JULIAN MOXON / BRUSSELS
Aim is to improve pan-European quality and safety and cut delays by tackling problem of controller shortage
The European Commission says it intends to harmonise air traffic controller (ATCO) training throughout Europe by the end of 2005. The intention is to improve standards, safety and help reduce the long-standing shortage of controllers, which is the biggest single cause of air traffic delays in Europe, according to Eurocontrol.
A draft report on harmonisation prepared by Danish consultancy Integra finds that the widely different ATCO training standards in Europe interfere with mobility between EC countries, lessen competition and equality of salaries and might have an effect on safety. The EC believes that harmonising qualifications, medical and language requirements would have a major effect on reducing ATCO shortages by making it easier for controllers to migrate to areas where shortages are worst.
The most recent Eurocontrol estimate puts the shortage of ATCOs at 10-12% in an operational workforce, amounting to around 18,600 in its 38 member states. The report finds that while most states comply with basic Eurocontrol guidelines for initial ATC training, there are wide differences in many areas, and only 33% of the states questioned recognise ATCO licences issued in other European Union states.
ATC stakeholders were invited to a workshop in Brussels on 19 June to discuss the paper and it quickly emerged that most were in favour of adopting the training harmonisation programme already carried out by Eurocontrol in its Safety Regulations Requirement (ESARR 5). Steve Garner, director of ATC training and simulation for the UK's National Air Traffic Services, said it was pointless for the EC to "re-invent the wheel". But, he explained: "My problem is that national service providers have a total lack of equipment commonality, which is a prerequisite for a common licence."
The UK, where only minimal changes would be required to ATC licences, intends to comply by introducing ESARR 5 provisions by December this year - the official deadline. However, the draft report notes that while 92% of states have a regulatory structure enabling ESAAR 5 to be introduced, half of them would require a "high degree of alteration on present licensing/certification procedures" to comply.
Meanwhile, the EC's head of air traffic management at the energy and transport directorate, Ben Van Houtte, admits that the concept of "functional blocks of airspace" - rather than national ones - which is central to its Single European Sky plans, may run into serious problems. While the concept has been accepted by the European Council of Ministers, he says, "we haven't found a way of validating it at community level yet".
Source: Flight International
