Aviation experts conference underway
Aviation experts from across the world have converged on Accra to discuss the latest trends, developments and common challenges for effective solutions to ensure the sustainable development of the global air transport system.
The six-day conference commemorates the 49th General Assembly of the International Federation of Air Traffic Safety Electronics Association (IFATSEA) and has brought together air traffic safety electronics personnel (ATSEPs) and other aviation experts.
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It is on the theme: “ATSEPs’ contribution to global aviation: Assuring safety, delivering Air Traffic Management (ATM)-Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) critical infrastructure performance”.
Significance
In a speech read on his behalf, the Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, said the role of ATSEPs could not be underestimated in the air transport sector.
While the introduction of new technological innovations put ATSEPs at the cusp of a new paradigm of resource and data rationalisation, he said, the performance of CNS systems remained critical in ensuring safety in the industry.
On the progress Ghana had made in the aviation sector, the Vice-President said the government was working to improve services and standards in the sector through the modernisation of aviation infrastructure.
He mentioned the construction of a new Air Navigation Service (ANS) complex, comprising of an ATM equipment and a control tower, the construction of new passenger terminal buildings at the Kumasi and the Tamale International airports and the rehabilitation of the Sunyani Airport as some of the projects being undertaken by the government.
“The commitment to modernise the aviation sector was recently affirmed when Airports Council International (ACI) ranked the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) as the best airport in West Africa, as well as the sixth best in Africa, in the last quarter of 2018.
The KIA has again been ranked first in West Africa and fourth in Africa in the first quarter of 2019,” Dr Bawumia said.
Commendation
An aviation and safety expert, Captain Kofi Atiemo, commended the work of the ATSEPs, saying “without your handiwork, even the most advanced of modern aircraft is significantly hindered in its capabilities.”
He, however, expressed worry that an internationally recognised systematic approach to ATSEPs training and development was non-existent, adding that ATSEPs had no licensing requirements, standards and recommended practices as determined by an international convention.
“There are no international conventions governing the exhibition of examinable knowledge and skills levels, for example, and no medical assessment. The fast growing nature of innovation worldwide presents the need to streamline training standards,” Captain Atiemo said.
He, therefore, called for devised standardised ways to ensure that all professionals adhered to benchmarks that allowed for acceptable levels of safety performance the world over.
Setting the standard
The Vice-President of IFATSEA, Mr Theodore Kiritsis, said with advances in technology and ongoing digital automation, the world was moving towards free flight, which required ATSEPs and other professionals to address challenges in the industry.
The Director of IFATSEA Africa Region, Mr Frank Apeagyei, also said Africa needed a common air navigation plan to take full advantage of the innovations and technology in air traffic management.
