airgeezer
7th Jan 2001, 19:51
As reported by www.sky.com/news:- (http://www.sky.com/news:-)
N.B. sky.com is also running a poll on the subject.
The biggest air traffic operator in Britain has denied claims that Europe's skies are so overcrowded that a disaster is imminent.
A European Commission report is demanding safety measures be given "immediate priority", it was reported.
But a spokesman for the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said: "We operate in one of the most strictly regulated air safety spaces in the world.
New radar centre
"This picture of congested skies is inaccurate as far as we are concerned. The build-up of traffic takes place on the ground because we can only ever allow how much we can handle in the air."
According to the Single European Sky report, current systems cannot cope with the demands of increased air traffic. But NATS pointed out that a new radar centre would open in Swanwick, Southampton next year, with another in Prestwick, Scotland, on the way.
The report also said there was a "chronic shortage" of controllers. Not enough staff were being replaced as they retired – causing "intense work pressure". NATS denied this, saying there were "more than enough controllers to cover our needs".
Euro watchdog
The British air safety regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, said the rate of high-risk incidents had halved in the last 10 years, despite airways getting busier. And the number of times a pilot or controller reported safety concerns had dropped by a third.
The report, which will be officially released later this month, called for an independent Euro watchdog to be appointed and demanded that new regulations be drawn up and made compulsory across Europe by 2005.
N.B. sky.com is also running a poll on the subject.
The biggest air traffic operator in Britain has denied claims that Europe's skies are so overcrowded that a disaster is imminent.
A European Commission report is demanding safety measures be given "immediate priority", it was reported.
But a spokesman for the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said: "We operate in one of the most strictly regulated air safety spaces in the world.
New radar centre
"This picture of congested skies is inaccurate as far as we are concerned. The build-up of traffic takes place on the ground because we can only ever allow how much we can handle in the air."
According to the Single European Sky report, current systems cannot cope with the demands of increased air traffic. But NATS pointed out that a new radar centre would open in Swanwick, Southampton next year, with another in Prestwick, Scotland, on the way.
The report also said there was a "chronic shortage" of controllers. Not enough staff were being replaced as they retired – causing "intense work pressure". NATS denied this, saying there were "more than enough controllers to cover our needs".
Euro watchdog
The British air safety regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, said the rate of high-risk incidents had halved in the last 10 years, despite airways getting busier. And the number of times a pilot or controller reported safety concerns had dropped by a third.
The report, which will be officially released later this month, called for an independent Euro watchdog to be appointed and demanded that new regulations be drawn up and made compulsory across Europe by 2005.