DAVID LEARMOUNT / BRUSSELS
Eurocontrol formally launched its European strategic safety action plan (SSAP) at a high-level meeting of European regulators and air navigation service providers (ANSP) in Brussels last week.
The SSAP encourages all the stakeholders in the European air traffic management (ATM) system to work together towards improving safety standards as flight movements increase.
Eurocontrol's high-level Action Group for Aviation Safety (AGAS) had already identified the eight areas that most urgently needed action. These included tackling the shortage of fully trained people in safety-related roles, like air traffic controllers; the low level of ATM-related incident reporting and data sharing; standardising pilot and controller actions in the event of an airborne collision avoidance system (ACAS) resolution advisory; provision of ground-based safety nets like short-term conflict alert and minimum safe altitude warning systems (MSAWS); runway safety; adoption of the common European safety regulatory requirements (ESARR) and monitoring of their implementation; awareness of the demands of ATM safety and ATM safety and human factors research. The implementation target date is 31 January 2006, says Eurocontrol.
Source: Flight International
