Air Traffic Services Committee (ATS)

Executive Vice-President Technical & Safety Standards (EVP TSS)

Capt. Patrick Magisson Patrick flies B787-9 for Air France, based in Paris. Since 2003 he has been an active member of the HUPER Committee, in which he held the position of Vice-Chair, Training and Licensing. He also chaired SNPL’s technical Committee for many years and is an IFALPA-Accredited Accident Investigator. In May 2016, he was elected Executive Vice-President, Technical and Safety Standards, at the 71st IFALPA Conference in New Orleans. He represents the Federation in several key ICAO Groups, including the Flight Operations Panel (FLTOPSP) and the Remotely Piloted Aircraft System Panel (RPASP). Back home, Patrick enjoys taking care of his garden, and spends long hours crafting wooden furniture.

Committee Chairman

Capt. Paul Vissers Captain Paul Vissers began his flying career with SABENA, the Belgian flag carrier. He joined EasyJet in 2006 and presently flies as Captain on A320 series. After graduating as a Master in electronic engineering, Captain Vissers completed his training at the Belgian Aviation School where he later taught. Beyond his flight activities and holding the position of Vice-Chair of IFALPA’s ATS Committee, Captain Vissers has chaired the ATM working group at the European Cockpit Association. He was a speaker at the ICAO SESAR/NextGen Symposium and was appointed expert participating in the SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) development phase. Captain Vissers originally hails from Belgium and now lives with his family in Ispra, Northern Italy.

Committee Vice-Chairman
SFO Dieter Oakley Dieter Oakley is South African and has been living in Hong Kong since 2007, when he joined Cathay Pacific Airways, flying the A330 and A340. He has also been flying the A350 since 2016. Prior to joining Cathay Pacific, he flew Boeing 737 aircraft for Comair in South Africa. He joined the IFALPA ATS Committee in 2010 and has been a Vice-Chairman since 2013.

Committee Vice-Chairman
Vacant This position is currently vacant.

Senior Technical Officer
Ms. Carole Couchman

 

IFALPA monitors the Air Traffic Management (ATM) developments mainly through its ATS Committee. The standing members of the Committee meet twice yearly and actively represent the Federation at various forums in ICAO, Eurocontrol, EASA (the European Aviation Safety Agency), FAA, and RTCA participating as subject matter experts.

Terms of Reference

• To prepare and discuss working papers which review, modify and amend IFALPA policy concerning all aspects of communication, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management (CNS/ATM) operations performed by air traffic service providers

• To prepare and discuss working papers dealing with the provision of Meteorological information for aeroplanes and with the provision and operation of Search and Rescue services

• To provide expert advice on air traffic, meteorological and search and rescue issues upon request to the Executive Board, other Committees, Advisory Groups, and interested external parties

• To contribute to the development of relevant ICAO Standards, Recommended Practices, and associated guidance materials

The ATS committee provides oversight on the following documents ensuring that the additions and proposed amendments are harmonized and ensure global interoperability;

• ICAO Annex 2, Rules of the Air

• ICAO Annex 3, Meteorology

• ICAO Annex 4, Aeronautical Charts for Use by the Pilot

• ICAO Annex 5, Units of Measurement

• ICAO Annex 10, Communications

• ICAO Annex 11, Air Traffic Services

• ICAO Annex 12, Search and Rescue

• ICAO Annex 15, Aeronautical Information Services

• ICAO PANS ATM (Doc. 4444)

Mission
The mission of the ATS Committee is to improve aviation safety worldwide, to promote a single level of safety to the highest standards possible, applying the professional experience and expertise of the members of the committee. Develop global harmonized policies and positions and to promote the adoption of such policies by ICAO, the respective Regional Body.

Coordination
The ATS Committee works very closely with IFALPA's Member Associations through either individual Member Associations or regional groups such as ECA and ALPA International who in turn represent the global interests of their pilots in Europe and North America.

ICAO has published and is working on implementing global standards for future ATM in the Global Air Navigation Plan. These components for change are defined in the Air System Block Updates (ASBUs). The technologies, procedures, and regulations need be implemented on a common global basis by the respective regions. These changes need to not only improve safety but deliver operational improvements to accommodate projected traffic growth in aviation.

The ATS committee acts as a common coordination arena for the other IFALPA committees such as ADO, AGE, HUPER, and others to insure the entire pilot perspective is covered in these changes. They also act to be the international coordination between regional Member Associations' work efforts where possible. For example, the European Cockpit Association's work with the SESAR- JU should be harmonized with the work of the Air Line Pilots Association- Intl and their work with the FAA's NEXTGEN program. The South Pacific's work through AusALPA, NZALPA, and other MA's needs to be harmonized with their counterparts in the northern hemisphere.

The overarching IFALPA document describing the common principles are found in the Future of Air Navigation v3.0 - 11POS03