number of safety programs for its members,
oversees standards of excellence in safety
management systems, organises safety peer
reviews and provides self-assessments of
safety management systems.
The association and its members are also
involved in the area of human performance
management, specifically research into how
the greater use of automation and machine
learning will affect the tasks of an air traffic
controller. “One of the key questions for the
ATM sector is how we mesh the changing
technological world with the people-based
industry we currently are,” says Hocquard.
“There will always be people involved in air
traffic, but their role will change. It has to, so
that we can keep pace with
capacity-demands.”
The capacity of airspace is often currently
determined by the speed at which someone
can work or communicate. If automation
removes the need to talk, airspace capacity
can increase. Then, if technology monitors
for and flags errors, safety can improve
in parallel.
“Up until now, technology has focused
(rightly) on safety. As a result, safety
performance of ATM is incredibly high. Now
as a sector we are moving on to how to
improve operations, things such as
automating communications and electronic
and automatic recording of data.
“This means that in the future the
controller becomes less tactical and starts to
deal primarily with the unusual things rather
than dealing with the norm. It’s a very
different role.”
Technology implementation
According to Hocquard the ATM sector is
full of smart people who appreciate the tools
they have, are aware of the incoming
technological changes and are readying
themselves for it. Nevertheless, he believes
that technology advances will not diminish
the requirement for controllers and pilots in
aviation. CANSO is therefore working with
ICAO and other stakeholders to ensure there
is a pipeline of controllers with the required
skills to fulfil this future role. “The
controllers are aware of the changes that are
coming, so social dialogue is key about what
the future roles look like and how we get
there,” he says.
Another issue is the actual process of
implementing new technology. An ANSP
cannot stop managing air traffic when
introducing a new piece of technology.
Hocquard likens it to placing a new engine
into an F1 car while it is still racing around
the track.
Regardless of this challenge, a new
technology that is being welcomed by the
sector is space-based ADS-B, a satellitebased
8 AIR TRAFFIC TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL 2020
system that enables ANSPs to track the
location of ADS-B equipped aircraft
anywhere at any time. The first commercial
space-based ADS-B service launched earlier
this year. Hocquard is genuinely excited
about the new technology, which he calls a
“game-changer”.
He says, “When I was working as a
controller in the UK it never ceased to amaze
me that aircraft would disappear as they
travelled over the North Atlantic and then
reappear on the other side. You would count
them on the way in and way out. To have the
capability now to see aircraft anywhere in the
world at any time is extraordinary.”
As well as safety improvements, the advent
of space-based ADS-B has two direct
impacts on ATM: a reduction in costs and an
increase in the availability of information
about aircraft positions. Space-based ADS-B
means nations yet to build infrastructure for
air traffic management can effectively jump
forward in terms of ATM without a large and
costly investment.
“For example, in Africa it’s difficult to
build radar installations because of the
distances involved. Other parts of the world
are really mountainous. Now an ANSP can
buy the surveillance information about an
aircraft’s position and jump straight to the
next generation of ATM technology.”
Another effect of space-based ADS-B is to
improve the accuracy of information over
large areas that previously did not have any
information. For example, NAV CANADA
and NATS are using it across the North
Atlantic already. A recent study has shown
that it saves up to US$300 per flight over the
North Atlantic. “Space-based ADS-B will
change how people do air traffic control in
the future,” says Hocquard. “There’s huge
momentum behind it.”
Airspace crunch
There are also technological trends in the
sector that are challenging though. Drones
of all different sizes pose a major change for
the aviation industry, including ATM.
However, Hocquard does not see them in a
problematic way: “They are a positive
change in the aviation industry rather than a
problem. Drones are a growing segment of
the industry and will drive change across
the whole of aviation, because these
companies are innovative with a different
way of thinking. We can provide guidance
and help, but they may have new ideas that
the whole industry can use.
INTERVIEW
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