Remarks of CANSO Director General, Jeff Poole, at the CANSO Asia Pacific Conference 2019, 22 May 2019

The Asia Pacific region is expected to see the largest increase in global air traffic in the coming decades, contributing more than 42 per cent of all international air travellers by 2040. Added to rising regional passenger demand and the diversification of both manned and unmanned air traffic, this places considerable expectations on the region’s air transport system and its capacity to embrace the opportunity and meet demand.

In his speech at the CANSO Asia Pacific Conference 2019, Jeff Poole, CANSO Director General,  highlighted how new tools and technologies are one of the fastest drivers of change in ATM, from automation and artificial intelligence, to blockchain security, digital and remote towers and space-based surveillance. These offer opportunities to improve the safety and efficiency of air navigation services and improve performance. Jeff Poole noted that the Asia Pacific region has long championed innovation in ATM and is already leading by example in the early adoption of procedures and tools including air traffic flow management (ATFM), system-wide information management (SWIM), smart towers and unmanned aircraft system traffic management (UTM).

The foundation of this is strong partnerships; both among CANSO Member organisations and between the people, processes and technologies that drive them. He concluded that ultimately, collaboration, innovation and human performance propel operational efficiency, transform global ATM performance, and bring us ever closer to truly seamless skies. I look forward to hearing the experiences and solutions the CANSO membership has to share over the conference.