ATC
Maastricht conference highlights ATC hurdles
In the light of the European Union’s final go-ahead given to the “Single European Sky” (SES) initiative, speakers at the Jane’s ATC Maastricht Conference (

In the light of the European Union’s final go-ahead given to the “Single European Sky” (SES) initiative, speakers at the Jane’s ATC Maastricht Conference (see box) engaged in a lively debate about how to enhance air-traffic management performance.

Brought up in those debates was the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) claim that “Europe’s ATC cost per flight hour is 74 percent higher than in the U.S.” The Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO) further noted, “We are facing new challenges with the renewed growth in Europe and airlines [pressuring] air navigation service providers to maintain or lower their cost base.” Delta Air Lines complained of ATC bureaucracy on both sides of the Atlantic.