In his first public address, the newly-appointed Director General of the Civil Air Navigation Services
Organisation (CANSO) Jeff Poole called on the international aviation community assembled at the
12th ICAO Air Navigation Conference to embrace change and collaboration in order to achieve the
long-held vision of a globally harmonised and interoperable air navigation system. Jeff Poole told
guests attending a CANSO-hosted lunch during this once-in-a-decade ICAO event, that he will drive
positive and urgent change to bring about more seamless and efficient management of the airspace.
More than 1,000 delegates are anticipated during the 10-day event that will run from the 19th to the
30th November to agree a new Global Air Navigation Plan (GANP) that will guide industry planning
and implementation activities over the next decade. For the first time, a new framework called the
aviation system block upgrades (ASBUs), and a series of technology roadmaps, will guide the
planning of ATM modernisation initiatives and synchronise development of air traffic management
infrastructure globally. CANSO played a key role in identifying these operational improvements and in
gaining commitment for them prior to the Conference.
CANSO is also participating in a Safety Partnership meeting led by ICAO and in a tripartite meeting
with industry partners ACI and IATA to follow up on a collaboration agreement that the three parties
signed in June at the CANSO Annual General Meeting
Jeff Poole, Director General of CANSO, called for more concerted effort on the part of policy-makers,
regulators, operators, airports, and Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) to achieve clearly
defined and measurable operational improvements. “Air traffic management today remains utterly
fragmented and this fragmentation impacts on safety, operational and cost efficiency, capacity and
has adverse effects on the environment,” he said. “It is not solely a technical challenge. The
realisation of our collective vision requires a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach. You can
count on CANSOʼs leadership and partnership in support of our common goals.” Poole is focused on
delivering results that benefit global ATM performance.
The successful introduction of the new ICAO flight plan format on 15 November 2012 is positive
evidence of CANSO’s partnership approach in action. CANSO regional workshops and seminars
brought industry players together and CANSO joined with ICAO and IATA to establish a special
coordination centre at ICAO Headquarters in Montreal to oversee the smooth transition. ANSPs
manage more than 80,000 flights daily, and by adopting the improved flight plan format they have
invested in a major ATM upgrade that will ultimately deliver benefits to aircraft operators.
“Today, ATM faces its biggest challenge – the future. And, navigating our way forward is the
challenge that I have accepted as CANSOʼs Director General. You can therefore expect CANSO’s
ongoing support of our collective endeavour, while urging along our industry partners and
stakeholders,” said Poole. “As a global partner, CANSO will deliver.”