In November, fourteen months of hard work paid off with the publication of the Airspace Strategy for Poland (ASP). The ASP is the first national airspace strategy published since IATA began approaching air navigation service providers (ANSPs) to cooperate on strategic airspace planning. Last September PANSA, the ANSP for Poland, was the first to recognize the opportunity to work with the airline sector. Since then, experts from IATA and PANSA have met regularly to put together the plan.
- The strategic direction for the future of ATM in Poland,
- Airspace modernization initiatives for more capacity and more efficient routes that reduce fuel burn and improve environmental performance,
- ATM systems development,
- Cooperation with European partners to accelerate the achievement of Single European Sky (SES) goals.
- Consultation and cooperation with Polish aviation stakeholders.
Leaders in both organizations were united in their belief that the ASP will be of benefit to Poland. Rafael Schvartzman, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Europe, commented,
“Current levels of airspace-related delays across Europe are a serious inconvenience for passengers and a drag on economic activity. The projected growth in passengers—which is particularly strong in Poland—will make these challenges more acute. So PANSA’s leadership in working with airlines on an Airspace Strategy for Poland is hugely significant. Working closely with PANSA, we can ensure that Polish airspace is optimized, bringing huge economic benefits to the country.”
While Janusz Janiszewski, PANSA’s Acting President, said, “I believe PANSA will provide an important contribution to the airspace modernization over Europe. Current evolving aviation market needs, especially the capacity demand, is a major factor which encouraged IATA and PANSA for this bottom-up initiative.”
Although PANSA has been the first to develop their strategic plan, the work is continuing on the airspace strategies that France, Italy, Bulgaria and Spain have also committed to producing.
