The Association of European Airlines (AEA) has written to the directors general of civil aviation of seven countries requesting information on their plans to open new sectors following the implementation of 8.33kHz channel-spacing last year.
The mandatory carriage of 8.33kHz-compatible airborne radio equipment came into effect in October above flight level 245 in those seven countries - Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The programme is designed to free additional VHF radio frequencies, allowing an improvement in European airspace capacity.
The AEA, which represents Europe's major airlines, says in its letter that 8.33kHz does not provide any benefits, but "is just an enabler for re-sectorisation". Operators have made a "considerable investment" in upgrading to 8.33kHz. "We would like to request information on which and how many new sectors will be opened by your state as a consequence of the new frequencies and we would like to receive confirmation that the necessary air traffic controllers will be available," the AEA writes.
The AEA's request for information from states follows Eurocontrol's calls last year to provide details of their capacity plans to ensure 8.33kHz success (Flight International, 22 December, 1999-3 January).
Meanwhile, the AEA is calling on Europe's Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) to hasten the process of introducing mutual recognition of simulator qualifications on the continent. Six authorities and eight countries started mutual recognition of simulator qualifications in December 1998, but since then no new countries or authorities have been added.
"The process of furthering mutual recognition within the JAA has stagnated," says the AEA. The lack of progress is "costing airlines a lot of money" due to the requirement for multiple checks of simulators by various authorities.
Source: Flight International
