Istanbul, 16/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - In Istanbul on Thursday 16 October, the President of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), Paul Riemens, denounced the practice of “ANSP bashing”, or a smear campaign against these service providers.
With more than 100 days of strikes in two years, air traffic controllers have made themselves unpopular in expressing their discontent at the reform of air traffic management as provided for in the framework of the Single European Sky (SES). In Istanbul for the Aviation Leadership Summit hosted by the Association of European Airlines (AEA), Riemens defended their position.
“European Commission, member states, airlines, you can continue bashing air navigation service providers (ANSP) to improve performance and bring costs down, but it won't change a thing!”, Riemens warned. He lamented the fact that the SES project, on which the European Commission has worked so desperately hard, represents too much of a stick against the air service providers, and not enough of a carrot. The European proposals, which were reworded in the SES 2+ package, would not offer the sector sufficient incentive to reform and show greater efficiency, he explained. Investments through the joint venture SESAR, the technical arm of the Single European Sky, is moving in the right direction, Riemens said, but more investment, in different forms, will also be needed. “You better invest in air traffic management and then get down the cost”, he advised. Riemens explained that the creation of airspace blocks is tantamount to “suicide” for the air navigation service providers, because from their point of view, “the longer the flight, the more money it brings in”.
He recommends a rethink of the value chain and a reflection on the best way to give these air service providers incentives. The flexibility within the SES 2+ package, currently being discussed at the European Parliament and the Council, is very tight, but he acknowledges that there are some interesting elements, such as the possibility of establishing public-private partnerships for air navigation services.
Riemens acknowledged that striking is never a solution, but stresses that many people are concerned about losing their jobs. He does not rule out further strikes on the part of air traffic managers in the future. (MD)