The latest issue of ATC Global Insight was nothing if not extremely entertaining. In a previous article Steve described why the reported claim of DSNA’s boss about SESAR having been built on FABs is total nonsense.
But it seems there was more… Insight tells us that Mr. Georges assured his audience that “FAB will bring European diversity” into SESAR. Oh boy!!!!
I hope somebody has misunderstood something here. I know that it is very fashionable to say that Europe’s strength is in its diversity (cultural, language, outlook, temperament and so on) but diversity in air traffic management is not so much a strength as a huge failure.
The buzzwords of programs of yore (integration, harmonization, standardization) and even the key word of the Single European Sky (SES), interoperability, assume a scenario where diversity is banished to political meetings where everything has to happen in 23 languages and to truckers strikes where each of the member States of the Union rush off to do their own thing (in the name of our strength, diversity of course…).
ATM does not need diversity. ATM needs a seamless European environment that provides a cost efficient service without the overhead of small scale (as in the past) or large scale (as in FABs) fragmentation.
The whole concept of the FAB is outdated and something that is not needed in the SASAR environment.
FABs bringing “European diversity” into SESAR is an aberration that should be banished by the EC. They created those monsters. Now they should keep them in check!
Great post Cleo. I completely agree. Buzz words like integration, harmonization, and standardization sound nice but what action is ATC global going to really take? Sounds like corporate gibberish to me.