Regional Updates

Asia/Pacific
Performance Based Navigation in Indonesia

IATA continues to work with the Indonesian authorities on introducing Performance Based Navigation in the terminal area. The objective is to enhance safety and efficiency with the introduction on new Standard Instrument Departures (SIDs) and Standard Terminal Arrival Routes (STARs) including approaches with Vertical Guidance. The airports ready for implementation include Jakarta, Medan, Surabaya and Denpaser. The tendering process has started.

ATM Global Plan Initiatives

Last month, the Asia Pacific (ASPAC) and North Asia Regional Coordination Group (RCG) reported that they developed their own operational requirements (User Expectations) to expedite ATM enhancements. This work (pdf) was presented to all ASPAC states at the annual ICAO DGCA level Regional Planning Group (APANPIRG) meeting.

It was formally agreed by APANPIRG that states should now map the IATA "User Expectations" against their current and planned work as part of a new ICAO Performance Framework for ATM. This is a significant achievement, as it will help ensure IATA members' operational requirements are afforded the appropriate priority to drive change.

This is the first time that ICAO has required states to map "User Expectations" against their planned work at the state and regional level and report back to ICAO on, at least, an annual basis. This gap analysis exercise will clearly identify where the current work programme is not in line with members' expectations.

Europe
Safety in Europe

The European Commission recently reiterated its commitment to enhancing safety levels in Europe. The focus according to the European Transport Commissioner, Antonio Tajani, will be on the following three pillars:

The SAFA (Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft) programme and the EU Black List
Strengthening the powers of EASA as a safety regulator

Reviewing current legislation on Accident Investigation and Occurrence Reporting
In September, IATA had the visit of a delegation from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), to discuss the management of the IOSA programme and the quality side in particular.

In 2010, EASA will take on the role of approving third country Operators into the EU. IOSA results will be part of their assessment of these Operators.

Single European Sky Update

The EU's Transport Council and the European Parliament started working on the European Commission's legislative proposal for the second package of the Single European Sky (SES). A very ambitious timescale is anticipated under the French Presidency with a vote (first reading) in the European Parliament scheduled in early January 2009. Efforts are well underway within IATA to organize a lobbying strategy and a plan to coordinate with member airlines on the industry position.

SESAR Update

A preliminary description of the work programme has been drafted and the candidate members have been requested to provide an "informal offer" of their proposed contribution per work package. Negotiations to conclude the membership agreements with the core group of 15 investor companies will continue until the end of December.

Latin America and the Caribbean
Raising ISAGO Awareness

The first regional ISAGO Information Seminar was held in Santo Domingo, with the participation of the DGAC, airport authority and five ground handling companies. Considerable interest was shown by the ground handlers to undergo an ISAGO this year and by some of the airports to endorse the IATA initiative.

IATA met with the Lima Airport partner (LAP) to discuss throughput, which is still a prominent problem, especially at arrival immigration where wait times can peak beyond 70 minutes.

Processing time at immigration counters and staffing volume appear to be the main culprits. The queuing layout of the screening checkpoint and departure tax exit need improvement. LAP is under a regulatory mandate to ensure that waiting lines do not exceed IATA recommendations.

This is an issue to IATA members, as they need to meet targets for wait times at the check-in counters. A major cause of the problem is that LAP is not taking accurate measurements. IATA has made a number of recommendations in this regard. Once LAP begins using these processes, many of the issues should be resolved.

Area Navigation Implementation

Three Area Navigation (RNAV) arrivals, one RNAV departure one RNAV (GPS) approach were implemented at Honduras Ramon Villeda Morales (SAP) and Toncontin (TGU) airports. These resulted in a reduction of 13,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions in SAP and 10,400 tonnes of CO2 emissions in TGU respectively p.a.

A new RNAV route was implemented between Tocumen (PTY), Port-au-Prince (PAP) and the Dominican Republic with connections through the WATRS+ route system to European destinations. This new route provides CO2 savings of 628 tonnes p.a.

Required Navigation Performance (RNP) validation flight at Peru's Alejandro Velasco Astete's (CUZ) was successfully completed by LA. All RNAV/RNP procedures were flown, including departures to the north and south, arrivals/approaches from the north and south, missed-approach and the engine-out departure track.

Improving Airspace and Airport Infrastructure in Brazil

IATA conducted a technical mission to Brazil to meet with INFRAERO and DECEA. Key issues discussed with DECEA pertained to the ATM enhancement initiative (Airspace Redesign and Flow Management). DECEA informed that the clearance limit point procedure had been discontinued and will no longer be issued by the ATC to the pilot. This had been long sought by the airlines. In the meeting with INFRAERO, IATA voiced concern on the lack of progress to improve the infrastructure at Liberia's Grand Cess (GRU), particularly the construction of Terminal 3. An ACC will be performed during the fourth quarter of 2008. Improvements have been seen at the airport regarding wait times in the security and immigration queues.

Middle East
Integrated Airline Management System (I-AMS) Workshop

A workshop on I-AMS with special emphasis on Quality Management Systems (QMS) and Safety Management Systems (SMS) will be held in Amman, Jordan on 29-30 October. The workshop is mainly targeted at airline safety management staff, in light of the fact that SMS will become mandatory for aircraft operators in most countries on 1 January 2009 in accordance with ICAO Annex 6. Among the topics to be covered will be hazard assessment, risk management and an overview of the ICAO SMS Standards.

Route Efficiency Project

The first meeting of the Route Efficiency Project took place in Dubai in August. IATA member airlines met for one day and provided initial input related to airspace user requirements for air traffic services routes, in an effort to create more capacity and better efficiency in the enroute environment. The routes should be designed based on the Performance Based Navigation (PBN) concept, making use of the avionics available in modern aircraft, which, have not yet been fully utilized in the Middle East.

North Asia

IATA's Director General met with ATC General Zhang Jianping at the China Air Force in August to thank the China Air Force for their contribution to the aviation industry in the past few years. He also expressed IATA's hope that China continues to open more flex entry points in order to increase the efficiency of civil aviation.

China Olympic Games -Successful Cooperation CAAC/ATMB-IATA

Commercial air service during the Olympic Games went smoothly thanks to CAAC and IATA's maintenance of safe and efficient air traffic operations through sharing information and cooperation. The Olympic Games period included 1374 flights departure/arrival in Beijing airport on a single day.

A coordination meeting for the CAAC and IATA Safety Cooperation took place in August. Issues discussed included fuel conservation, VFR separation, PBN roadmap, IOSA audit, ISAGO promotion, cabin safety and safety data sharing. A 2009 cooperation plan was drafted, covering:
VFR separation implementation: CAAC is promoting the VFR separation next year in major airports for approach to minimize the separation and raise efficiency. IATA was invited to provide technical assistance. CAAC will draft a letter of request to IATA, detailing the requirements for assistance.

PBN Roadmap: CAAC is working out the China PBN Roadmap for next year and IATA provided technical assistance and recommendations from the industry perspective. CAAC and IATA could organize a seminar to promote the China PBN Roadmap to the industry.

Cabin safety: CAAC is planning to nominate its experts to join the IATA Cabin Safety Work Group (CSWG). IATA provided Terms of Reference and expert qualification requirements.

Safety data sharing: CAAC highlighed the slow progress in this area and IATA explaned its policy regarding STEADES data sharing. Both CAAC and IATA agreed to develop methods for safety data sharing including the signing of a legal agreement to protect the data sources as a way to address the issue.

The cooperation plan will be finalized at the upcoming high-level meeting between IATA and the CAAC in October.

Airport Expansions

A new expansion plan was approved for Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN). The programme will cost 14 billion RMB and will include a new, third runway measuring 3800m X 60m. A new terminal and waiting room will also be built.

The construction of a second runway at Tianjin Aiport (TSN) has started. The new runway will measure 3200m X 45m. A third runway may be built in the future based on air traffic requests.
North Atlantic and North America

US Clean Departure Procedures

Initial discussions have been conducted with potential candidate Air Traffic Control (ATC) facilities to develop clean departure procedures (pdf). Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX), Las Vegas (LAS), Memphis (MEM), Philadelphia (PHL) and Miami (MIA) are being reviewed for feasibility. IAH is a strong candidate because the local ATC and CO are supportive of the initiative.

NY Aviation Rulemaking Committee Implemented Items

The Federal Aviation Administration reported that as of mid-August, 21 items from the New York Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) initiatives have been implemented. They are on track to complete eight more before the end of the year. The plan calls for 10 additional initiatives to be implemented in 2009. The Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA).

Air Traffic Management Advisory Committee (ATMAC) R&P work group will be delivering the review of the status from an industry perspective to the Air Traffic Controller Steering Group (ATCSG) at the end of September in Washington DC.

New Procedures at Three NY Airports

IATA provided technical assistance at the FAA NY RNAV/RNP Working Group for the development of the RNAV/RNP procedures for the three main airports. The JFK RNAV Standard Terminal Arrival (STAR) and Standard Instrument Departure (SID) procedures to be implemented in the fourth quarter of 2009 are dependent upon a NY area airspace re-design.

The JFK RNP approach procedures planned for publication on 25 September are still on target.

Meeting with NAV CANADAAn IATA delegation met with NAV CANADA to discuss possible efficiency improvements within Canadian Airspace to enhance operations and reduce fuel usage.

The main goal of this meeting was to evaluate the low hanging fruit and agree on a quick implementation. 27 Action items were agreed upon and will be evaluated during the next Air.

Transport Operations Consultation Committee (ATOCC) meeting in November.

Fonte: IATA 25/09/2008.