AFIS in Europe?
Hi there,
spanish ANSP (AENA) is planning to eliminate ATC an introduce AFIS in at least 12 regional airports in order to cut navigation costs. As this service is something completely new for us, I have many doubts about how it works and it’s implementation. I’ve been told AFIS works in some places in Europe so I guess maybe someone could answer a few questions, or at least give me a hint about where to find information about it.
Basicly I’d like to know if there are any kind of limitations for AFIS operations regarding:
- Type of traffic
- Number of movements per hour
- Weather conditions
- Aproach procedures
- Airspace complexity
- Can IFR traffics land on non controlled airports?
- Are there any restrictions on comercial traffics using airports with AFIS?
- Do the insurance companies cover that kind of operations?
- Is there any liabilty claim problems?
- Is AFIS regulated in any legal document (ICAO, Eurocontrol, AIPs, ANSPs...)?
- Any statistics comparing incident rates ATC vs AFIS?
- What is the airlines policy regarding AFIS?
- Does the general public feel confident enough to fly comercial flights to/from non controlled airports?
I would sincerely appreciate any comments about this topic, especially comercial pilot’s opinons about flying to/from this enviroment in Europe.
Thanks for your help.