Pressure is mounting on those overseeing air traffic controllers in the Gulf region to provide a more unified approach to air navigation service, given the rapid increases in fleet sizes of Middle East commercial operators. That was they central message at an air traffic control conference in Dubai on October 5, a few weeks before the Dubai Airshow.

In a recent study commissioned by NATS (the UK Air Navigation Service Provider, or ANSP), Oxford Economics found that the Gulf stands to lose more than $16 billion in revenues if air traffic control (ATC) improvements are not implemented. John Swift, director, NATS Middle East, told AIN the goal of the study was to present the UAE authorities with a dollar number to underline the danger of inaction on the issue.

Ismaeil Al Blooshi, assistant director-general, aviation safety affairs, UAE General Civil Aviation Authority said, “I can’t envision a ‘single airspace’ in this region, but we need to work closely with each other at state level. There is a need to support other states for which civil aviation development is not the first priority. We cannot solve today’s problems with yesterday’s solutions, and we need to start collaborating early.”

“With aviation growing globally at between 4 and 7 percent annually, and with growth not all coming from aircraft like the Airbus A380, pressure on the ATM system is going to increase,” said Sir Tim Clark, CEO of Emirates.

He added, “There is a degree of conservativeness among some service providers. We think that by using steeper angles of approach, landing long and using little thrust we can certainly mitigate many noise issues. We have the ability to make [steep] approaches with these aircraft with very few adaptations and have successfully tested these on our simulators.”

Clark said questions about the viability of improvements to ATC in the Gulf region were hypothetical, because the issue was being addressed. “I think there is a political buy-in to all of it. Execution is exercising people’s minds at the moment, but we’ll get there. Everybody understands that.”

Asked if Eurocontrol was the right model for the Middle East, he said: “It’s one. Don’t forget, that has been one of the established entities of cohesive collaboration for quite a few years now. But you’ve got to get the political will to make that work.

“Where does it sit? How does it get carved up? It would be very nice to have something like Eurocontrol in the Middle East, but whether the Iranians or the Saudis would agree, I don’t know. It would certainly be nice to have.”

Working with Eurocontrol

The UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority signed an agreement on October 5 with Eurocontrol for the exchange of flight data.

“The cooperation agreement covers exchange of flight data, updated flight plan information, and airport departure planning information,” a Eurocontrol press release said. “It will help to address the current lack of predictability of traffic between the Middle East and Europe, which adversely affects capacity.”

“With traffic between Europe and the Middle East predicted to grow at 3.6 percent a year over the next decade at least, it is clear that in order to deliver efficient air traffic services, we need to improve cooperation and exchange of information between the two regions,” said Frank Brenner, director general of Eurocontrol

The agreement was signed by Omar bin Ghaleb, GCAA deputy director general. An international aviation delegation visited the ATC facility at Dubai Air Navigation Services’ (DANS) office at Al Maktoum International Airport (Dubai South) on October 4. DANS is the ANSP that manages airspace in Dubai and Northern Emirates. The tour came as part of the company’s support for the conference.

Delegates from airport authorities, civil aviation authorities and international ANSPs in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Peru, Senegal, Qatar, Morocco and Lebanon attended. They also reviewed the world’s largest 360-degree tower simulator “TOSIM”, and the Dubai Approach Radar facility.

“Cooperation between DANS and international organizations is [important],” said Mohammed A. Ahli, director general of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA) and DANS CEO. “We are always keen on sharing the Dubai story with all entities who are interested in participating in the growth of the sector.”

The tour also marked UAE Civil Aviation Day, an important day in the history of the UAE. It commemorates the first landing of an airplane in the UAE, at Al Mahatta Airport, Sharjah on October 5, 1932.