Eurocontrol, FSF Partner to Improve Safety

Eurocontrol and the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) partnered to reinforce aviation safety in Europe and globally. The partnership, announced at a Eurocontrol meeting in Bucharest, Romania, aims at strengthening cooperation between the two organizations in order to reduce aviation safety risk. Three key...

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Eurocontrol and the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) partnered to reinforce aviation safety in Europe and globally. The partnership, announced at a Eurocontrol meeting in Bucharest, Romania, aims at strengthening cooperation between the two organizations in order to reduce aviation safety risk. Three key issues include mitigating the risk posed by the combination of growth in traffic and shortage of air traffic controllers and pilots; the need to create a 'Just Culture' in aviation; and the promotion of SKYbary, an online repository for safety-related information.
"Eurocontrol and the FSF have been courting for quite a number of years already,” said Erik Merckx, Eurocontrol’s deputy director of programs, speaking at the opening of the European Aviation Safety Seminar in Bucharest. “Combining our scarce resources, efforts, sharing best practices, coming out of our silos is the start of what I believe will be a successful marriage that will contribute to saving many more lives in aviation."
Under the terms of the agreement, Eurocontrol will serve as a Fellow for Aviation Safety in Europe, responsible for coordinating the promotion and implementation of the FSF safety initiatives and products on the continent. For its part, FSF will promote Eurocontrol safety initiatives and products globally. A particular emphasis will be given to supporting the development of a Just Culture and transparency in safety-related issues.
Europe currently has over 10 million flights a year, with peaks of over 4,000 flights an hour. With the number of flights growing by on average five percent a year, there is strong pressure on Europe's 15,000 air traffic controllers to keep delays down. However, Europe already has around 10 percent fewer controllers than is necessary, and their average age is increasing rapidly. In addition, the SESAR project, which aims to address the capacity gap through new technologies and automation requires controllers for validation. As a result, the shortage of controllers could reach 20 percent in the coming years.