Air Traffic Control Association
No. 3, 2017
www.atca.org
WORLD ATM CONGRESS 2017 BREAKS RECORDS ON ITS
5th anniversary A Look Back at the Event’s Origins
IN THIS ISSUE: »» Photos from World ATM Congress 2017 »» Latest UAS Buzz: LAANC »» Did You Know? Drone Edition
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
No. 3, 2017 Published for
By Peter F. Dumont, President & CEO, Air Traffic Control Association
April Showers Bring Cherry Blossoms and, of Course, a World ATM Congress Recap
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or many in Washington, springtime is measured by the length and intensity of the cherry blossom season. Most years, it’s a somewhat arbitrary metric. Disagreements over the strength of one year’s bloom over another are hard to judge. But this year, a mid-March snow and ice storm has the trees in half bloom, and everyone seems to agree it’s one of the worst blossom seasons in recent memory. Here at ATCA, spring is measured on the strength of World ATM Congress, and by all accounts, we couldn’t have been more successful. 7,757 of our friends and colleagues from 131 countries registered for the event, bringing to Madrid the largest attendance to date. By the end of Day 1, we already broke last year’s three-day registration record. We welcomed 230 exhibitors, who filled the Exhibition Hall with exciting new and innovative displays. Two exhibitors chose to build two-story booths which nearly doubled their footprint. The
eye-catching double-decker DFS stand was designed to resemble the cab of a control tower and LED lights mimicked air traffic vectors across airspace. Including the Delegate Theatre, we featured five education theaters, which were packed all three days of the conference. Of course, the morning panels, organized by CANSO and held in the Delegate Theatre, were informative and included top-level officials from around the world discussing ways to provide more efficient air traffic services. As I walked the Exhibition Hall of World ATM Congress, our members were very generous with their compliments. Massimo Garbini of SESAR told me that the show allowed his organization to hold meetings with people in three days that would have otherwise taken three months to schedule (see his full quote on page 6). Another ATCA member said that even though it was only World ATM Congress’ fifth anniversary, he felt that
1101 King Street, Suite 300 Alexandria, VA 22314 Phone: 703-299-2430 Fax: 703-299-2437 info@atca.org www.atca.org President & CEO: Peter F. Dumont Managing Editor: Kristen Knott Director, Communications: Abigail Glenn-Chase Formed in 1956 as a non-profit, professional membership association, ATCA represents the interests of all professionals in the air traffic control industry. Dedicated to the advancement of professionalism and technology of air traffic control, ATCA has grown to represent several thousand individuals and organizations managing and providing ATC services and equipment around the world.
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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE our management of the Exhibition floor was perfectly executed, as well as their own team’s booth set-up and staff preparation. He felt that the Madrid location and consistency in the support staff have added to the ease and success of their participation in World ATM Congress. I am always pleased to see our members use World ATM Congress as an opportunity to make announcements (see a list of all participating ATCA member organizations on page 5). This year, Spain’s Minister of Public Works and Transport Íñigo de la Serna Hernáiz used his opening statement at World ATM Congress to announce an en route fee reduction, making it the lowest in the European Union. In other announcements, Atech publicized a new air traffic controller training solution, Leonardo demonstrated their automated system for unmanned aircraft traffic management, and Thales unveiled its UAS traffic management (UTM) solution at their World ATM Congress stand along with a contract agreement with the Central America ANSP COCESNA to provide NAVAIDs. These announcements and many others were highlighted in the World ATM Congress daily newspaper, World ATM Now, which was published daily at the Congress by the ATCA team. All issues, as well as past press releases and newsletters, are available on our World ATM Congress media page. I was also pleased to hear from many exhibitors that their traffic was strong and steady all three days. I explained that we film the entire floor via time-lapse during the conference and watch crowd
patterns. We analyze the attendees’ flow and make sure there are no “dead zones” where the traffic flow is stymied. Our team makes adjustments to the Exhibition floor design to ensure that everyone has a good spot in the Hall. Having been back in Washington, DC, now for about a month, we have turned our attention to finalizing our next event, ATCA’s Tech Symposium on May 16-18. The event will kick off on May 16 with FAA’s Tech Center Tuesday with a theme of “Transformation through Operational Integration,” and continue with two days of discussions focused on research and development and the future of air traffic management. These events just don’t happen. In addition to amazing support from our members, ATCA’s core team of 12 keep us focused on the details as well as the big picture – improving air traffic control and air traffic management. BTW, if you didn’t make it to Madrid for the World ATM Congress, the weather was perfect and the cherry blossoms were in full bloom! See you in May for the Tech Symposium!
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World ATM Congress 2017 Breaks Its Own Records on Its Fifth Anniversary A Look Back at the Event’s Origins Kristen Knott, ATCA Managing Editor and Writer
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ATCA Bulletin | No. 3, 2017
“World ATM Congress was a no brainer. It was the next step for our organization.” – Peter F. Dumont, President & CEO, ATCA
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hat if you could tailor an event to suit the needs of your industry, your stakeholders, and your members? And what if you could invite the whole world? What would that event look like? That’s exactly what the Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA) and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) did with World ATM Congress, which just celebrated its fifth successful year with record attendance. Together, the partners created a one-stop-shop for air traffic where literally all the major players are under one roof, with the backdrop of one of Europe’s major transportation hubs. World ATM is a three-day beehive, a flurry of business deals and connections. It benefits the industry as a whole, from bottom to top; World ATM Congress is and always will be for the industry, by the industry. Essentially, ATCA and CANSO knew they could create an amazing event, so they did. While World ATM Congress is now a fixture on the calendar of every ATM professional, it wasn’t always that way. Just seven years ago, what’s now become the largest ATM exhibition in the world was just an idea. It then grew as most ideas do: with the right people at the right place at the right time. “World ATM Congress was a no brainer,” said Peter F. Dumont, ATCA’s President and CEO. “It was the next step for our organization. ATCA has been in the industry since 1956 – we’ve always been involved with everything important in the ATM industry.” “We had laser focus on where we wanted to go,” he continued. “I knew we could make it happen – we had the right experience, the right people, and the know-how.” The next two years were spent building a strategy, negotiating partnership agreements, and choosing a proper venue and host city. In no time, half of the Exhibition Hall floor was full, with Boeing being the first to sign on as a sponsor. ATCA and CANSO worked to create a plan that would impact stakeholders in the least disruptive way. They knew moving the industry cavalry from Amsterdam, where ATC Global was traditionally held, to Madrid would be change enough. The final agreement was signed with CANSO Director General Jeff Poole, who took his position in the fall of 2012. World ATM Congress was unveiled a few months later in March 2013, and each year has been more successful than the last; 2017 was no exception. Five years in, there’s still no other event like it. So, what’s the secret? “Flexibility has been key – we haven’t been tied to doing things the way they’ve always been done,” said Dumont. “Our exhibition was built on our ability to build relationships, be responsive, and know the
World ATM Congress 2017 Breaks Attendance Records 7,757 Registrants 230 Exhibitors 131 Countries 83 ANSPs 100+ Hours of Free Education Programming from 98 Organizations 81 Members of International Press A Special Thanks to Our ATCA Corporate Members Who Exhibited at World ATM Congress 2017 Adacel Systems, Inc. Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic (ANS CR) Airbus Aireon LLC Airtel ATN Airtopsoft SA All Weather, Inc. Atech Boeing CANSO CGH Technologies, Inc. COMSOFT Solutions GmbH Diamond Antenna and Microwave Corp Easat Radar Systems Ltd EIZO Corporation Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Esterline Belgium bvba EUROCONTROL EUROCONTROL Network Manager Evans Consoles Inc. FAA Managers Association Frequentis AG General Dynamics Mission Systems Gryphon Sensors, LLC Guntermann & Drunck GmbH Harris Corporation HungaroControl Pte. Ltd.
IHSE GmbH Imtradex Intersoft Electronics NV JMA Solutions Leidos National Air Traffic Controllers Association NATS NAV CANADA NEC Corporation Northrop Grumman Raytheon Company Red Hat, Inc. Rigil Corporation Rockwell Collins ROHDE & SCHWARZ GmbH & Co. KG RYMSA RF SAAB AB Searidge Technologies Skysoft-ATM Snowflake Software STR-SpeechTech Ltd. Sunhillo Corporation THALES The MITRE Corporation UFA, Inc. Unifly nv Vaisala Oyj
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“We recognize we didn’t do this alone - without the unwavering support of industry, World ATM Congress wouldn’t be successful for ATCA, CANSO, or the industry as a whole.” – Peter F. Dumont, President and CEO, ATCA
“I was very optimistic from the very beginning. From the first year, it was already a very good solution with very good outcomes, but I have to tell you that after five years, you see the maturity of the event. Any positive expectation we had at the time, we went beyond. Look to the quality of this year, the quality in any perspective: the quality of the stands, the quality of the presentations, the quality of the conference, the quality of the services, and the quality of people. You see people working really together over here. They feel really comfortable meeting over here. It’s become a sort of institution, this meeting in Madrid. I’m very proud of it … The size of the event is such that for a manager in three days, you make your job for three months because you meet anyone you need to meet over here: colleagues, customers, suppliers, regulators - everybody’s here. All the ATM stakeholders are coming to Madrid.” – Massimo Garbini, SESAR Deployment Manager, Managing Director on World ATM Congress’ evolution 6
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needs of exhibitors and stakeholders – knowing how to connect those needs has been one of our strengths.” “I knew it was going to be successful – I just didn’t know it would happen this quickly,” continued Dumont. “It had a lot to do with timing – we had the right leadership at CANSO and ATCA. From the beginning there were believers and there were people who had to be convinced.” Those early believers were CANSO’s Executive Committee (ExCom), especially then-members Eamonn Brennan, Greg Russell, Paul Riemens, Massimo Garbini, as well as Paddy Kennedy of the Irish Aviation Authority. They were champions of World ATM Congress from the start. “If we didn’t have the vision and support from the CANSO ExCom at the beginning, this wouldn’t have been successful, especially for an idea that was outside of the box,” said Dumont. “We recognize that we didn’t do this alone – without the unwavering support of industry, World ATM Congress wouldn’t be successful for ATCA, CANSO, or the industry as a whole,” he noted. While World ATM Congress is no longer in its honeymoon phase, industry interest has only grown. This year, the show broke its own records with 7,757 registrants and 230 exhibitors covering more floor space than ever before. In addition, last year, World ATM Congress extended its contract and will call Madrid and IFEMA its home through 2022. “World ATM Congress is where the most senior leaders from the industry and other important stakeholders come speak to the entire ATM industry in one place and discuss their expectations and requirements.” said Poule. “We were particularly delighted to welcome EU Commisioner Violeta Buk and AG CEO and Chair of the ATA Board of Directors Willie Walsh as keynote speaker at the conference.” Five years in, one thing’s for certain: the best years are ahead for World ATM Congress.
World ATM CONGRESS
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ATCA Bulletin | No. 3, 2017
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Latest UAS Buzz:
LAANC = Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability
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ave you heard the “buzz” about how the FAA’s Program Management Organization’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) - Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) is making significant progress toward implementation? The Program Office, led by Rebecca Guy, Manager of Emerging Solutions, is charged with implementing automation in support of FAA Regulations 14 CFR Part 101’s and 14 CFR Part 107’s notification and authorization process for the operation of small unmanned aircraft systems, commonly known as sUAS. Parts 101 and 107 are rules enacted by Congress and the FAA for integrating sUAS flight activities in the National Airspace System (NAS). As part of these new rules, operators are required to register their aircraft and notify airports and ATC of flights within five miles of an airport center or to get authorization to fly in certain classes of airspace. From an ATC/ATM perspective, the development of a sUAS LAANC enables safe and efficient flight services to all aircraft in the NAS. Currently, the primary way sUAS operators and ATC communicate is manual and cumbersome. The target timeframe for FAA to address airspace authorization requests is 90 days. As airspace authorization requests continue to outpace approvals, the queue keeps growing. In addition, phone calls to notify towers of hobbyist/ recreational activities take time away from controllers monitoring the airspace. The proliferation of sUAS operators entering the market calls for an automated process to support the growing demands to ensure a safe and efficient NAS. Although the FAA has understood the need to quickly develop automation to support sUAS, resources to do so are limited. At the same time, industry has shown an interest and ability to
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ATCA Bulletin | No. 3, 2017
provide sUAS services. Through this need and the interest of industry, a new acquisition strategy has emerged: the FAA partnering with industry to create data exchange solutions that innovate and automate the authorization and notification process. Born out of this collaboration between FAA and industry, LAANC is one such solution. Through this initiative, the FAA will issue UAS facility maps (UASFMs) that indicate safe areas of UAS flight altitudes and distances around airports. Using these interactive maps, industry will provide Parts 101 and 107 operators the ability to interact with the maps and enable automatic notification and authorization through data exchange with the FAA. Data received by FAA can be used by ATC to contact the operator in the event of an airspace emergency. On Wednesday, February 1, 2017, the team hosted its first of a series of industry workshops. The meeting drew approximately 40 industry representatives from 11 vendor teams. Industry participants included some of the most influential service suppliers and research firms in unmanned systems innovation. The FAA’s main objective was to partner with industry on how to exchange data. The group met the objective by collaborating on the operational scenarios, data to be exchanged, and protocols for exchange. “It is very necessary for the FAA to work in partnership with industry – their feedback is imperative to the success of implementing this program,” said Guy. An initial operational demonstration of LAANC is currently planned for September 2017.
FAA’s LAANC Takes Center Stage at #UAS2017 Symposium LAANC created a lot of buzz at the FAA UAS Symposium in late March. The FAA’s initiative is a major step in implementing UTM. The agency is on track to roll out the capability by the end of 2017. However, don’t expect to see 20,000 of these facility maps – the agency forecasts about 900, all of which they hope to release before the start of 2018. “[LAANC] is a key component for how we intend to share data,” said Jim Stroiney, director, enterprise program management service. “LAANC is just the automated means by which you provide that [already-required] authorization information,” added Jay Merkle, the FAA’s director of program control and integration. Rest assured, though, that LAANC has been a collaborative process between ATC facilities and controllers, said NATCA’s UAS Representative Steve Weidner.
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Did You Know? Drone Edition
The ASRS is NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System. With new entrants like drones entering the NAS, the ASRS collects voluntarily submitted aviation safety incident/situation reports from pilots, controllers, and others. It uses these reports to identify system deficiencies and issues, directing the messages to people in positions to correct them, even affecting policy changes for the NAS. The ASRS houses a public database which serves the needs of FAA, NASA, industry, and any organizations or individual engaged in the research and promotion of safe flight. Learn more at asrs.arc.nasa.gov.
Officers and Board of Directors Chairman, Charles Keegan Chair-Elect, Cynthia Castillo President & CEO, Peter F. Dumont East Area Director, Susan Chodakewitz Pacific Area, Asia, Australia Director, Peter Fiegehen South Central Area Director, William Cotton Northeast Area Director, Mike Ball Southeast Area Director, Jack McAuley North Central Area Director, Bill Ellis West Area Director and Secretary, Chip Meserole Canada, Caribbean, Central and South America, Mexico Area Director, Rudy Kellar Europe, Africa, Middle East Area Director, Jonathan Astill Director-at-Large, Rick Day Director-at-Large, Vinny Capezzuto Director-at-Large, Michael Headley Director-at-Large, Fran Hill
Staff Marion Brophy, Communications Specialist Ken Carlisle, Director, Meetings and Expositions Theresa Clair, Associate Director, Meetings and Expositions Glenn Cudaback, Manager, Digital Media and Marketing Abigail Glenn-Chase, Director, Communications Ashley Haskins, Office Manager Kristen Knott, Managing Editor & Writer Christine Oster, Chief Financial Officer Paul Planzer, Manager, ATC Programs Rugger Smith, International Development Liaison Sandra Strickland, Events and Exhibits Coordinator Tim Wagner, Manager, Membership