The Complete Air Traffic System (CATS) Global Council had its inaugural meeting on 11 March 2021 to discuss the goals and expectations for the group in developing an aspirational vision for safely integrating all airspace users into future skies. A vision that all aviation actors can coalesce around.
The CATS Global Council Membership is an independent forum which was initiated by the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) and is founded on the principles of cooperation and leadership. All Council Members share a concern for the future of aviation and play leadership roles in key organisations in the aviation and aerospace sectors.
“The first meeting of the CATS Global Council marks a critical step to shape a shared vision for how our global skies can innovate and interoperate safely in the future,” said CANSO Director General, Simon Hocquard. “I’m proud that we’ve assembled an incredible group of industry leaders who understands the importance of collaborating to forge a more adaptable, resilient and digital Air Traffic Management (ATM) system and integrate all airborne vehicles safely, efficiently and sustainably”.
“How do we march into the future? How do we capitalise on the big and exciting opportunities in front of us? Now is the time to act and the formation of this Global Council is an important first step,” added Richard Parker, CEO, Altitude Angel.
“What we’re doing hasn’t been done before, so we don’t have all the answers and that’s OK. This Council is a great opportunity for us to learn from one another and focus on the problems we need to solve today while creating a future framework that will enable innovation,” said Margaret Nagle, Head of Policy and Government Affairs, Wing.
“This Council can play a crucial role by bringing different people and domains together. Achieving our long-term vision can’t happen overnight and preserving the safety and efficiency of existing operations is essential. It needs to be a carefully coordinated journey with the input of traditional players, building on the lessons learnt of more than 100 years of aviation experience, as well as exciting ideas from new entrants” said Todd Sigler, Senior Director for Global Safety and Regulatory Affairs at Boeing.
“Today we have a fragmented system. Each party is strong in its own role yet there is no real cohesion and coordination in our activities. Our aim in the Global Council is to agree a common vision of the future, to understand what we want to, and need to, achieve together. But it’s not just about a vision. This is a call for action to all of us and a starting point for the work that must follow,” added Patrick Ky, Executive Director, European Union Aviation Safety Agency.
“With this Council we have a unique opportunity to come together as a key driving force of the aviation ecosystem, take ownership and propose an agenda of radical change,” Jean Ferre, General Manager & Vice-President Airspace Mobility Solutions at Thales commented.
“This Council will play an important, complementary role of convening folks from different domains so that we can collectively explore the challenges our industry faces and solve them effectively together,” said Bill Goodwin, Deputy General Counsel, Policy and Regulatory, Joby Aviation.
