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Every state has complete and exclusive sovereignty over airspace above its territory.Įach state signatory of the Chicago Convention is responsible for ensuring safety and undertakes to keep its own safety regulations, its air navigation equipment and operations compliant with those established by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) under the Chicago Convention.
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redundancies, pay cuts and suspension of training) others have relied on constructive, co-operative, and continuous social dialogue. Whilst some ANSPs have imposed policies with detrimental effects on air traffic staff (e.g.Commercialised ANSPs have experienced greater conflict with airlines over charges and staff over restructuring. different combinations of public/general taxation and private/user pays financing). There is clear evidence of different responses to the pandemic from ANSPs based on their model of financing (e.g.ANSPs have only survived the pandemic because of loans from the state and/or financial institutions, combined with significant changes to staffing levels, shift arrangements, recruitment and training, remuneration and other conditions of employment.
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For example, skills can be eroded during prolonged periods of low traffic and ANSPs can struggle to restore capacity when demand eventually picks up. COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of both personal resilience of staff and organisational resilience.COVID-19 is unlike any previous global crisis to befall the civil aviation industry, both in terms of depth (collapse of traffic) and duration.To ensure organisational resilience, on-going investment by ANSPs in recruitment and training, based on long-term planning to accommodate pro-cyclical demand, is a necessity.Social dialogue – including all types of negotiation and consultation between relevant parties – is essential to (re)build social support and resilience within ANSPs as well as the capacity to manage organisational change and future external disruption more effectively.Plane tickets should be transparent with all service costs identified so that passengers understand the ‘real cost’ of flying in terms of safety, environmental impact, and maintaining high social standards. Any system of user charges should include provision for ANSPs to accumulate a reserve fund to ensure financial resilience when faced with any future crises. Policymakers need to reconsider the business models of ANSPs, who should pay for the use of airspace, and how they pay for what is ultimately an invaluable but invisible service.The minimum level of service and staffing should be funded by the state through general taxation. The pandemic has demonstrated the ‘public good’ nature of ANS.
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