CANSO identifies key steps for safe and seamless ATM in Africa

CANSO, the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation, has identified key areas of focus for improving the safety, efficiency and effectiveness of air traffic management (ATM) in Africa and paving the way for a seamless sky.

From robust industry partnerships, to embracing tools and technologies and finding common solutions to common problems, CANSO has called on the ATM community in Africa to leverage the power of partnership and innovation and work together to improve performance across the region.

Speaking at the CANSO Africa Conference 2018, CANSO Deputy Director General, Simon Hocquard, said: “Within the Africa region, and anywhere in the world, partnership and collaboration are key to improving ATM safety, operations and boosting connectivity. In fact, I believe that achieving anything requires more than one person or company – we all need help from each other. Whether that is commitments across the industry or between CANSO Members, solid partnerships allow us to be effective advocates and cooperative partners on both a strategic and practical level.

“Furthermore, robust partnerships not only help to enhance operations on a strategic level, but also provide an effective vehicle for delivering practical solutions, tools and technologies. Since the CANSO Africa Conference last year, CANSO Members have together come a long way in developing tools and best practices that will enable the region’s service providers to improve safety, service provision and boosting connectivity. This includes significant collaborative effort to improve the safety standards of ATM operations across the region, finding better systems and procedures for working together, and leveraging the knowledge and expertise of the global CANSO network to discover the latest tools available and better understand ATM challenges and requirements. Such peer-to-peer working and learning is essential for building the operational flexibilities and capabilities of ATM, and effectively tackling rising demand for air services in the region.

“CANSO is committed to finding common solutions to address common problems. As the event theme – Improving Efficiency through Collaborative Decision Making (CDM) and Air Traffic Flow Management (ATM) – highlights, the proactive engagement of industry partners and maintenance of shared processes and procedures is key to efficient operations. We therefore need to explore closely the multiple points of interaction within the aviation industry and continue to develop workable solutions for the benefit of all. This includes CDM, ATFM and performance-based navigation (PBN) best practice and a collaborative approach to new entrants to airspace. Ultimately we each hold the key to our own destiny, but together we can build a strong future for ATM in the Africa region.”

The CANSO Africa Conference 2018 is being hosted by Kenya Civil Aviation Authority in Mombasa, Kenya, on 3-5 September 2018.