z 100 Years of ATC
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REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR AIR NAVIGATION z by Philip Marien, IFATCA Communications Coordinator Looking ahead to 2022 when IFATCA will celebrate 100 Years of air traffic control, it’s worth looking back to some significant milestones that led up to establishing ATC. One such milestone was the establishment of an international regulatory framework for air navigation.
First Attempts Despite several attempts from 1903 onwards, states did not successfully agree on regulations for international aviation in the first decade of the 20th century. When Louis Blériot crossed the English Channel in July 1909, he carried no identity papers. Contrary to the freedom many Europeans currently enjoy – the Shengen zone generally enables them to travel between countries without identity checks – this was far from evident in the lead-up to World War I (WWI). The flight led France to convene an international conference to try to regulate air navigation in 1911. About 20 countries took part, but there were too many disagreements, particularly on the question of foreign aircraft overflying other states, probably again triggered by the mistrust between the different countries.
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Another attempt was made by the Allied Nations during the second half of WWI. The primary mission of the Inter-Allied Aviation Committee, created in 1917, was to study solutions to standardize the types of aircraft, engines, and aeronautical equipment used by the Allies during the war. While it was dissolved in 1918, it inspired Albert Roper (See page 10 for more information.) to establish a similar structure dedicated to civil aviation. French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau, who chaired the Paris Peace Conference, agreed with Dr. Roper’s views and proposed the attending states to revive the Inter-Allied Aviation Committee as the Aeronautical Commission. This commission would be tasked to draw up an international convention on air navigation. The “Convention Relating to the Regulation of Aerial Navigation” was signed
on 13th October 1919 in the Clock Room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris. It established the main principles for the development of civil aviation, and article 34 called for the creation of "... a permanent Commission under the direction of the League of Nations,” the future ICAN.
International commission for air navigation (ICAN) The Commission was formally established on the 11th of July in 1922 after the 1919 convention was ratified by 14 states. ICAN met for the first time in Paris, which became its permanent home. They elected Albert Roper as Secretary General. At the time, no other international agency possessed such extensive powers. As well as monitoring the application of the Convention, ICAN
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