More in Air Traffic Control

Competition was a recurring theme throughout the World ATM Congress conference in Madrid in February, to some extent de-bunking the traditional theory that air traffic management is a natural monopoly....More

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has agreed to provide a €41 million loan to modernize and upgrade Ukraine’s air navigation system....More

The most significant traffic growth, according to IATA calculations, will be in Asia where traffic, including China, is expected to increase by about 50% from 2012 to 2020. Other hot-spot growth areas are South America and the Middle East—both forecast to see traffic increases of 40% each—and Africa, where 11% traffic increases are expected by 2020. So even if, as also expected, the traffic numbers for North America and Europe continue at their current flat levels, the high traffic growths of other regions will pile on top of an existing global baseline....More

November marks two significant events in the ATM calendar—both aimed at generating benefits for airspace users. The first is the implementation of the ICAO Flight Plan 2012 (FPL2012), a revised flight plan format aimed at further exploiting the onboard capabilities of modern aircraft. The second is the 12th ICAO Air Navigation Conference that will bring together the aviation community to gain consensus, obtain commitments and formulate recommendations for building a harmonized global air navigation system for international civil aviation....More

Spain's air traffic controllers are threatening a walkout in mid-August to protest pay cuts and changes to their job conditions by AENA, the state-owned airports and air navigation authority, the USCA union said following a vote to strike by its members. It did not announce an exact date for the start or duration of the industrial action, butthe strike is expected to start Aug.18 and last for three days....More

US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said former FAA Administrator Jane Garvey has agreed to oversee two mediators working to resolve the contract dispute between FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Assn. that has simmered since the agency imposed a contract on the union in 2006 after it declared an impasse in negotiations. LaHood made his comments yesterday at a joint luncheon meeting of the Aero Club of Washington and the Wings Club of New York in Washington. Garvey was appointed to lead FAA by President Bill Clinton and her term overlapped part of George W....More

All flights to and from Greek airports will be cancelled from Tuesday midnight until Wednesday midnight due to air traffic controllers' participation in a general strike called by Greece's two largest unions, which are protesting the government's plans to reform pensions. Separately, French ATC staff are conducting strike actions this week, affecting mainly flights at Paris Orly. The CGT union is opposing plans to move ORY controllers to Roissy before regrouping them on one site near Paris in 2015, Reuters reported....More

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva yesterday fired Defense Minister Waldir Pires, who oversaw the country's military-operated ATC system, while extensive flight delays and cancellations showed no signs of abating as the nation attempted to recover from last week's fatal TAM A320 crash....More

The European Commission adopted a regulation on flight message transfer protocol that will allow the use of Internet protocol in communication systems between air traffic control units. "This legal instrument is another milestone in the implementation of the Single Sky, as it supports the coordinated introduction of a new technical solution in air traffic management systems throughout Europe," VP Transport Jacques Barrot said. Last year the EC adopted two regulations aimed at modernizing ATM within the Single European Sky....More

Brazil's air traffic control system will transfer from military to civilian control following a one-day walkout late last week by top-level ATC officials that forced the temporary closure of airports throughout the country and again highlighted the nation's ongoing ATC woes, which Brazilian airlines claim have cost them more than $48 million since September....More

Record levels of passenger and cargo traffic are straining airport capacity, a problem that must be addressed in US FAA's reauthorization program, Airports Council International-North America President Gregory Principato testified before the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation last week. US airports need to be able to provide the appropriate facilities, including new runways, to accommodate demand, he said. FAA's current fee structure expires Sept. 30 (ATWOnline, Feb. 15)....More

Investigators examining Sunday's fatal crash of a Comair CRJ200 in Lexington, Ky., revealed yesterday that the lone air traffic controller on duty was operating on just 2 hr. of sleep and was completing the second of two 8-hr. shifts in a 24-hr. period....More