If you could change one thing about air traffic management, what would it be and why?

The FAA has had the benefit of a strong aviation industry for many decades, and we have built a correspondingly large infrastructure. I’m proud that we run over 50 million operations every year.

But we have reached a point where the industry must adapt or adopt technology that ageing infrastructure cannot accommodate. These days I’m not sure we need to be an infrastructure builder to be an ANSP. Yes, we might need to focus on the key pieces of equipment, but do we really need to build our own data storage solutions?

An ANSP should be an integrator of services and not have to maintain every piece of equipment. Why not procure data and network solutions as a service from another industry that has superior expertise? There are large, robust data networks that can meet all our requirements safely and securely. It would help every ANSP be leaner.

I would also make sure that every ANSP was aware of CANSO as an incredible opportunity to share best practices and as a force multiplier. The association has genuine expertise and real depth of information. ANSPs and regulatory bodies alike can look to CANSO with real confidence.

What are your aims as CANSO Chair, LAC3?

LAC3 is a unique region because we have such a wide array of ANSPs, and the level of maturity varies greatly.

We met in Guatemala recently and the focus was on what we can do and not what we can’t do. We emphasised collaboration and partnership and we could point to good examples of how that works, including the CADENA project. That is what we will invest in. If we can get common situational awareness, it will help each ANSP understand what it needs to do.

We also want to invest in air traffic leadership training with upcoming managers in the region and share our experience with CANSO with a view to getting it rolled out globally. We hope that this initiative will develop over the next year.

Can ANSPs do more to help aviation overcome its sustainability challenges?

There is no shortage of effort. ANSPs are doing a lot to help airlines minimise fuel burn and emissions through performance-based navigation and other advances. Terminal Flight Data Management means we can minimise the time off the gate to getting airborne, for example.

But sometimes the trajectory ANSPs can provide is so precise that aircraft end up over the same neighbourhoods time and again, causing noise and visual disturbances. This is an aspect of sustainability that gets forgotten. We have to strike the right balance and be aware of the bigger picture. Sustainability is not just reducing carbon emissions.

Are you concerned about future staffing levels?

It is a serious concern but, that said, I’m not worried that we won’t have enough people in the future.

After the pandemic, people clearly wanted to experience life again and demand for air travel grew quickly. At the same time, ANSPs had a three-year hole blown in their talent pipeline. There is no substitute for experience and training. It takes time to be an experienced controller and that is where we are now.

Within the next few years, the situation will normalise. Absent another global crisis, we will catch up and have sufficient, well-trained staff. We can’t rush it though. We have to get there safely and ensure the certification process is appropriate.

How should technology be evaluated? Is an incremental improvement in safety or efficiency enough to justify large investment?

It is complex because each ANSP is at a different stage in its maturation and will need to come to its own answer. At the FAA, we are at an advanced stage and have a large infrastructure but that means we can’t easily replace systems.

Smaller ANSPs have the advantage of not needing all the infrastructure the FAA is maintaining to realise integrated systems. They can switch immediately to automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B), for example.

Within CANSO, we can share best practice success and challenges and that is real value added for an ANSP. If someone identifies a surveillance challenge, then they can talk to their peers through CANSO to solve the problem. This is not telling them what to do but offering advice and support.

As to whether a small improvement in safety is worth a large investment, each ANSP must evaluate its risk according to its level of operation. Risk must be minimised though and you would never sacrifice safety for efficiency.

What technologies or new procedures excite you?

Actually, we have that space launch telemetry live now at the FAA and it is really exciting to show that to people.

The ability for flight controllers and pilots to exchange information – controller-pilot datalink communication – is also vital as it is the first step for so much else. There is a huge efficiency gain when data is shared about location and trajectory.

When you have better awareness of everybody using the skies then you can truly begin the transition from air traffic control to air traffic management.

Do you see these developments forcing any changes in ANSP business models?

In the US, the FAA is responsible for all airspace and would provide the regulatory framework. In some countries, there is talk of a separate provider for unmanned aerial systems traffic management, (UTM), but the point is that you need to find ways to integrate, not separate.

Remember, drones will operate at mass at the speed of computers so there has to be an interface between this and normal civil aircraft use. If there is congestion near an airport or an emergency, drones will also have to clear out of the way, so how we handle this procedurally will be very important.

For commercial space travel, we need to be able to open and close airspace dynamically and receive real-time telemetry, so an ANSP has a complete grasp of the details.

How will drones, air taxis, and space launches affect civil airspace and what are the key safety issues?

The key is to look at it as a whole. An ANSP must always look at the integrity of its entire operation. To achieve equitable access to airspace for all users and optimise the available technology, everyone must be at the table and understand exactly what is required, including all the parameters of operations for the various vehicles.

An ANSP will act as an integrator for those operations and so it must be comfortable that it can do that safely. That means we must collaborate.

Drone users are lobbying for access to airspace, commercial space travel is growing in the US and elsewhere and advanced air mobility (AAM) is an emerging force. All want to use civil airspace, and we have to work to accommodate them all. But safety can never be compromised.