India has safe record in air traffic management: CANSO DG

Indian skies are the safest and have a good safety record in the Asia Pacific region, said Director General (DG) of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO)."Indian skies have very safe and good record in terms of traffic management," Simon Hocquard, CANSO DG told ANI on the sidelines of three-day CANSO conference being hosted by Airports Authority of India (AAI) in Goa.

The CANSO is a representative body of companies that provides air traffic control. It represents the interests of Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP). CANSO members are responsible for supporting more than 85 per cent of world air traffic and through its workgroups, members share information and develop new policies aimed at improving air navigation services on the ground and in the air.

The CANSO DG stressed that the CANSO conference is being held physically after a gap of three years due to the pandemic. "It's for the first time we've had a first a face to face meeting in three years to get the whole community together in such a beautiful place in Goa," the CANSO DG said.

"I think air traffic is going to continue to grow. Air traffic as we know never plummeted. It's not just passenger traffic, its other vehicles in the future that will start taking to the skies", he added.

"Indian skies are incredibly busy, continuing to grow. They've a good safety record and a multitude to their operations not just for domestic traffic but for global intercontinental traffic. India has an important role to play and is doing it well", he added.

CANSO members believe that Indian aviation is one of the fastest growing industries and will be a great transit hub to connect Asia to the European market.

"Situated geographically within the Asia Pacific region, India is important geographically for transiting flights from Asia Pacific into Europe. They have a multitude of elements to their operations, whether that's domestic traffic between airports within the country, but also for more global intercontinental traffic," CANSO DG said.

However, Simon highlighted the importance of air traffic management (ATM) in how the region played an important role during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. "European airspace is complex but is being very well managed by navigation service providers across European states," He added.

Goa is hosting a three-day Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) conference from November 1 to 3. Over the course of three days, delegates and exhibitors from the Asia Pacific region and beyond will discuss and collaborate on key issues that will help shape the future.