Efficient Air Traffic Management a must to decongest GCC airspace

Airtraffic congestion in the GCC remains a major challenge to the region’saviation industry, which supports more than 2.4mn jobs and generates$130bn in gross domestic product.The average delay per flightattributed to air traffic control (ATC issues) in the GCC region iscurrently estimated at 29 minutes. Without urgent progress, thatcould double by 2025, costing in excess of $7bn in lost productivitytime to passengers and adding over $9bn to airline operating costs, astudy by the International Air Transport Association has shown.Passengerdemand in Mena, driven by the GCC region, is set to expand by 5.7%every year on average over the next decade and a half, to become amarket of nearly 380mn passengers by 2035.Like airlines, airports inthe region too have engaged in substantial development projects tosupply more capacity. The region’s available airspace and air trafficcapability, however, have not kept up with its ambition. Approximatelyhalf of the Middle East airspace is reserved for military flights,which obviously adds to the air traffic control congestion.Withoutan increase in the overall efficiency of the Air Traffic Management(ATM) systems in the GCC through improved airspace design, the region’sworld-class hubs may be caught in a gridlock.Traffic congestion often results in flight delays, thereby affecting the on-time performance of various airlines. An important benefit of decreased flight delays is the value of the time saved for passengers. Inaddition to passenger delay costs, there are also delay costs toairlines, which affect the overall profitability of the airlines. Morethan 30% of an airline’s operational cost is from fuel consumption, anestimate shows. The fact, however, remains that the region’s geography is a major hurdle towards effectively decongesting its air space.Thecountries in the region are located geographically very close to oneanother. Within five or 10 minutes, one will be flying into another airtraffic management (ATM) area or may be even more.“We have beentalking to respective militaries through regulators in each of thesecountries to free up space for commercial use,” IATA regionalvice-president (Africa and Middle East) Mohamed Ali Albakri told me inSeoul recently.“The 29 minutes average delay per flight we aretalking about would have increased by now... people flying in and out ofthe region would have noticed. This will continue to increase asthe region’s aviation industry grows with the launch of new airlines,more flights and destinations,” Albakri noted. Experts suggest that the region’s air space should be managed in a more integrated way.“Webelieve the military could allow the use of more commercial air space.And of course, the entire redesign of the air space could free up andprovide the capacity that is needed,” Albakri suggested. At itsannual general meeting in Seoul last month, the global trade body ofairlines said it was talking to militaries through the regulators inthese countries to free up space for commercial use.The associationhas also been encouraging and working with countries in the region andregulators concerned to upgrade their technologies and redesign theirair space. “It has got a lot to do in terms of redesigning their airspace and upgrading their technology that will allow them to increasetheir capacity (of existing Flight Information Region or FIRs). “Wecannot create more air space. But we can certainly create moreefficiencies,” Albakri stressed.The challenges facing air trafficcontrol are recognised throughout the region and initiatives have beenlaunched to quantify and address the issues. However, the pace ofprogress often does not meet that of continued traffic growth.Severalongoing initiatives to decongest the region’s airspace include the GCCAir Navigation Committee and the ‘Middle East ATM Enhancement Programme.GCC’saviation sector contributes significantly in terms of GDP andemployment, and still has a great potential to generate growth.Thereare several factors at play in the rise of aviation in the Middle East —the region’s strategic geographic location between Europe and Asia,increasing inbound tourism to the region, and large airport developmentsacross the region.Undoubtedly, aviation has the power to createsignificant prosperity. A safe, secure, efficient and sustainable airtransport industry pays huge social and economic dividends. Butdespite the vast benefits enabled by aviation connectivity, theoperating environment for airlines in Mena still remains challenging.* Pratap John is Business Editor at Gulf Times.