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NATS, a global leader in air traffic services and solutions, has this week shared its experience and expertise with the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP), an event hosted by the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) in Dubai.
The CAEP has welcomed representatives from over 46 states to take part in deliberations on global environmental issues. This is the first CAEP event to be hosted in the MENA region since its inception 30 years ago as a Steering Group for ICAO.
“The CAEP is one of the leading aviation committees that enables some of the industry’s top experts to gather and discuss environmental and sustainability issues” said Ian Jopson, Head of Environmental & Community Affairs at NATS. “NATS fully supports the GCAA’s initiatives and we believe that such events help highlight the UAE’s commitment to the sustainability of the aviation industry and its impact on the environment. The event is particularly important as it follows the announcement of key environmental recommendations at the 38th ICAO AGM held in October.”
NATS’ role is to advise states in deliberations at CAEP on operational opportunities to reduce fuel burn, aircraft noise and emissions. The company carries out analysis on the environmental benefits of the deployment of ICAO’s Aviation System Block Upgrades. This is particularly important for the industry as ICAO is increasingly showing support for the development of a global emissions trading scheme for aviation and an emissions standard for new aircrafts.
“It’s an exciting time for the Middle East region, with consistent growth in the aviation market. With growth comes implications and sustainability should always be considered strongly with airspace designs. We believe that sustainability and growth go hand in hand and environmental planning in aviation can have significant economic benefits,” Added Ian. “It is paramount that airports and aviation authorities balance safety, punctuality, operations and sustainability.”
Laila Ali Hareb Al Muhairi, Assistant Director General Strategy and International Affairs at GCAA, said that the “UAE’s collaborative efforts on the environmental issues allowed it to score a seat as an observer member in the committee. The GCAA welcomes support from international experts in planning a sustainable future for our airspace.”
NATS is the first air navigation service provider in the world to have developed environmental measurement as part of regulatory performance targets. Having developed techniques to monitor environmental performance daily, monthly and annually, NATS can now track progress towards CO2 targets in fine detail. The Operational Centres and Airport Units have Environment Action Plans and annual environmental targets, to improve fuel and emissions savings.
Last year, NATS delivered another world first by developing an entirely new way of measuring the environmental performance of the airspace network above the UK. The flight efficiency metric, known as 3Di, forms the cornerstone of a new incentive regime which is designed to deliver 600,000 tonnes of CO2 savings over the next three years, worth up to £120m in today’s fuel prices.
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