethat the creation of FABEC will be aneasy stroll.

Initial results although FABECisn’t formally established

Key to the success of FABEC will bethe ability to focus on the essentials andto achieve pragmatic solutions with anadded value for the airspace users.Thus, while institutional questionsremain largely unanswered, there areinitial results although FABEC is notformally established yet. Some of theseare visible to the users, some, like e.g.increased collaboration in the technicalor training domains, are less manifest.

Shorter night routes on 115 cross-border connections enable airlines tosave 1.5 million kilometres per yearresulting in reductions of 4,800 tonnesof kerosene and 16,000 tonnes ofCO2.

FABEC will provide joint solutions for theexisting bottlenecks in the Europeanairspace where dense traffic flows andmilitary requirements collide with thenationally-oriented organisation of airnavigation services have been hampering airtraffic for decades.

Improving the routings for the so-called 50most penalized city pairs, i.e. routesconnecting major airports. Last year, the first19 route changes led to the first savings.

Recently, extensive live trials wereconducted to optimize FAB-wide capacityprovision, traffic flows and the use ofairspace by civil and military users. It is thefirst time on a FAB level that both civil andmilitary ANSPs conduct an operationalfunction jointly.

Futhermore, FABEC ANSPs collaborate onan environmental programme AIRE (AtlanticInteroperability Initiative to ReduceEmissions) designed to have a direct impactin the short and medium term ongreenhouse gas emissions.

Shortly before the EC will validate theFABEC performance plan, we have toremember that there are differences betweenthe partners involved and that the complexityof the task is enormous. The ANS businesshas grown within national boundaries, politicsand structures based on the map drawn inthe course of the Cold War. Changing theway we do our business will take time. But aslong as our commitment is honest, we willsucceed. It is a question of will – and it is aquestion of time.

TheANSbusinesshas grownwithinnationalboundaries,politics andstructures basedon themapdrawnin the course of theColdWar. Changingthewaywedoourbusinesswill taketime.

Connecting the European Skies:The Future of the Single Sky inFABEC

Official ceremony to start FABEC. Runways don’t stay empty for longin the FABEC area.

By Raimund Fridrich, Dr. phil.,Skyguide and FABEC

Photo: FABEC Photo: skyguide


74

IFATCA SURVEY

THE CONTROLLER







Automation Level: NR

TogoAssociation Professionnelledes Contrôleurs Aériens du Togo


ATS facilities: 5




Staff Shortage: 33%

Future modernization projectsADS coverage for airport




CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes










TunisiaAssociation Tunisienne desContrôleurs de la Circulation Aérienne





Number controllers: NR

Staff Shortage: NR

Future modernization projectsNew radar equipment, both primaryand secondary




CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes










TanzaniaTanzania Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 4




Staff Shortage: 10%

Future modernization projectsAccommodate new ICAO FPL by 2012

External training requirementAPP & Area radar; SAR; aviationrelated degrees



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesAirport deficiencies in Kilimanjaro(HTKS)

Other problem areas: VHF Coveragein some parts of FIR

Americas







Trinidad andTobagoTrinidad & Tobago Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 3




Staff Shortage: 30%

Future modernization projectsRadar with automatic flight strips;new ACC & TWR under construction




CISM: Limited


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor Issues; Airportdeficiencies in Port of Spain and Tobago;Frequency congestion; no radar in FIR.

Other problem areas: Low morale dueto frozen pay since 2004 despitecommitment


75

IFATCA SURVEY

THE CONTROLLER

Europe







TurkeyTurkish Air TrafficControllers’ Association






Staff Shortage: 40%

Future modernization projectsSMART [Systematic Modernization ofAir Traffic Resources in Turkey];ADS-B; P-RNAV; EAD; COSPAS-SARSET-WGS-84; e-AIP

External training requirementP-RNAV Procedures &Implementation



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes


Other problem areas: Lack of OJTIs;lack of social rights; lack of loss oflicense insurance








UgandaUganda Air TrafficControllers’ Association


ATS facilities: 5




Staff Shortage: 27%

Future modernization projectsATIS; AIR automation

External training requirementPANS-OPS; SMS



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes


Other problem areas: Norecurrence training for controllers

Europe







UkraineUkrainian Federation ofAir Traffic Controllers’ Union


ATS facilities: 5




Staff Shortage: 0%

Future modernization projects4 new towers; modernization of ATCcentres; 360˚tower sim




CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes



UnitedKingdomUnited Kingdom Guild ofAir Traffic Control Officers


ATS facilities: 2 ACC;200+ ATS facilities across 17 ANSPs




Staff Shortage: 10%

Future modernization projectsiFacts technological project; Marshallmilitary project




CISM: Yes


ICAO level 4: Yes


Other problem areas: CISM is notavailable in all ANSPs

Europe








SILVER ASSOCIATE MEMBER


77

GUEST ARTICLE

What is KVM about?Originally, the acronym ‘KVM’

described a technology for extendingand switching a computer’s K-eyboard, V-ideo, and M-ouse signals. Nowadays,KVM switches and extends multiplesignals: DVI dual-link up to 4k resolution,single-link DVI and analogue video,bidirectional audio, RS232 as well as USBtransparently.

Three main categories of KVMdevices improve the workingenvironment of controllers andcomputers.

1. KVM extenders: separate computersfrom controllers

2. KVM switches: operate multiplecomputers cross-platform with only onekeyboard, video, and mouse

3. KVMmatrix switches: combineextender and switch functions in onesystem

Advantages for ATCO’sKVM products offer the following

advantages over other technologies:

simple one-to-one connection with realtime transmission

clear up controller’s desks by peripheralssavings

reduce noise and heat in workingenvironment

simple, intuitive use by push-buttons oron-screen-displays

enable computer administration withoutdisturbing the ATCO’s work

KVM extenders bridge the distancebetween air traffic controllers and thecomputers in the engineering room. Thecomputers’ external interfaces are

connected to the extenders’ transmitterunits – keyboard, video and mouseinterfaces. Those are extended to thereceiver unit located in the tower orcontrol centre. Keyboard, monitor andmouse are then connected to thereceiver. By this the controller is able toaccess and operate the remote computerin real time regardless of the distance.Extenders carry out the setupindependently and automatically.

Without disturbing the ATC staff, theIT administrator can easily access thecomputers from inside the engineeringroom at any time.

In combination with KVM switches ormatrix switches the efficiency of KVMinstallations can be increased further.Instead of having a dedicated localconsole for each transmitter, alltransmitters can be connected to oneKVM switch thus enabling centralisedcontrol by a single console.

Safety within the operationKVM products from Guntermann &

Drunck support mission-criticalapplications by preventive monitoring ofthe status of devices. They distributeevent messages via network and enableto create multiple redundancies.

Since safety is paramount in theaviation industry G&D’s safety features forATC extenders and switches include:

event reporting functions (for examplefor interferences, temperature,operating condition)

permanent monitoring of the computervideo signal with reporting function

simple network management protocol(SNMP) and Syslog messagesintegrated self-monitoring power packs

Screen-Freeze function (capturing videoinformation in case of failure of videosignal)

Living example of the ATC practiceBy combining several KVM extenders

with a KVM switch, multiple redundanciescan be built on the line between computerand air traffic controller and simply switchedvia just one keystroke. So if one computerline fails, the controller can continue hiswork independently, safely, easily,immediately and intuitively on the otherline.

In the above figure, a primary,redundant and back-up system aredeployed, each consisting of a computerand KVM extender line. The controller canswitch between these three systems bysimply pressing a button at the KVM switch.The switch, which is installed next to thecontroller’s desk, is connected to each ofthe three lines.

More to come25 years of experience in extending and

switching technology makes G&D one ofthe leading KVM manufacturers. Air trafficcontrol professionals and leading systemintegrators from more than 20 countriestrust in the company’s experience.

G&D – your KVMwingman

For further information visithttp://www.gdsys.de or http://atc.gdsys.de

ATC staff and IT play a crucial role for smoothly and safely runningprocesses within air traffic management. Guntermann & Drunck, aleading manufacturer of KVM products, provide access tools for mission-critical applications within the Air Traffic Control. KVM adapts to theneeds of different ATC requirements and offers on top certain safetyfunctions to ensure high availability for ATCO’s IT tools.

Controllers hidden friend:KVMBy Annnette Haebel, Guntermann & Drunk

Web interfaceof DL-VisionKVM extendershowing criticaldevice status.

Photo: G&D


78

IFATCA SURVEY

THE CONTROLLER

Americas







UruguayAsociación de Controladoresde Tránsito Aéreo del Uruguay






Staff Shortage: 0%

Future modernization projectsYes




CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesAirport deficiencies in Montevideo andPunte de l Este | no ground control.


Americas







United Statesof AmericaNational Air TrafficControllers' Association


ATS facilities: 400+




Staff Shortage: 0%

Future modernization projectsNEXTGEN; ADS-B; En-routeautomization modernization




CISM: Yes

Fatigue Management: End 2011

ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesAirport deficiencies in San Francisco(KSFO)

Other problem areas: Overall staffingis adequate however shortages stillexist at some locations.








ZambiaGuild of Air TrafficControllers of Zambia


ATS facilities: 9





Future modernization projectsProcurement of radar for Lusaka &Livingstone airports underway

External training requirementOccasional/Erattic opportunitiesavailable



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: NR

IFALPA Safety level: Minor IssuesAirport deficiencies in Lusaka

Other problem areas: Limitedtraining for controllers; Unreliableequipment








ZimbabweAir Traffic Controllers’Association of Zimbabwe


ATS facilities: 11(1 ACC; 7 APP; 2 TWR; 1 FIC)




Staff Shortage: 26%

Future modernization projectsRadar

External training requirementRadar (APP & ACC); SMC Course;GNSS; SMS



CISM: No


ICAO level 4: Yes

IFALPA Safety level: Critical IssuesFrequency congestion and rangedeficiencies | Whole FIR Comms.deficiencies (Note 2) but not part ofIFBP)

Other problem areas: Dependance onthird party service providers forcommunication


79

IFATCA SURVEY

THE CONTROLLER

Canada - FACTSPopulation: 34 millionGDP per capita: 39,400 USD

Bread1kg 3.5 USD

Milk 1liter 2.25 USD

Cup coffee 1.55 USD

Taxi 10 km 10 USD

Movie Ticket 9 USD

Service Provider Facts & FiguresName: NavcanadaStatus: Private companyTotal number of employees: 5,000 of which2,300 controllers.Number En-route ACCs: 7Number int’l airports: 41IFR Traffic/Mvts per year: 4 million

Why did you become a Controller?I was always fascinated with aviation and spaceexploration. It was a friend of my parents whopointed out air traffic control as a jobopportunity. After just one visit to a controlcenter I knew that I really wanted to do thisjob.

How is the training organized in yourcountry?In Canada you would do a basic course of 18weeks that you have to pay 3500$cdn toattend. This is followed by a 3 monthadvanced course and then 9-12 month on thejob training.

What do you like in your job?I love the daily challenge of the work and thegreat camaraderie between the controllers.

What is the current operational hottopic you have in your place of work?We have received a lot of new equipment overthe last few years, which was far from perfectwhen it was first installed. This resulted in anincrease in our workload. There are also somesignificant staff shortages in some subunitsacross the country.

What is the most unpleasant situationfor you in your daily job?We spend a lot of time at work due to staffshortages. It’s nice to get overtime pay, but itsure cuts into your family time.

What would you change in your workingenvironment?Better ergonomics at the controller machineinterface.

What is the funniest thing thathappened to you while being acontroller?I get my daily dose of laughter on thefrequency. It is not all bad to be a girl inaviation.



Canada

Name: Nicole HawleyWorks in: Montreal TCU, QuebecAge: 40House: OwnerMonthly Salary: 12,000 USD plusabout 4,000 USD in overtime.Marital Status: Married with oneteenage sonCar: 2006 Volkswagen Jetta TDI

Photos: NH, Gary Hartz | Dreamstime.com,Navcanada

“It is not all bad to bea girl in aviation”


THE CONTROLLER80


81THE CONTROLLER

IFATCA SURVEY

INTER-

NATIO

NAL F

EDERATIO

N OF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS’ ASSNS.

Despite our best efforts,

information from IFATCA

Member Associations in the

following countries

unfortunately didn’t reach us in

time to be included in this issue:

AngolaCabo VerdeEritreaEthiopiaThe GambiaGuinea-BissauMaliNamibiaRwandaSenegalUnited ArabEmiratesYemenThe BahamasBermuda

In case you have comments...Every effort was made to ensure correctinformation was published our survey. If you findsomething is wrong or inaccurate, please send yourremarks – with proof – to [email protected] review, we will consider publishing acorrection in our next issue.

Cayman IslandsCosta RicaEl SalvadorGrenadaHaitiFijiMacauMongoliaSri LankaR.O.C. TaiwanArmeniaGeorgiaMoldovaSlovakia


82 THE CONTROLLER

As I said in my editorial, if you asked me 50 years ago topredict the present, I would have gotten it all wrong.

Comic strips in those days (1960s) had big plans for the year 2000:routine space travel, personal helicopters, time-travel, every illnesscured, etc. At the rate science progressed between 1940 and 1960,we should all be immortals, going to Mars for our holidays... Not evenclose...

Air Traffic Control still uses ancient tools, like HF and VHF, today.These were developed in the 1930s and have evolved little since...Despite all the promises like FANS I and II, a modern, global satellitebased communication system is still very far away in 2011.

In fact, an airline passenger using an iPhone or an iPad in the cabinprobably has more information and better communications at hisdisposal than the B747 or A380 Captain he flies with.

Are we going to be in a similar situation in 2061? Let’s see whatthe future has in store for us.

Marc Baumgartner and Dale Wright, each expert in their fields,both in Europe and in the USA are going to try to predict the future.

This should not be science fiction, but let’s enter the fantasticworld of Future Air traffic Control...

Philippe DomogalaWARNING: the views in this article arethose of the authors, not necessarilyreflecting current IFATCA policy.The official IFATCA policy can be viewed inour ‘vision document’ downloadable viawww.ifatca.org/publications

Whatwill thenext50 yearsbe like?

Photo: © 2007 Michael Zara. License: Creative Commons 3.0.Attribution - Share Alike

Los Angeles airport LAX building.

IFATCA THE FUTURE

THE FUTURE2011 - 2061


83THE CONTROLLER

IFATCA celebrates its 50thAnniversary this year at a timewhen air traffic control ismoving to the next generation.

The Federation has been able toexpand its membership to all cornersof the earth and to work closely withmore aviation organizations such asICAO.

50 years of existence is truly animpressive and historic moment. Howare we to address the future of ourFederation that has so successfullyrepresented our profession throughthe past 5 decades, from a smallmeeting to a renowned andrespected organization? And, whereto now? To quote from the first pageof the IFATCA future statement onglobal ATM “The future is not someplace we are going, but one we arecreating” (John Schaar). So whatfuture shall we create for ourFederation? Air traffic control beingan important pillar of any civilization,connecting nearly every place onearth and transporting goods andpassengers with unequalled levels ofsafety and speed compared to thedistance travelled, we cannot look inisolation at the profession and itsglobal representative organizationwithout taking into account whataffects most of today’s civilization. Weshould also recall where we havebeen as an organization and what wehave learnt so that we can use ourvast knowledge and experience tothe advantage of all ATM players.

Global future prediction is difficultas recent events of global impacthave shown

The financial and politicalupheavals of the recent past, allhaving global impact are synonymsfor changes, which from a globalhistorical point of view, areunprecedented in strength, intensity

and rapidity and replete withunknown consequences. Thesubprime crisis, the destabilization ofthe Euro, uncontrolled nuclearaccidents; all are challenging thepreviously assumed stability of theglobal coordination system. Theseevents are much more than footnotesin history.

What was considered immutableis suddenly starting to slide. Noteverything, however, is in the handsof humans, as shown by recentcatastrophes such as earthquakesand tsunamis. We have difficulties indealing with such abyssal incisions.

There are calls for immediate answersto justifiable questions as we look forreasons and causes. In spite ofcurrent scientific knowledge, thereare no recipes for managing theunknown. The temptations ofopportunity often outweigh thedeterrence of risks, and inherentnecessities and a lack of couragesometimes hinder us from doingwhat is right.

The next50 years...By Dale Wright and Marc Baumgartner

Photo: srbatca

Destroyed Control tower in Serbia.

Dale Wright.Photo: DP

Dale Wright, formerIFATCA Executive VicePresident Finance (2003-2010) is DirectorTechnical and Safety ofthe National Air Trafficcontroller Association(NATCA). Dale has anextensive career as anair traffic controller andworked as anoperational controller inCharlotte until hisretirement.

Marc Baumgartner.

Marc Baumgartner, formerIFATCA Executive Vice-President Europe (1998-2002) and President andCEO (2002-2010), iscurrently the EASA andSESAR coordinator forIFATCA. Marc is a fulltimeoperational controller atthe Area Control Centre inGeneva, Switzerland.

Despite a lot of scientificknowledge, there are no recipesfor managing the unknown.

Photo: DP

IFATCA THE FUTURE


84 THE CONTROLLER

Air transport is, and will remain for along time, a growth industry.Therefore air traffic control will remainone of the essential elements in thecurrent and future infrastructure.None of the documents availabletoday is looking as far as 2050 orasking questions about the roleaircraft will play as passenger andfreight carriers. The nature of futureair traffic might be somewhatdifferent as some of the operationsmight be carried out by unmannedvehicles, or by new concepts, likesuborbital spaceflight. However, it willstill be a flying object, which will haveto be kept apart from terrain andother flying objects. But the questioncould be by whom/or what.

Global trends indicate shifts inworld order we know today

In looking at various global trends,many of the world’s best thinkersconfirm that the changes that will beexperienced by the current and thetwo future generations are of anunknown magnitude. Climate andenvironment, demographic andfinancial challenges are certainlyamong the most popular ones;however, equally important areaccess to water, and improvedcomputing capacities, the latterincreasing both possibilities andvulnerabilities. We cannot addressthe future of our profession or theFederation in isolation of the world’sevolution, so the authors highlight afew of the main challenges that mighthave impact on the immediateprofessional future. This future will be

more fluid, demanding more fluidsolutions, which in turn requires astructure for the Federation that willmatch these changing environmentswithout losing sight of its primarymission.

Climate and environmentchallenges

The challenges for the future ofhuman beings described in variouspublications trigger differentreactions. Fuelled by a moresensational press, these challengescreate fears and tensions there is realdanger for the continued existence ofmankind as we are used to it. InNovember 2010, the InternationalEnergy Agency1 (IEA) stated that‘peak oil’ happened in 2006. Peak Oilis described as the point in timewhen the maximum rate of globalpetroleum extraction is reached, afterwhich the rate of production entersterminal decline. This comes at aperiod in time where the so-calledemerging countries (China, India andBrazil) are in dire need ofconventional oil to fuel theireconomies. The climate collapse willimpact severely any form of mankindif at a global level the politicians arenot doing anything to stop thissuicidal race by our currentgenerations. Although moreoptimistic voices will tell us that the

The nature of futureair traffic might besomewhat differentas some of theoperations might becarried out byunmanned vehicles.

Skylon project plane.

Melting ice.

Photo: dp

climate changes and the increasedtechnological capacity (in particularthe computing performance) willassist the human to survive andremain resilient to the newchallenges. An example of thepossibility to remain inventive andadapt with regard to the fossil oildependency is hydraulic fracturing,where new technology has openedunknown possibilities to get access togas. Considerable controversysurrounds the current implementationof this technology, in the areas ofenvironmental safety (manmadeearthquakes) and health concerns(groundwater).

The melting of the polar icecap, inparticular the North Pole region,which has no landmass and is madesolely of salt water, will havesignificant impact on our future. Thereduction in pack ice will open uppossible new access4 and pose newchallenges as 30% of the global gasreserve is predicted to be above theArctic Circle. A further 13% of theglobal oil reserve is untouched andcould be exploited, though inextreme conditions (deepwater).

The impact on some parts ofcivilization by some of the foreseenclimate changes is huge and willaffect the way we organize alltransport (not just air transport) in thecoming 30 to 50 years.

Photo: REL

IFATCA THE FUTURE


85

INVENTINGTHE FUTUREWITH CLEANTECHNOLOGIESShare our ideals, adopt a Solar Impulse solar cell!Pick your own among the 10’748 solar cellon the wing and support technological innovation

WWW.SOLARIMPULSE.COM

CELL 8CATEGORY Patron SI

HubertReevesCanada

You have demonstrated that sucha plane is not a senseless dream.You’ve come a long way since Icare!

The First Solar Impulse aircraft(call sign HB-SIA ) has been flyingsince April 2010.

Earlier this year, it attended the Paris leBourget Air Show, having flown on its ownfrom Brussels (Belgium) before returning toits homebase in Payerne ( Switzerland). Theaircraft has the wingspan of an Airbus 340(63m) but only weighs 1600kg. It’spowered by 4 electrical engines of 10 HPeach and fueled by nearly 11,000 siliconsolar cells, 150 microns thick. The wholeaircraft is built in a composite-carbon fiberhoneycomb-sandwich structure.

Above all, it is intended to show thatalternative energy coupled with newtechnology can achieve what seemedimpossible and also to be a technologydemonstrator. A second aircraft will beshortly built and the project is to fly aroundthe world with it, day and night VFR at…35 Kts average. The challenges for ATCand controllers will be high.

The first constraints are to take off incertain time periods early in the morning

and make landings during specific periodsin late evening, to avoid turbulence andthermal activity. Those periods unfortunatelycorrespond to the busiest business activityin most international airports.

The aircraft has a transponder, VHF andmore, but is flown VFR. Penetrations of highaltitudes in airspaces class A (needing aderogation for each country ) and even in B,C and D will be a challenge. The aircraft canfly up to 28.000 ft. During late afternoon it isin continuous descent and it will pass thenight in level flight at approx. 3000ft. Ofcourse with its speed ( 30-40 Kts) it will bedifficult to separate from other much fastertraffic.

The project counts on everyone’ssupport and understanding in making thisdream a possibility. The exact route is notyet finalized but it will be flying across manycountries. The Controller magazine will runregular articles on this project to keepcontrollers (and ANSPs) aware of theprogress before and during the round theworld attempt.

FUTURE:Solar ImpulseprojectBy Philippe Domogala

Cockpit HB-SIA.

Photo: Solar Impulse/Stephane Gros

Successful return from Paris.Photo: Solar Impulse/Laurent Kroeser

Solar Impulse in Flight.

Photo: Solar Impulse/Jean Revillard/Rezo.ch

IFATCA THE FUTURE

THE CONTROLLER


86 THE CONTROLLER

Skylon (UK)Skylon is a UK project funded by the European Space Agency.It is a kind of super space shuttle that can carry passengers andcargo from point to point anywhere on earth. It will use newhybrid air-breathing jet engines combined with rockets and itplans to use ‘conventional’ runways.

‘Conventional} needs to be taken with a grain of salt: itrequires a runway of 5.6 kilometer for take-off. This is toaccommodate the very high take off speed (close to Mach 0.5)and have enough left to come to a stop in case of an abortedtake-off. The first 4 km will have to be stronger than currentrunways due to the high take off speed which requires hightyre pressures which in turn means high loads on the runwaysurface. The remaining 1.6 km can be less strong as this is astopway in the event of an aborted takeoff. Landing can be onalmost any runway - possibly even a grass strip. The landingspeed is relatively low (140 Kts) and the tyre pressures arereduced after take off to save weight.

In air-breathing mode, the maximum speed is Mach 5.4. Onceit reaches low-earth orbit Skylon will travel at an orbital speedover 7.7 km/sec (27.000Km/h or the equivalent of Mach 22).

The black structure is made of reinforced glass ceramicmaterial to protect Skylon from the re-entry heating when itreturns to the Earth’s atmosphere.

Skylon could carry as many as 24 passengers (and a captain)

For more info visit: www.reactionengines.co.uk

Philippe Domogala

Demographic challengesThe biggest growth in

population is currently taking placein the so-called emerging countriesand in the less developed part ofthe world. The world’s population ispredicted to grow to 9 billionpeople by 2030 (from 6 billion in2000). Asia and the Pacific regionare the places with the biggestpopulation growth forecasted.North America keeps a positivegrowth in younger generationsthrough immigration. Europe has arather negative demographic curve(which means more elderly personsthan young persons). In particular,the expanding middle classes inChina and India will impactdemographic issues in the coming 3decades will also impact the futureof air transport.

Historian Ian Morris submittedrecently that over the next 100years, our social development indexis estimated to grow by some 4000points, whereas the past 15000years only showed a growth ofsome 900 points. Informationtechnology with improvedcomputing capacities will pave theway for developments of unknownmagnitude, thus creating thepossibility of a fusion betweenhuman and machine, through IT,neurobiology and genetics.

Advances in informationtechnology will also increase the riskand possibility that a society willcollapses, as experienced in thepast. While the demise of theRoman Empire only had regionalconsequences, the currentdevelopments are of a global scale

and therefore a collapse will have aglobal impact.

Jacques Attali and GeorgeFriedmann expect that the currentPAX Americana, will continue for thenext three decades, giving someform of stability to geopolitics. Afterthis period, the centre of stabilityand global leadership in innovationwill almost certainly move towardsAsia. This will give rise to differentand new challenges for globalpolitics.

Financial and civilizationchallenges

The financial crisis has led to thefirst post-globalization crisis with ahuge impact on nearly all worldeconomies. While the US economyis still the largest contributor to theglobal GDP, China is closing in onthe US. The IMF thinks that the USfederal debt could well be equal tothe total GDP by as early as 2015,which marks a rapid expansion offederal balance sheets from adecade ago (debt was a far moreslender 35% of GDP). Currently, thedebt to revenue ratio is 508 % andthe deficit in 2011 hit a mammothUS$ 1.645 trillion.

The current euro zone crisis,coupled with the very closely linkedfate of the US and China in the rolesof debtor and creditor, bindseveryone to each other on a globallevel. China holds over US$ 1.160billion of US bonds and has startedto reduce the risk by diversifyingfrom the dollar and its exposure toWestern demand.

Financial capabilities in the nearfuture will have an impact on thedevelopment of the modernizationprograms such as NEXTGEN andSESAR. ICAO Director of the AirNavigation Bureau, Nancy Graham,estimates the potential investmentneeds at US$ 120 billion over thecoming decade. Aviation still has awindow to get access to the fundsrequired – but probably not thatlong any more (at least in thewestern part of the world) asfundamental economic challengeswill have to be sorted out first.Societal expectations might shiftfrom the improvement of mobility tothe more basic survival needs ofmankind.

Financial capabilities in the near future will have animpact on the development of the modernizationprograms such as NEXTGEN and SESAR.

Skylon in flight.Photo: REL

Metallographic lab.Photo: eads

IFATCA THE FUTURE


87THE CONTROLLER

SESAR, NEXTGEN and othershave outlined how theybelieve the future of ATMcould look.

IFATCA published a GlobalStatement of the Future of ATM,explaining from a controller point ofview what is to be expected withregard to the global ATM conceptand its components.

The need to publish a vision forthe future of ATM has further led tosome description of what IFATCAthinks the vision for the future ofATM could be. Though still in draftform, the future vision highlightshigh-level ideas on what is to be

expected over the coming decadeswith regard to the profession andthe way we will be performing ATM.

Controllers (and serviceproviders) need to speak loudlyabout the beneficial role of air trafficcontrol and use terminology that isunderstood by other stakeholders,such as airlines, and make significantchanges to more strategic andinteroperable control practices.

Air Traffic Control is increasinglybeing seen, for example by airlinemanagement, as an impediment toefficient operations – and not theenabler of efficient operations.

Air traffic control now has to

justify its existence.In explaining both current and

future roles, terminology that isunderstood must be used. It is nolonger satisfactory to simply saysomething is necessary ‘for safety’ –as safety can be accomplished invarious ways.

Terminology must evolve so thatthe role is understood by thepeople making decisions – and thepowerful lobby groups – as most ofthese do not have aviationbackgrounds, but primarily focus onthe legal and financial elements ofthe industry – how much will it costand can we accomplish it?

How do we see thefuture of ATM?

Air Traffic Controlnow has to justifyits existence.

Aviation –the wings forincreasedgrowth of theglobaleconomyNone of the mid tolong term forecastsquestion thecontinued growthindustry air transportis and will be for somemore decades. Airtransport will continueto grow at an averageof 5% a year.

Some areas of theworld will see double-digit growth, whileairports in other areasof the world willsimply be packed. Butas a general trend airtransport will continueto grow (e.g. China isplanning over 140new airports to bebuilt in the coming 20years. Therefore airtraffic control willremain one of theessential elements inthe current and futuretransportinfrastructure.

Personal Aerial Transportation SystemsPersonal Aerial Vehicles (PAVs) are envisioned for

daily work and leisure commutes, flying at lowaltitudes in urban environments. Such PAVs are likelyto be autonomous to a high degree and won't needto rely on conventional air traffic control.

myCopter is a European project led by the MaxPlanck Institute for Biological Cybernetics inTübingen, Germany and is funded by the EuropeanUnion under the 7th Framework Programme.

PAVs are expected to shift the role of users fromtraditional flight control to flight management.Therefore, it is essential for human-machine

interfaces to incorporate perceptual sensitivities andmotor capabilities of users for comprehensivesituational awareness. Furthermore, the flight interfacesmust allow for fast and efficient pilot training.

PAVs will likely be autonomous for safety-criticalphases of the flight, such as obstacle avoidance andlanding spot selection for safe arrival and departure.Research will address collision avoidance with othertraffic and swarming of vehicles along establishedroutes such as highways to minimise the impact onurban areas.

For more info visit: www.mycopter.eu

Photo: myCopter/flight stability & control

myCopter aircraft.

Passengers at security.

Photo: Dreamstime.com

IFATCA THE FUTURE


88 THE CONTROLLER

Air traffic control has to become much more strategicallybased in order to deliver the efficiencies expected, evendemanded. Likewise, the inability of adjacent serviceproviders being fully interoperable and working togetherto solve traffic flow problems has to be overcome.

What we need to realise is that Future ATM is in fact onthe drawing board now – with some elements alreadystarting to be used.

The ICAO Global ATM Concept has been accepted forsome years, but while the users have clearly articulatedtheir viewpoints, controllers and service providers havebeen almost silent in comparison.

For example, mainly airlines have influenced the EuropeanCommission to spend vast sums of government money onchanging ATM. The recipients of this money includeorganisations that have a demonstrated ability to initiateconsiderable change (unlike most service providers).

The flight deck has been considerably changed over thelast 30 years. The flight engineer has gone, fly-by-wire(once a very novel futuristic idea) has been implementedin a large percentage of commercial airliners, auto-landand auto-take off are being recommended as being morecost effective and perhaps even safer than manualoperations, there have been massive improvements in thenavigation systems, engines and other aspects ofindividual aircraft operation. This expertise has beenfocussed essentially ‘inside the aircraft’ – however now itsfocus has shifted to ‘outside the aircraft’ or how aircraftinteract with other aircraft – and the potential for radicalchange exists. Think what has happened over thirty yearson the flight deck – and now think of that same effortapplied on ATM over the next thirty years.

Another example, which has been experienced aroundthe world, is that airlines have discovered that by actingtogether they can more easily and effectively (from theirperspective) overcome the problems that they have beenasking the service providers to resolve for years – but theservice providers have not done so. This is particularlytrue when multiple service providers are involved in aparticular problem.

In fact, it is not that the alternative to air traffic control asit is today is cheap – but rather that in the light of so littlechange over so long a time, the airlines in frustration findthat solving the problem themselves may be moreeffective. In addition the perception of the cost of airtraffic control – both direct costs and indirect costs – isseen as so significant that airlines are considering that itmay be cheaper in the long run for them to do itthemselves – and of course get as much governmentfunding for the change as possible.

ATM does not exist on its ownIt will be necessary to consider

multi-modal solutions. Someexamples include linking resources inan area (e.g., surface transport linkingseveral destination aerodromes in anarea) or replacing high-density legs(e.g. Paris-Brussels) by high speedtrain.

There will continue to beinfluences from outside ATM thataffect ATM behaviour (or at least theselection of options). Politics andpolitical boundaries will continue tohave consequences for ATM (but willhopefully be better managed). Issuessuch as health, financial and securityevents will affect aviation activity.

Within ATM, diversity willcontinue

There will not only be one type ofaircraft, or only one type of ATM. Itwill be a mixed environment for bothground and air components. Therewill be no end-state of uniformity.Change and more change is thestandard order of business. What isneeded is a way for this diversity toexist and operate in a safe, orderly,efficient, environmentally sustainablemanner.

Capacity depends on otherairspace users

Capacity always depends on otherairspace users’ activities. It is also afactor of what procedures are applied.In busy terminal environments, oftenseparation standards are smaller,procedures have been optimized withinexisting technological levels and so thecapacity constraint is usually directlyrelated to other airspace user activities.In other environments, it can beprocedures that are the maindeterminant of capacity, such as overlylarge separation standards, groundservice provider coordinationrequirements, fixed reservation ofairspace, etc.

NEXTGEN and SESAR will changeThere are currently two big projects:

NEXTGEN and SESAR. From a practicalperspective, we can be certain that in25 years’ time, they will not have beenimplemented as they are currentlyplanned. At the very least politics andfinancial issues will have had theirinfluence. In addition, with projectsbased on concepts that requireresearch and validation, it will not besurprising to have modification ofimplementation strategies.

There will not only be one type ofaircraft, or only one type of ATM.It will be a mixed environment.

The SonicStar.Photo: hypermach

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89THE CONTROLLER

‘Whole-of-World’ SolutionNEXTGEN and SESAR are

regional solutions, and it is notcorrect to assume that a solutiondeveloped for any particular region isautomatically applicable in otherareas, presumably by simply scalingthe solution to fit. IFATCA needs toinsist on a ‘whole-of-world’ solution(following the ICAO Concept) thatshows how NEXTGEN, SESAR andthe rest of the world all fit together asa harmonized global ATM system.‘Whole-of-world’ is used instead ofglobal as in some thinking globalbelongs to the winner of the race(global leader)!

ICAO is planning the ANC (AirNavigation Conference) 2012conference, which will pave the wayfor the future developments in ATM.ANC conferences are organizedevery decade.

In preparation for this conferenceand the possible work to be carriedout by ICAO in the future, theaviation community, under theleadership of ICAO is preparing socalled Block upgrades which shouldcapture the operationalimprovements and conceptualelements of NEXTGEN and SESAR.

ATM TrajectoryWhat is needed is not only a

vision of a wonderful future oftrajectory exchanges and ‘free flight’,but also the practical steps to getthere. To this end, the ‘ATMtrajectory’ should be considered asalready existing, but it should be in aprocess of continuous improvementso that it serves both airspace userand service providers more efficiently.

A distinction needs to be madebetween the ‘trajectory’ in the flightmanagement system of the aircraft(or the airline’s system) and the ATMtrajectory. The ATM trajectory isbased on the airspace user’strajectory but it has ‘tolerances’ thatwill be used unlike any tolerances in

the current ATM system (but aresimilar to ‘block levels’ and ‘cruise-climb’). They are in effect ‘freedom offlight tolerances’.

Another significant issue wherehigh precision is required is thatdifferent flight management systemsdescribe different paths through theairspace, for example for the samestandard instrument departure orarrival. For example, how a ‘fly-by’point is flown is handled differentlyby the various systems. Clearly theATM trajectory must define a singlepath as the reference trajectory (andthen apply ‘freedom-of-flight’tolerances as appropriate). Theavionics can then fly a trajectorycontained within those tolerances.

Future aircraft:The SonicStar (UK)“Welcome to the future of aviation” says thebrochure.

The UK based company Hypermach is developing afuture business jet, capable of carrying 20 passengers atmach 3.5 at FL600. The aircraft, called SonicStar, will use anew, hybrid supersonic, non-afterburning engines calledS-MAGJET, which are designed by HyperMach’s enginepartner SonicBlue. It is claimed to be over 30% more fuel-efficient than the Rolls Royce engines that poweredConcorde.

The aircraft also features electromagnetic dragreduction technology that is claimed to drastically reduceor even eliminate sonic booms over land.

The SonicStar also features an aerodynamic doubledelta supersonic laminar-flow wing. To reduce skin friction,its wings have titanium nickel-cobalt alloy leading andtrailing edges and its tail section has a high temperaturecomposite skin, with titanium alloyed leading edges.

The aircraft is planned to be 68m long, with awingspan of 22.5m. The first flight of SonicStar is plannedfor 2021.

For more info visit: www.hypermach.comPhilippe Domogala

Photo: airbus / S.A.S.2011

Future by airbus.

IFATCA THE FUTURE


90 THE CONTROLLER

Trajectory based on anothertrajectory

There needs to be the increasingability for aircraft to manoeuvre orbase their trajectory upon otheraircraft trajectories in real time.

The limitation of today’s aircraftautomation is that, while airlineaircraft are highly capable andefficient systems, the design seems tobe on optimizing aircraft performanceas if the aircraft is the only aircraftairborne.

Precise Time OperationsThe Performance Based

Navigation Manual currently does notinclude a time element, and therationale is that this is addressed by alongitudinal accuracy of positiontogether with lateral accuracy (actuallya radius). However, the importance oftime is actually for the future use of aresource (runway, airspace) at aprecise future time. As the ATMsystem is not a closed system and isstill affected by factors beyond humancontrol (wind, thunderstorms, etc.) theaircraft not only has to precisely besomewhere, but also to makemodifications so that an agreed futureevent (time and place) is achieved.This means that future events are

contracted time events (rather thantrying to predict only). In other words“predict to plan, contract to execute”.

‘Low Level’ RegulatedOperations

Increasing environmentalconcerns will result in the need forvery regulated activities, for examplebelow 10,000 feet above groundlevel. This is because of low-levelinefficiencies of jet engines (onground and lower levels), noiseissues, etc.

Traditional ATC techniques ofholding, path stretching orshortening, etc. will no longer bepermitted in many cases, especially inareas of high traffic density and highhuman population densities. Thismeans that runway sequences andassociated arrival paths will be‘locked-in’ (agreed trajectory) prior toentry into the lower level airspace.Likewise, departures will have tooccur at precise times to maximizerunways capacity (where required).Auto-land and Auto-take-off will becommon to achieve predictability ofperformance and minimization ofenvironmental impacts. If not auto-land or auto-take-off, then increasedautomation support for the pilot

should achieve precise departure andarrival trajectories with minimalenvironmental impacts.

Wind changes, missedapproaches (and other unpredictableor unintentional events) will have tobe provided for in the ATMprocedures and design. ATC roles willbe in establishing orderly flows, etc.,rather than tactical operations (that isvectors, speed control) that in effectmanoeuvres each aircraft in relation toother aircraft and seeks to get aircraftto a future point at an expected timeor in an expected sequence. This isone reason why an aircraft will needto be able to base its trajectory onanother trajectory.

This applies mainly to typicalairliner traffic. There will continue tobe a need for flexible low leveloperations including medical, police,news-gathering, general aviation andunmanned operations. Having ahighly accurate and predictable pathshould improve access to airspace forother operations.

Strategic EnrouteHigher level aircraft operations, for

example en-route, will also besubjected to much more strategiccontrol. There will be de-confliction oftrajectories, but there will still betactical activities (what the ICAOconcept calls separation provision).This tactical conflict management willmainly be the establishment of short-


Future by airbus.

Airbus concept aircraft.

IFATCA THE FUTURE


91THE CONTROLLER

term sequences at intersections oftrajectories. To explain this, considerthe following. ATM groundautomation will be able to consider alarger number of aircraft and a largernumber of possibilities with specialisthuman management (the controller)than will be efficient forimplementation in the aircraft. So therole of the controller, with automationassistance, is to consider the largerpicture and break to the task intosmaller tasks that can be delegated.

Further Challenges?The gauntlet has been thrown

down and we must be sure that whenwe pick it up we know exactly whatwe are going to do with thechallenge.

Today is when we start the stepstoward change so that we can keeppace with the future demands.

The questions we all have to askourselves today is how as a federationdoes IFATCA remain meaningful tothe outside world and to its members;and cope with the challenges ourprofession will face in the next 10years, e.g.,

• Automation

• A profession under attack

- Martial law in a European countrydeclared on a profession.

- Declarations of a bothersomeprofession.

• Challenges that our profession

might become irrelevant anddisappear.

• Our own perception of the job

- Is it not fascinating for ourprofession how entrenchedthe operational community is:entrenched in the verypleasurable world of the opsroom, where only whathappens in the next 15minutes really matters...

• How will our Federation beable to satisfy the expectationsof generation Y, which isstarting to move into theoperations rooms,management and politics, will haveupon our organization

So all the global, aviation and ATCchallenges are awesome – how do weremain meaningful as a professionand as a federation?

A small team composed of selectpersons from the Federation analysedpossible scenarios of how the futurecould look for IFATCA and itsmembership. One can, however, notanalyse the future without looking tothe current or present circumstancesof our federation.

Therefore, the team conducted asmall SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses,Opportunities and Threats) analysis, inwhich a company or an associationpreparing for the future lists internalstrengths and weaknesses, andexternal opportunities and threats.

So all the global, aviationand ATC challenges areawesome –How do we remainmeaningful as aprofession and as afederation?

A small team composed of select persons from theFederation analysed possible scenarios of how the futurecould look for IFATCA and its membership. One can,however, not analyse the future without looking to thecurrent or present circumstances of our federation.

Therefore, the team conducted a small SWOT (Strengths,Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis, in which acompany or an association preparing for the future listsinternal strengths and weaknesses, and externalopportunities and threats.

Strengths and opportunities are normally considered tobe helpful to achieve the intended objectives and strategicfocus points and weaknesses and threats are rather harmfulto achieving the organization’s intended objectives.

Today is when we start thesteps toward change sothat we can keep pace withthe future demands.

EADS Claire-liner concept.Photo: eads


IFATCA THE FUTURE


StrengthsIFATCA is the unique global voice for theprofession of Air Traffic Controller; we are non-political, professional, with global expertise. TheFederation membership of over 130 countries istruly global. The organization is a democratic andflexible organization, which can adapt to manychallenges pertaining to the profession and canreact in a very swift way to these challenges.

WeaknessesThe Federation is poor (in both financial andhuman resources) and it is based on volunteers,which are in many cases operational. Sometimes,the only driver is the motivation of the individual.Sometimes, the fact IFATCA is ‘only professional’might be a limitation, which could be seen as aweakness. The long-term orientation is very muchdependent upon the composition of the ExecutiveBoard. This composition changes regularly and it’snot necessarily based on selection processesand/or regional distribution of the executive jobs.The past successes have also led to a furtherstretching of our limited resources and could beviewed as a weakness nowadays.

92 THE CONTROLLER

Photo: enav

involvement in IFATCA and whyNATCA’s continued involvement inIFATCA is important to every NATCAmember. IFATCA must strive toimprove the knowledge of thegeneral memberships of all theirMember Associations with regard towhat IFATCA stands for and thebenefits the Federation provides.

No organization can function asan island in the aviation world.IFATCA’s future is only as bright asthe leadership of the organizationmakes it. The leaders of theFederation must ensure IFATCA’sopinions and goals are known bymany of the aviation organizationsthroughout the international aviationcommunity. The Federation alreadyhas good relationships with IFALPA,IFATSEA and ICAO. The relationshipwith ICAO has room to grow butthere are several other organizations,with which IFATCA will need to haveincreased and more effectivecollaboration. IFATCA’s relationshipswith Civil Aviation NavigationServices Organization (CANSO) andthe International Transport Workers’Federation (ITF) will be among themost important as seeking toincrease productivity and providemore efficient services will have adirect effect on the workingcontroller. IFATCA can also increasetheir visibility through memberships

in organizations that use industryinput for their guidance to AirNavigation Service Providers (ANSP).IFATCA has recently taken this stepby joining RTCA. RTCA providesrecommendations to the FederalAviation Administration (FAA)through the work of committees andworking groups on specific issues. Atthis time IFATCA is active throughNATCA on several of the initiativesincluding Special Committee 214,which is addressing datacommunications.

As SESAR and NEXTGENinitiatives are implemented, it is veryimportant for IFATCA’s MemberAssociations to use each other as aresource. With the reports of Chinaon the verge of building over 140airports in the next 20 years, IFATCAcannot afford to turn their attentionaway from Asia. IFATCA is aworldwide organization andinformation must be shared betweenall Member Associations, not justthose in Europe or North America.IFATCA’s membership in theAfrica/Middle East Region have theopportunity to use the members fromother parts of the world as a resourceto research equipment andprocedures.

This was evident when RVSMprocedures were developed inlate 2009.

SWOT is a universalanalysis method toevaluate the Strength,Weaknesses,Opportunities andThreats of anOrganisation:

IFATCASWOT2011

At the 2011 NATCACommunicating for SafetyConference, IFATCA President andCEO, Alexis Brathwaite, stressed theimportance of air traffic controllersworldwide working together oncommon issues. This presentation byIFATCA’s leader was very helpful tothe United States’ MemberAssociation to show the benefit of

HELPFULTO ACHIEVE OBJECTIVE

HARMFULTO ACHIEVE OBJECTIVE

STRENGTHSUnique global voice of ATCOsNon politicalExpertiseGLOBAL membershipFlexibleDemocraticProfessional

WEAKNESSESPoorVolunteersProfessionalFew in numbersDedication only driverControl mindedMight loose the status gained dueto the organisational structure

OPPORTUNITIESNeed for expertise(NEXTGEN / SESAR)Human in the loopUnderstaffed - manpower neededANC2012Past performance of the Federationpicks up the challenge

THREATSNo more ATCOs needed(automated)The professiontoo comfortable (top of the ladder)economic pressure to highsocial pressure too high

EXTE

RNAL

INTE

RNAL

IFATCA THE FUTURE


93THE CONTROLLER

Airlines and other users of the AirTraffic Control system always refer totheir desire for a seamless air trafficcontrol system worldwide. TheFederation has an opportunitythrough constant coordination andworking with each to have a voice inprocedures, equipment and trainingto see a more seamless system inplace. A partner for this type ofinitiative would be IFALPA and theirregional offices. Also, by theFederation being morecommunicative, controllers will havethe opportunity to discuss theperformance of their equipment. Thismay eventually lead to an air trafficsystem that has a more consistentperformance due to betterequipment being available in allcountries. Through improvedcommunications, the future air trafficsystem will be able to show benefitsfrom implemented systems sooner,which will then push for a moreaggressive deployment schedule.More rapid deployment ofequipment would also reduce theamount of time controllers would berequired to work in a mixed equipageenvironment.

As technology for UnmannedAerial Systems (UAS) is developedand tested, controllers will see a pushfor more UAS activity in dual-purposeairspace. IFATCA’s input into the UAS

development is very important.Procedures to be used by UAS andpilot requirements are two issues inwhich the Federation has a hugeinterest. In the United States, NATCAis active with RTCA SpecialCommittee 203 in addressing UASissues. IFATCA can also be part ofthese discussions.

Runway Safety is one area theworld’s air traffic control providershave to keep at the top of any safetyprogram. In 1977 there was theTenerife accident involving twoB747’s. This was the event thatstarted the world’s effort to make theground movements safer13.Controllers have an opportunitythrough IFATCA to provide input tovendors and ANSPs on whatequipment and procedurescontrollers will need in the future toimprove the flow of traffic on theairport surface.

Companies such as Sensis andTHALES are no longer regional; theyoperate globally. During 2011, theIFATCA Technical OperationsCommittee (TOC) has discussedRunway Status Lights (RWSL). Thisinitiative began in the United Statesand is now being discussed inEurope. IFATCA’s technical mindshave the ability to improve theseproducts in the future by increasingtheir input to industry.

OpportunitiesFrom the past performance of the Federation, thepotential to manage the challenges is there even ifthe challenges are huge.

The expertise of the professional organization iscrucial in times of change. IFATCA’s voice will benecessary, as the ATM world gets ready for thenext landmark, ANC 2012, and duringdevelopment of modernization programs, such asNEXTGEN and SESAR. The overall shortage ofstaff is a further motivation for IFATCA’scontribution on global programs, such as NextGeneration Aviation Professionals.

ThreatsIn 2050, maybe controllers are no longer needed.Perhaps the profession will alienate itself as it hasbecome too comfortable and the new generationof controllers and members of the Federation donot necessarily see the need to defend theprofession. Less volunteers may be willing to standup and take responsibilities.

The global and industry pressure might become sobig that there will be no possibility to speak upand the drivers (societal) will not necessarily bewhere we have identified them for the time being.The somewhat conservative and control mindedapproach our profession has might become a bigthreat to our Federation. In the future we may notbe controllers as we are today; we may be variantsof that role with additional technicalenhancements. As professionals, we must meetthis challenge in a structured, rational andmanaged way.

Photo: enav

IFATCA THE FUTURE


94 THE CONTROLLER

• Professional body/agency

– become a professional body oragency (structure and governance)i.e., similar to CANSO and ATA, withmore staff and possibly paid officials.

• Clean sheet approach

The group decided that a moreprofessional body/agency is the wayto go. This is because:

• the global union approach wouldneed negotiating power in eachcountry and it has always beenIFATCA’s philosophy to be aprofessional Federation. It could bevery costly and time consuming to

set up a global labour federation.We should however not lose sight ofthis in case ATM was organizedglobally and maybe this is the waythat other industrial or professionalorganizations are also going toevolve.

• we have no authority to become astandardization body and arguablyno balanced experience to argue acase that legitimizes our cause.

• we judged continuing as before tobe an impracticable option. IfIFATCA seeks to fulfil a professionalfunction, there can be no doubt thatthe working controller’s firstobligation to the profession is to beon position, separating andsequencing airplanes. We have tobe prepared to see our Federation,the organization and the people in itdifferently and be prepared tochange dramatically today. If thesepressures on the controller’s abilityto participate are not addressed,then there is a risk that we disappearfrom the international stage.

• we are running out of time. Thismight be the last opportunity whichIFATCA will have to choose todevelop a professional cadre that isable to represent IFATCAprofessionally and consistently,forging working alliances withIFALPA and IFATSEA andrepresenting a common view wherethis is achievable.

For this, we need to keep in mindan important element for the future,that is, the future is not to be fearedbut to be met as a challenge. If we arestrong enough, and our pastperformance gives no cause to say weare not, then we should manoeuvre /adapt ourselves to meet this challengein a spirit of cooperation andcoordination, and not throughresistance.

We need to pick our fights andform alliances – consider cooperationand seek the best elements to remainrelevant to the outside world.

Which way to go?The small group of people who

have debated the SWOT haveestablished possible future scenarios.

• Global union of controllers

– become a global union for air trafficcontrollers (more like IFALPA)

• Standardisation body

– become a sort of ethical or HumanFactors standardization body (e.g.industry or professional organizationnorm)

• Continue as before

– remain an organisation ofvolunteers, but with more members

We have to beprepared... to changedramatically today.

Photo: enav

Photo: eads

Skylon landing.

Photo: REL

IFATCA THE FUTURE


95THE CONTROLLER

For this, we need tokeep in mind oneimportant element:

the future is not tobe feared but to bemet as a challenge.


CONCLUSIONS:IFATCA’sPosition onthe FutureBy Alexis Brathwaite,IFATCA President and CEO

International Federation of Air TrafficControllers’ Associations. Further, it isIFATCA’s view that globalharmonization and interoperability ispossible only through the ICAOprocess. We fully support ICAO’sinitiative, as more than anything else, acomprehensive solution requires ahigh level of cooperation between allmembers of the ATM Community.

Our future statement built on theidea of cooperation by stating:

“The co-operation required is aserious working together that requirespragmatism and compromise by allinvolved. Pragmatism requires thatissues are discussed frankly, and thatno issues are left as too difficult. Itespecially requires that issues such asfinance and politics are not left out ofthe discussion, because practicalsolutions involve both of these.Pragmatism also requires areasonableness that does not demandmore of others than you are willing tooffer yourself.

Regarding compromise,philanthropy may occur – but what isexpected is an ‘enlightened self-interest’ that recognises that the bestmeans to achieve the required resultsfor self is by participating. For‘enlightened self-interest’ to continueto work, everyone must getsomething from the system that theywant – and everyone must beprepared to give up something. Inother words, what is needed is awillingness to concede something toget an overall better result.”

SESAR and NEXTGEN havesince become the point ofdeparture as to how mostsee the future of AirTraffic Management.Yet no one knows howthese concepts will bedeveloped orimplemented, and if theywill work together.

The IFATCA Statement on the Future of Global AirTraffic Management, published in 2007, aimed toassist in an understanding of the current state of AirTraffic Management (ATM). It also provides a tool forgathering support for a particular approach andprovides another step towards working together tocreate the future global Air Traffic Managementneeded.

An underlying concept in our approach is the view thatIFATCA can and should create our own future, and that weneed to start doing this now.

Since the publication of our Statement, developments inother spheres have all demonstrated the applicability of ourapproach. SESAR and NEXTGEN have since become thereference of how most see the future of Air TrafficManagement. Yet no one knows how these concepts will bedeveloped or implemented, and whether they will worktogether.

In response to a directive from the 37th Session of itsGeneral Assembly, ICAO initiated the ‘Aviation System BlockUpgrades’.

The Block upgrades are based largely on operationalconcepts extracted from the United States’ Next Generation AirTransportation System (NEXTGEN), Europe’s Single EuropeanSky ATM Research (SESAR) and Japan’s Collaborative Actions

for Renovation of Air Traffic Systems(CARATS) programmes. They are alsoaligned with the ICAO Global AirTraffic Management OperationalConcept Agreement. These upgradesare expected to be codified at the AirNavigation Conference in 2012,bringing a degree of certainty for allstakeholders in the aviation systemand thereby encouraging moreefficient implementation.

To champion this approach andfully explore impediments tointeroperability, ICAO invited a groupof the aviation system’s senior decisionmakers, which includes IFATCA’sPresident and CEO, to come togetheras a Future Aviation Challenge Team.This means that IFATCA is exactlywhere we set out to be - a respectedmember of a collaborative communityunder the leadership and guidance ofICAO. IFATCA therefore has theopportunity to work with all membersof the ATM Community to create ashared vision. The purpose of thisvision is to agree and state the long-term objectives to permit researchand development into possible waysof meeting that vision. The visionshould be expressed in terms offunctionality – and never in terms ofan existing technology, an existingprotocol or an existing program;otherwise it will restrict understandingand potential options for meeting thatvision.

Collaboration with aviationstakeholders is a founding principleand one of the key objectives of the

96 THE CONTROLLER

Photo: DP

Photo: enav

IFATCA THE FUTURE


What is needed isrecognition that thestrengths of the humanand the strengths of theautomation are bothneeded – and that both

Cooperation occurs in theoperational areas not just by thesharing of information, but in actionsthat ensure predictability ofperformance – and this applies bothto airspace users and serviceproviders. There will continue to beelements beyond the control of theATM system.

The ATM system design shouldprovide means to mitigate theconsequences of uncontrollableevents as much as possible. There arehowever other variables that are withinthe ability of the airspace user orservice provider to control. It isexpected that in a spirit ofcooperation for overall system benefitthat reasonable steps will be taken bythe airspace users and serviceproviders to control the variables, sothat the ATM system is morepredictable.

As we seek to define the problemsin ATM, we may want to reconsider acomparison that is often made – theevolution of the flight deck. While theflight deck has changed tremendously,the fundamental function of the pilothas not changed. This is because theconcept of flying has not changed. Ifwe place the same effort in ATM wemay achieve similar results; realisingthat the concept of ATM is sound, wejust need to apply the sameproductivity enhancementsexperienced in the cockpit.

Humans, including air trafficcontrollers, will be necessary in theoperational areas for many years – butas the technology and system evolves,the role of humans will evolve. Weneed the human because of thestrength of the human in managingsystems in a rational and flexible way(that is based on sensible thinking andjudgement rather than programming),especially including handlingunforeseen events. Many ATM system‘errors’ have been assigned to humanerror. This has led to the belief that thehuman is the cause of the problemand that removing the human willimprove safety. However “to actunreasonably and inflexibly” at timesseems to be the attribute oftechnology, especially whenunanticipated events are encountered.Human operators are blamed for‘errors’ and yet receive no recognitionthat it is in fact humans who have

made the automation work (forexample by doing tasks thatautomation was supposed to handle,but doesn’t do so correctly).

What is needed is recognition thatthe strengths of the human and thestrengths of the automationare both needed – and thatboth have limitations thatmust be mitigated. Withextended development anduse, technology can replacecertain human activities. Whilethere has been much learnedin progressive developmentof flight deck systems thatmakes UAVs feasible for someoperations today, there is nosuch equivalent yet in thedevelopment of systems thatwould replace air traffic controllers –but this is not to say that futuresystems may replace some air trafficcontrol functions. The ‘assistant’ to theexecutive controller, whether acontroller or support staff, is in the nottoo distant future going to findthemselves compared to the flightengineer.

In the ideal future system, the tasksand nature of human roles within ATMwill be by design and will evolve withthe automation. These changes willaffect staff selection, training, andrecency requirements (especially for‘emergencies’ involving degradedautomation). Representatives of thehumans who will ‘operate’ theautomation will need to be involvedthroughout the design, simulation,implementation and review of theautomation. It is important to makesure that the job satisfaction and prideremains high and the overall humanexperience in the future system, whiledifferent, will not be any less attractiveor important than it is today.

The founders of IFATCA did not know what the

next fifty years would bring. They just knew that

they had to be fully involved in creating that future.

On that score, we have in fact achieved a primary

objective of our Federation‘s founders. What we

make of this achievement will therefore define

IFATCA’s next fifty years.

Our future success may well require us to give even

more than we have done in the past. As was said

during the founding meeting, only time will tell if

we are asking too much of our individual members.

While history is not always an accurate guide to the

future, it does demonstrate capability and capacity.

We look forward to the next half-century and hope

that when our future members celebrate our 100th

anniversary, they too will take pride in the

achievements of the International Federation of Air

Traffic Controllers Associations.

What is needed is recognition that the strengthsof the human and the strengths of theautomation are both needed – and that bothhave limitations that must be mitigated.

Future Satellite based ATM.

97THE CONTROLLER

Photo: eads

IFATCA THE FUTURE


98 THE CONTROLLER

The editorialteam would liketo express theirgratitude to...

• The IFATCA Executive Board for trusting us, proven by givinga large degree of freedom, which makes our job a lot easier.Special thanks to current President Alexis Brathwaite, whodespite difficult circumstances did his utmost to support thisissue.

• Our printer, LithoArt of Mannheim Germany and especiallyMelanie Fliess: incredibly flexible and ready to help – it’s morethan we could ask for or even hope.

• Philip Butterworth-Hayes and Simon Smith for producing anddesigning this issue; Colin McCoullough, for managing ouradvertisements and sponsors.

• The advertisers, who’ve supported this magazine and therebyhelp IFATCA to spread its message.

• The countless volunteers which have and continue to work forthe Federation: it would have been nice to have had a boxabout each single one of you. Sadly that is not possible, butknow that your work on behalf of the Federation isimmensely appreciated.

• All former Executive Board members, but especially the FirstEditor Walter Endlich, for their invaluable memories, photosand stories.

• IFATCA chronologist Neil Vidler.

• Marc Baumgartner, Dale Wright and Alexis Brathwaite forsharing their vision of the future, as well as Marc’s hard workon the ‘To Be a Controller in...’ pages..

• The Civil Aviation Historical Society & Airways Museum andPhil Vabre for sharing their amazing collection ofphotographs.

• A special thanks to the small group of proofreaders who werely on to scrutinize the draft magazine for mistakes: I knowwe keep promising beers, but one day, we’ll all meetsomewhere and there’s going to be one hell of a bill for thebar... So thanks to Helena Sjöström, Paul Robinson, BrentCash, Andrew Robinson and Dave Guerin.

• And last but not least: Ilka and Helen – for putting up withbeing Editor-widows for a couple of weeks per year...

Philippe Domogala Philip Marien

Editor-in-charge IFATCA Editor

Photo: enav

THANKS


ifatca the controller - october 2011

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