Regions

Asia Pacific

Hong Kong International Airport

The final ‘’go ahead’’ decision is eagerly awaited from the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to commence the development work associated with Option 2 of the Airport Master Plan 2030 in the building of a third runway and new satellite concourse.

The first two years will be dedicated to the production of an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) study and only upon receipt of approval, will the next stage commence with the start of the five year land reclamation project to create an additional 650 hectares from the sea.

Regardless of the decision, major work is already underway with the development of the midfield terminal concourse; this infrastructure will provide an additional capacity for 10 million passengers per annum. Terminals 1 & 2 within the same footprint will undergo substantial refurbishment to provide for additional passenger floor space and more check-in facilities in order to meet the annual passenger growth of circa 5-7%.

IATA and the airline community continue to play a very proactive role in participating in the five working groups created by the Airport Authority to address, funding, environmental, airside, operations & infrastructure.

Bay of Bengal Reduced Horizontal Separation (RHS)

The third and final phase of reduced separations will be introduced on the busy Europe to South East Asia traffic flow at the end of March 2012. The first two phases together with reduced vertical separation minima implemented in November 2011 have increased the capacity on these routes by up to 67%. This was a particularly challenging project involving many states; including Afghanistan, which still operates in a “procedural” (no radar) environment. IATA, with the direct support of member airlines, has been heavily involved in the development and implementation of this project for a number of years and final implementation of this complex project will deliver real benefits to the industry.

Latin America

Improving Rio’s airport infrastructure in time for the Olympics

IATA conducted a full Airline Consultative Committee (ACC) meeting in Rio de Janeiro (GIG) to implement a strategy on correcting infrastructure shortcomings.  Major concerns include:

• Lack of consultation with the airline community regarding pending operational relocations in the terminal facility
• Lack of long-term strategy to accommodate increased aircraft parking requirements (remote stands)
• Lack of a coordinated, transparent long-term plan for airline accommodation in GIG Terminals 1 and 2
  

IATA has taken these concerns directly to an executive meeting of Con-Aero for consideration and will follow-up to ensure these concerns are addressed.

Caracas Airport infrastructure

IATA met with the Airport Authority of Caracas. It was an effective visit that resulted in a number of significant recommendations to improve terminal layout, security checkpoint and terminal maintenance. However, the airport is effectively being starved of cash and therefore is limited in its ability to address shortcomings. IATA has agreed to address this shortfall with the Ministry of Transport.

Haiti Aviation Reconstruction

States and international organizations met to discuss the ongoing challenges to Haiti’s aviation sector. The aviation sector, including the Port Au Prince Mais Gate airport, remains in a dire state.  Haiti’s National Office of Civil Aviation agreed with ICAO and IATA that the duplication of efforts is not efficient and will only slow progress. 

A commitment to address the priorities and set timetables is urgently needed. ICAO agreed and stated that they would continue to coordinate and monitor with international agencies the activities concerning the Haitian aviation sector and airport rehabilitation. IATA reiterated its pledge and commitment to provide training and development to assist in the rehabilitation effort of Haiti’s aviation sector. The next step is for the Haitian Government and ICAO to implement the Haitian Civil Aviation Development Action Plan.

North Atlantic and North America

2012 Ops Conference

The 2012 Ops Conference will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 16-18 April. The Ops Conference is a premier invite-only event that enables IATA member airlines and the broader civil aviation community to discuss key issues on safety, security, operations and infrastructure.

 

Improving Operational Efficiency in New York City

IATA participated in the New York Area Program Integration Office, District Managers Delay Reduction meeting. The group is focused on the implementation of departure and arrival procedures that would increase the throughput and capacity of the New York airport terminal. The group agreed to develop procedures that would not conflict La Guardia airport with John F Kennedy airport which would increase airspace efficiency of the approach control area for both airports.  Another significant discussion included hindrances to the uptake of area navigation / required navigation performance (RNAV/RNP) procedures by domestic and international operators

Windsor, Toronto, Montréal Airspace Development

Phase 1 of the Windsor - Toronto – Montréal airspace review (W-T-M) was implemented.
Quantified benefits of the redesign include: 

• Reduced track miles for routes between Toronto and Windsor, Montréal and the East Coast
• Reduced requirement for in-trail sequencing within the corridor
• Additional bedpost east of Toronto facilitates more efficient arrival sequencing and allows for improved vertical profiles on all standard terminal arrival routes
• Development of parallel RNAV route structure which segregates over-flights from climbing and descending portions of departure and arrival routes
• Standard terminal arrival routes designed to harness flight management system vertical navigation capability to reduce fuel burn

The benefits assessment indicated that W-T-M Phase 1 could allow for a reduction of 5.4 million liters of fuel annually for Toronto runway 23-24L arrivals. Benefits accrue from reduced track miles and sequencing, and improved vertical profiles for arrivals. This includes fuel savings of 14,300 tonnes of CO2 and $4.4 million in avoided fuel costs (assuming a cost of $0.80 per liter).