China RVSM
Check out the Fragrant Harbour threads on this site.
There are some very illuminating posts recently sent by some guys in China ATC. They sound fairly credible and give some insight into the problems ATC faces doing their job in China - mostly constraints imposed by the military which has an iron hold on all airspace.
Regarding RVSM specifically, the change from imperial to metric RVSM, as the transition is made from airspace outside China to that over China itself, will be nothing short of a 'dogs breakfast'.
With the resultant confusion comes the inevitable potential for misunderstanding and loss of adequate separation. Increasing the numbers of controllers and dividing up sectors into smaller portions may help regulate enroute traffic, but terminal airspace will only become more congested. Controllers, in this context, play a crucial role in the execution of RVSM.
Could it be that RVSM will only allow more aircraft to get to the inevitable hold over BJS or PVG quicker...but they'll be holding longer?!
Last edited by BScaler; 30th Oct 2007 at 15:08.
Reason: spelling