The privatisation of the UK's National Air Traffic Service (NATS) will "set a good example, not only for other European ATCs, but for others around the world," says IATA director general Pierre Jeanniot.
Speaking at the Financial Times World Aerospace and Air Transport Conference in London on Friday he said: "The overriding principle is of course safety. But safe ATC services can be delivered much more efficiently, rapidly and economically than they are being delivered in Europe today. "We should end up with ATC entities which are operated as businesses, with good management, high safety and efficiency and where productivity gains are rewarded, rather than looking only at the bottom line.
"In Europe, the ATC problems are well known. Although some of these problems are either technical or operational, we believe many result from an inappropriate institutional structure for the provision of services. "We have consistently argued that regulatory and service provision activities must be separated, not just at the national, but also at the European level. There is a strong case for a centralised European Regulator dealing with safety, economic and airspace design matters," he says.
Jeanniot goes on to say that IATA favours a re-grouping of Europe's national ATC entities and a corporate structure which is "not for profit", perhaps based on a cooperative model and financed largely through bond issues, with only a minimum of profit-seeking shareholders, if any. "Above all, we need to ensure that the ultimate aviation product consumers, the travellers and shippers, get the safest, most efficient value-for-money aviation infrastructure," he concludes.
* The Transport Bill, contains provisions for the creation of the public-private partnership (PPP) that could see 51% of NATS sold to a strategic partner. The proposed legislation provides for the separation of service provision from safety regulation, which would continue to be carried out by the Civil Aviation Authority.
Source: Flight Daily News
