Air Traffic Management: Economics, Regulation and Governance

By Margaret Arblaster

Air Traffic Management: Economics Regulation and Governance provides the latest insights on approaches and issues surrounding the economic regulation and governance of air traffic management (ATM). The book begins by explaining what ATM is, showing its importance within the aviation industry. It then outlines the unique institutional characteristics that govern ATM, also discussing its implications for economic regulation and investment. Technological developments and the issues and approaches to safety regulation are also covered, as are the implications ATM has on airports. The book concludes with an exploration of future directions, including the entry of drones into airspace and the introduction of competition in ATM services

Air traffic management plays a critical role in air transport, impacting both air safety and the efficiency of air services. Yet air navigation services are shifting from government provision to private industry, creating the need for more critical analysis of governance and economic regulation within the ATM industry.

• Consolidates the latest economic regulation and reform material regarding air traffic management
• Provides numerous practical examples and real-world case studies drawn from around the globe
• Explores economic regulation in both larger and smaller economies
• Written from an objective, informed and practical perspective by an experienced regulation practitioner and researcher

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Release date: Feb 6, 2018
• ISBN: 9780128111192

Margaret Arblaster

Margaret Arblaster is a Teaching Fellow in transport economics at the Institute of Transport Studies, Monash University and former senior manager at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). From her experience at the ACCC, Margaret has substantial practical experience with economic regulation and related issues in the transport industry, particularly related to economic regulation of aviation infrastructure. Over a period of 19 years Margaret’s experience at the ACCC, and a predecessor organization, covered a major public inquiry into the Federal Airports corporation, the subsequent privatization of airports, corporatization of Australia’s air navigation service provider, the administration of airport price cap regulation, the introduction of light-handed regulation, the development of a long term pricing arrangement for air navigation services and administration of airport specific access arrangements. This period was associated with some new approaches to the economic regulation of aviation infrastructure, including the adoption of more consultative approaches to regulation of ATM and light-handed regulation of airports, which subsequently influenced the approaches to regulation in some other countries. More recently, Margaret has been an active independent researcher and publisher of journal articles. Margaret has provided consulting advice to the ACCC and to the Victorian Government Department of Transport.

Book preview

Air Traffic Management

Economics, Regulation and Governance

Margaret Arblaster

Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

Copyright

List of Tables, Figures, Boxes

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

List of Acronyms

1. The Air Traffic Management Industry

Air Traffic Management

What Is Air Traffic Management?

Air Traffic Management in the Global Economy

Air Traffic Management Users and Stakeholders

The Economics, Regulation, and Governance of Air Traffic Management

Book Structure

Part One. Background on ATM Technical Characteristics, Governance and Safety Regulation

2. Operational and Technological Background on Air Traffic Management

Introduction to Air Traffic Management

Communication, Navigation, and Surveillance, and Other Infrastructure

The Challenges of Adopting New Technology

Major International Programs

Summary and Conclusions

3. Governance of Air Traffic Management: An International Perspective

International Oversight of Air Traffic Management

Regional Coordination of Air Traffic Management

Summary

4. Governance of Air Traffic Management: A National Perspective

The Trend to Commercialization of Air Navigation Service Providers

Civil–Military Cooperation in Air Traffic Management

Elements of Good Governance in the Provision of Air Traffic Management

Summary

5. Safety Regulation of Air Traffic Management

Introduction to Aviation Safety and Safety in Air Traffic Management

From Prescriptive-Based Safety Regulation to Performance-Based Approaches

Aviation Safety Regulation—International Regulation

International Enforcement of Aviation Safety Standards

Safety Oversight at a Regional Level

Regulation of Safety at a National Level

Challenges of Safety Regulation

Summary

Part Two. Economic Regulation of ATM

6. Economic Characteristics of Air Traffic Management

The Demand for Air Traffic Management

Supply Characteristics of Air Traffic Management

Balancing Demand and Capacity

Air Traffic Management Performance

Summary

7. Economic Regulation of Air Traffic Management: Principles and Approaches

Economic Regulation: Rationale and Objectives

Regulatory Institutions and Governance

Forms of Economic Regulation Used to Regulate the Price Levels for Air Traffic Management Services

Summary and Conclusions

8. Economic Regulation of Air Traffic Management: The Structure of Charges

Economic Principles for Charging Structures

Terminal Navigation Charges

En Route Charges and Incentives for the Adoption of New Technology

Congestion Pricing

Summary and Conclusion

9. Economic Regulation of Air Traffic Management: Consultation on Investment

Investment in Air Traffic Management Systems

The Role of Industry Consultation in the Context of Economic Regulation

Industry Consultation on Investment in Air Traffic Management—the United Kingdom and Other Examples

Challenges Associated With Industry Consultation and Attributes of Effective Consultation

Summary and Conclusions

Part Three. Future Directions

10. Introducing Competition in the Provision of Air Traffic Management

Why Introduce Competition in Air Traffic Management Services?

The Process of Introducing Competition in Air Traffic Management

Experience With Introducing Competition in Terminal Navigation Services

Regulation in a More Liberalized Market

Increased Commercial Activity by Air Navigation Service Providers—A Stepping Stone?

Summary and Conclusions

11. New Entrants Into Airspace—Unmanned Aircraft (Drones) and Increased Space Transportation

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Drones)

Commercial Space Transportation

Summary and Conclusions

Index

Copyright

Elsevier

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Notices

Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.

Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.

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ISBN: 978-0-12-811118-5

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List of Tables, Figures, Boxes

List of Tables

Table 1.1 Summary description of air navigation services

Table 2.1 Examples of techniques used for optimizing air traffic flow depending on the circumstances

Table 2.2 Comparison of air traffic management (ATM) using traditional technology and more advanced technology

Table 2.3 Major economic benefits achieved from adopting new satellite-based technology (performance-based navigation [PBN] and ADS-B) for different stakeholder groups

Table 3.1 The nine functional airspace blocks (FABs) initiatives that have been undertaken

Table 3.2 Challenges facing air navigation in the Asia-Pacific region

Table 4.1 Governance arrangements for ANSPs in selected countries

Table 5.1 Types of aviation accidents

Table 5.2 Distinctive features of air traffic management (ATM) that affect safety

Table 5.3 Evolution of aviation safety regulation

Table 5.4 Comparison of modern approaches to aviation safety regulation with traditional approaches

Table 5.5 Institutional structure of aviation safety regulators for selected countries (as at October 2016)

Table 6.1 Changes in demand: world total revenue traffic—international and domestic (scheduled services), 2009 compared with 2010 and 2015

Table 6.2 Regional distribution of scheduled traffic (international and domestic) and forecast growth in 2015

Table 6.3 Traffic variability indicators for selected European air navigation service providers in 2014

Table 6.4 Examples of air traffic management performance areas

Table 6.5 International studies of air navigation service provider performance

Table 7.1 Five commercialized air navigation service providers (ANSPs)—basic institutional, regulatory, and market features relevant to economic regulation

Table 8.1 Approach to pricing terminal navigation services for a selection of commercialized air navigation service providers (ANSPs) as at 2017

Table 8.2 The development of location specific terminal navigation charges in Australia (1998–2016)—prices per tonne (A$) landed (maximum takeoff weight) over time

Table 9.1 Forms of consumer engagement employed by regulators of monopoly service providers

Table 9.2 Example of Airways New Zealand scorecard approach to monitoring performance

Table 9.3 Attributes of effective industry consultation on air traffic management investment decisions

Table 10.1 Potential areas where it would be feasible to have competition in the air traffic management (ATM) industry in the short to medium term

Table 10.2 Organization changes in the provision of terminal navigation services in Europe 2007–17

Table 10.3 Barriers to new entry into provision of terminal navigation services

Table 11.1 Illustration of the variety of operational characteristics of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) (drones)

Table 11.2 Comparison of key institutional features of the traditional (manned) aviation industry with the unmanned (UAS [unmanned aircraft system]) industry

List of Figures and Maps

Figure 1.1 Overview of air navigation services.

Figure 2.1 Phases of a flight requiring different types of air traffic control.

Figure 2.2 Illustration of the application of categories of airspace.

Figure 3.1 Flight information region/upper flight information region (FIR/UIR) in the upper airspace (EUROCONTROL Member States) effective February 2, 2017.

Figure 3.2 Flight information region/upper flight information region (FIR/UIR) in the lower airspace (EUROCONTROL Member States) effective February 2, 2017.

Figure 5.1 Generalized depiction of a typical aviation safety program.

Figure 6.1 International Air Transport Association forecasts of passenger growth between 2015 and 2035 under three scenarios (Billions on a flight segment basis).

Figure 7.1 Diagrammatic representation of the building block approach to price determination.

List of Text Boxes

Box 2.1 General Types of Air Traffic Control

Box 2.2 Flight Rules—Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and Instrument Flight Rules (IFR)

Box 2.3 Categories of Airspace

Box 2.4 Classes of Airspace

Box 3.1 Selected Extracts From the Chicago Convention That Have Particular Relevance to the Provision of Air Traffic Management

Box 3.2 Flight Information Regions (FIRs) and Upper Flight Information Regions (UIRs)

Box 4.1 Commercialization, corporatization, and privatization in the context of air traffic management provision

Box 5.1 Defining Safety

Box 5.2 The As Low As Reasonably Practicable (ALARP) Concept

Box 5.3 The Concepts of a Safety Culture and a Just Culture

Box 5.4 Safety Management Systems (SMSs)

Box 5.5 The Move to Performance-Based Regulation in the United Kingdom

Box 7.1 Charging Principles for Nav Canada in the Air Navigation Services Commercialization Act 1996 (ANS Act)

Box 7.2 Airways New Zealand Pricing Framework Principles

Box 9.1 Ladder of Consumer Participation in the Regulatory Process

Box 11.1 What is a drone, an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) and a remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS)?

Box 11.2 Wildlife management in Kenya

Foreword

It is a privilege to be asked to write a few words aiming to do justice to Margaret’s insightful work.

As a former Chairman of CANSO, CEO of Airways New Zealand, and founder member of the Air Traffic Management (ATM) Policy Institute, I have been fortunate to be at the heart of many conversations aimed at transforming one of the least visible and most misunderstood sectors of the aviation industry.

As the book explains, government ownership of the majority of air navigation service providers (ANSPs) has been a mixed blessing for the air traffic control (ATC) industry. On the positive side, it has provided operational security of service. Regardless of whether funding comes directly from the public purse or (in the case of the 30 or so genuine Corporations) from airline customers, ANSPs have been seen as essential services and often an extension of Government aviation policy. The downsides are reflected more at the level of weak business models. Bureaucratic decision-making, the lack of cost-effectiveness, and poor incentives for innovation have generated a glacial pace of change relative to airline customers.

In this context, it has also been my good fortune to be able to move between sectors at a senior level and to gain a deeper appreciation of the truly symbiotic relationship between airlines and ATC. Like the much used cliché on transatlantic versions of English, the two worlds are similarly divided by a common language. One aviation world is dominated by Flight Information Regions, the other by city pairs. One person’s collaborative decision-making is another’s common sense. Investment on one side is too often dismissed as cost by the other.

For heaven’s sake, the two sides cannot even agree on whether the world needs two- or three-letter airport codes! However, thankfully the two worlds combine every minute of every day, from pilot to controller, preserving the safe passage of every traveler. Technology has not yet replaced either role. Until the time when pilotless drones deliver passengers equally safely through controllerless control zones, the mutual dependence on each other will continue.

To date, countless books and biographies have been written about the famous and the infamous characters in the airline world. Almost nothing has been written about the unsung heroes of ATM. I am glad that Margaret’s book makes such a significant contribution to redressing that balance. Margaret is a passionate and learned advocate for our hidden world, which she articulates like an insider. As you navigate your own way through this book, I am sure you will soon be joining me in acknowledging the work of air traffic controllers every time your flight takes you past a tower!

Ed Sims,     Executive Vice President - Commercial, WestJet, Canada

October 2017

Preface

Air traffic management (ATM), as part of air navigation services, is a complex industry with some unusual features. It is an industry that is not well understood by those who are not intimately involved in it.

Governments have a keen interest in ATM. In addition to their obligations to provide safe navigation for civilian airspace users, governments are interested in their national airspace for defense and national security reasons. As a monopolistic industry, the provision of air navigation services is typically subject to economic regulation. It is through economic regulation of ATM in Australia in 1991 that I first became aware of the ATM industry. Since that time, I have continued to follow and be fascinated by the ATM industry, either in a regulatory or in a research role.

It is an exciting time for the ATM industry. A wave of new satellite-based technology is available. There are new entrants into airspace: drones or unmanned aircraft system have significantly different operating and cultural characteristics compared with the conventional aviation industry. New developments in space transportation are leading to increased space transportation. Rapid growth in airspace use has been challenging the development of safety regulation and traffic management. There is a growing interest in promoting competition in the industry.

This book studies ATM from an international perspective and through a structured framework based on economic principles. A wide range of regional and country-specific illustrations are used. The book has two aims. One is to analyze the economic regulation and governance arrangements related to the monopoly characteristic of the industry. To understand the economic regulation of the industry and competition policy issues related to the industry’s structure, it is necessary to understand the complex industry context. This ties in with the other aim of the book. The other aim is to increase the understanding of the ATM industry to those outside the industry, effectively to unlock the door of the industry. To achieve this, the book provides a structured description of how the industry works and is written using nontechnical language.

Consistent with the aim of increasing the understanding of the ATM industry, the use of acronyms has been deliberately kept to a minimum. This has been a challenge because the high level of technology and the vast array of systems and procedures have led to the ATM industry being rife with acronyms.

The book is aimed at a wide audience, both general readers and aviation experts, including managers working in air navigation service provider organizations, regulators, industry stakeholders, and students of the aviation sector. It is hoped that those reading the book increase their understanding of the international ATM industry and gain some insights on the future directions the industry could take.

ATM is an industry where it is easy to get captivated by the technology, because it is very exciting. However, this can mean that the economic, nonsafety regulation, and governance aspects of the industry are neglected. I hope that the book will appeal to people in the industry to appreciate the economic and governance aspects of the industry in context with the technology.

The book has been developed through a process of extensive and intensive research, discussions with industry experts, and participation in industry-based conferences.

I hope readers find the book thought provoking and informative.

Margaret Arblaster,     Melbourne, Australia

17 July 2017

Acknowledgments

Writing this book has been a long and interesting journey and along the way there have been many people who have assisted and inspired me. I would like to thank them all. I can only mention a few. Effie Papadopoulou gave me her perspective on air traffic control in Greece. Ed Sims, Emily Davies, Paul Fallow, and James Young at Airways New Zealand provided valuable insights on the operation of air traffic management in New Zealand. I am grateful to Jonathan Aleck, Andrew Tiede, and Carolyn Hutton at the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and Mike Richards and Steve Smyth at the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority, for giving me an appreciation of the operation of aviation safety regulation. I would like to thank the staff at Airservices Australia who have been extremely helpful; Paul Logan for discussing the financial side of air traffic management; and Claire Marrison for providing me with advice on safety management systems. Stephen Angus gave me valuable assistance on the chapters that deal with the operational and technological background of air traffic management, safety regulation, and unmanned aircraft systems.

Since 2008, I have benefited from attending many international air transport conferences. Of particular note is the World ATM Congress in Madrid in March 2017. The Congress provided me with a valuable opportunity to hear discussion on current issues facing the international air traffic management (ATM) industry, increased my understanding of technological developments in the industry, and enabled me to talk to people in the ATM industry from all over the world.

Comments I received on the proposal for this book from anonymous referees have been invaluable and guided my direction of thought. I would also like to thank the staff of Elsevier, including Brian Romer, Charlotte Rowley, Priya Kumaragurupararan, and Narmatha Mohan, who have given me encouragement and assistance over the journey to the completion of the book.

In 2009 Paul Hooper encouraged me to participate in Air Transport Research Society conferences. This has led me on a path of independent authorship on issues related to aviation infrastructure regulation following my career at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. I am extremely grateful to Paul for leading me to a path that has given me a great deal of satisfaction and for his ongoing support and encouragement over the years.

I would like to dedicate this book to my family: Matthew, Helen, Catherine, Kate, Bobby, Liam, grandchildren, and in particular my husband, Andrew, who gave me unswerving support.

All the errors are my own.

List of Acronyms

ACAS   airborne collision avoidance system

ACC   Area Control Centres

A-CDM   airport collaborative decision making

ADS-B   Automatic Dependent Surveillance –Broadcast

AIP   Aeronautical Information Packs

ALARP   As Low As Reasonably Practicable

ALoS   Acceptable Level of Safety

ANC   Air Navigation Commission (ICAO)

ANS   air navigation services

ANSP   air navigation service provider

AOC   Airline Operational Centre

ATC   air traffic control

ATFM   air traffic flow management

ATM   air traffic management

AUP   Airspace Use Plan

C2   command and control

CCO   continuous climb operations

CDM   collaborative decision making

CDO   continuous descent operations

Chicago Convention   Convention on International Civil Aviation

CNS   communications, navigation and surveillance (infrastructure)

DoD   Department of Defence

EASA   European Aviation Safety Agency

EC   European Commission

ETOPS   Extended-Range Twin Engine Aircraft Operations or Extended Time Operations

EU   European Union

FAA   Federal Aviation Administration

FAB   Functional Airspace Block

FANS   Future Air Navigation System

FIR   Flight Information Region

FMS   Flight Management System

FUA   Free Use of Airspace

GANP   Global Air Navigation Plan

GASP   Global Aviation Safety Plan

GBAS   ground based augmentation system

GNSS   Global Navigation Satellite System

GPS   global positioning satellite

IATA   International Air Transport Association

ICAO   International Civil Aviation Organisation

IFR   instrument flight rules

ILS   instrument landing system (airport)

JARUS   Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Aircraft Systems

MNPS   Minimum Navigation Performance Specifications

MTOW   Maximum Take-Off Weight

NAS   National Airspace System (US)

Navaids   ground-based navigation aids

NextGen   Next Generation Air Transport System

NSA   National Supervisory Authority

PANS   Procedures for Air Navigation Services

PBN   performance based navigation

RNAV   Area Navigation routes

RNP   Required Navigation Performance

RPAS   Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems

RPK   revenue passenger kilometres

RVSM   Reduced Vertical Separation Minima

SAFA   Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft (a European program)

SARPs   Standards and Recommended Practices

SATURN   Strategic Allocation of Traffic Using Redistribution in the Network

SEASAR   Single European Sky ATM Research Programme

SES   Single European Sky

SMS   safety management system

SOE   State Owned Enterprise

SWIM   system wide information system

TCAS   Traffic alert and avoidance system (a specific implementation of an airborne collision avoidance system (ACAS))

UPRs   User Preferred Routes

UAVs   Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

UAS   Unmanned Aircraft Systems

UIR   Upper Information Region (or UFIR – Upper Flight Information Region)

UNOOSA   United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs

USOAP   Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program (an ICAO program)

UTM   Unmanned aircraft systems Traffic Management

UUP   Updated airspace Use Plan

VFR   visual flight rules

WACC   Weighted Average Cost of Capital

XMAN   extended arrival management operations

1

The Air Traffic Management Industry

Abstract

This brief introductory chapter outlines the importance of air traffic management (ATM) to the international community, national communities, and the aviation industry. The services comprising ATM and how ATM is distinguished from other related concepts, such as air navigation services, are introduced. A variety of ATM users and stakeholders are described. An overview of the issues associated with modern ATM provision explored in the book is provided as well as an outline of the structure of the book.

Keywords

Air navigation services; Air traffic management; ATM industry challenges; ATM stakeholders

Air Traffic Management

Air traffic management (ATM) and airports are the aviation infrastructure that enables air transport services for people and goods. Through air traffic control (ATC) and related services, ATM provides the connecting infrastructure that allows aircraft to fly safely between airports. Through managing the separation of aircraft and air traffic flows, ATM provides services that are essential for safe and efficient air transport.

The air transportation industry is a complex system with many interconnected components. ATM and airports play an important role in the productivity of airline services and in the accessibility of airline services for passengers and freight. The quality of the air navigation infrastructure and ATM services, together with the technology available in aircraft and pilot training, determines the ability of aircraft to fly safely and efficiently in airspace, including effecting flight times and fuel burn. ATM operates in a global context, facilitating international and national connectivity. ATM impacts the costs of air transportation directly through charges and indirectly through service quality, including through delays and inefficient routings that can be imposed on aircraft operations.

This chapter provides a brief introduction to the ATM industry and outlines the structure of the book. The services comprising ATM and concepts related to ATM, such as air navigation services (ANSs), are described in the first section of the chapter. The economic impact of air transport and ATM is discussed. A variety of ATM users and stakeholders are outlined. An outline of the structure of the book and the issues associated with modern ATM provision explored in the book completes the chapter.

What Is Air Traffic Management?

ATM coordinates air traffic in airspace primarily through ATC, aircraft traffic flow management, and airspace management. It is a complex activity based on technologies that are continuously evolving.

Air navigation systems were primarily developed following World War I when aircraft movements and speeds started to increase to prevent aircraft colliding with each other, obstacles on the ground and terrain. At this time the international aviation community recognized that systems were needed to allow aircraft to fly safely between locations leading to the development of networks that aircraft could use to fly between aerodromes in different locations.

ATM is a safety-critical, globally networked industry provided under State government obligations and responsibilities. As a consequence it is highly regulated at an international and national level, and in some cases at a regional level. Air navigation service providers (ANSPs) are the institutions that provide ATM and its supporting services. ANSPs have tended to be nationally based, government controlled and owned business enterprises. ATM has been aptly described as a complex, high technology industry characterised by a focus on safety, a dependence on humans and a fragmented governance structure based on State-by-State institutional arrangements (CANSO, 2017).

ANSPs undertake the management of air traffic with the objective of providing safe and efficient operation of aircraft in airspace and on the ground. There is considerable diversity among ANSPs. They are affected by national and regional cultures, organization and business models, levels of traffic density, traffic complexity, ATM infrastructure, and the technological platforms available.

ATM comprises three main functions. ATC is the process of separation of aircraft in the sky as they fly and at airports where they land and take-off. Air traffic flow management is the sequencing of aircraft along air routes and at airports. Airspace management is the organization of airspace into air routes and control areas to cater for traffic volumes and respective needs. ATM is part of ANS, a term applied to the group of services provided to aircraft to enable safe and efficient flight from one destination to another.

Fig. 1.1 provides an overview of the traditional composition of ANS, and Table 1.1 provides a brief description of each service. Further elaboration on ATM services is contained in Chapter 2.

Figure 1.1  Overview of air navigation services. Adapted to Baumgartner, 2007. The organization and operation of European airspace. In: Cook, A. (Ed.), European Air Traffic Management: Principles, Practice and Research. Ashgate. Figure 1.1, p. 2.

Table 1.1

Based on a variety of sources including ICAO, July, 2016b. Annex 11 to the International Convention on Civil Aviation, Air Traffic Services, fourteenth ed. and Baumgartner, 2007. The organization and operation of European airspace. In: Cook, A. (Ed.), European Air Traffic Management: Principles, Practice and Research. Ashgate.

Air Traffic Management in the Global Economy

Air transportation is a mode of transport that can convey people and commodities all over the world over great distances in fast traveling times, overcoming oceans and national borders. The connectivity that air transport generates is a key element for the competitive position of countries, regions, and cities. Modern, just-in-time, global supply chains, and multinational businesses are made possible by global airline networks. Aviation transforms lives and societies through the vital role it plays in connectivity. Air connections are especially important for landlocked developing countries and small-island developing States. Additionally, aviation has a key role in carrying lifesaving medicines to communities in need, urgent supplies for disaster relief, and in reducing poverty (ICAO, 2016a).

Air transport has two major impacts on economic activity. First, it enables economic activity that relies on the availability of air transportation services and therefore promotes development of industries, including tourism, the export of high-value perishable products, and the geographical expansion of business and education. Around the world 3.5 billion passengers and 50  million tonnes of freight (around 35% of world trade by value) are carried annually involving 100,000 daily flights (ICAO, 2016a). Second, air transportation is a significant area of economic activity in its own right, involving direct, indirect, and induced employment impacts. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects that 1% of world GDP will be spent on air transport in 2017, totaling $776  billion (IATA, 2017a).

The significance of air transportation for national and international connectivity and economic development is expected to continue. Industry forecasts are that air traffic volume will double by 2030 with a 4.6% annual growth of passenger traffic and a 5.3% growth of freight traffic each year to 2030 (ICAO, 2016a). As an essential component of air transport services, it is particularly important for airlines, the traveling public, and shippers that ATM is provided safely and efficiently.

Air Traffic Management Users and Stakeholders

Air transport is an integrated service involving airlines, airports, ANS including ATM, and landside access to airports. A smooth transport service can only be provided if ANSPs, airlines, airports, and connecting landside transport work closely together. Despite this, these services providers have generally been separated from each other, both in terms of the way they are organized and institutionally (Knieps, 2004). Globally, the air transport industry is comprised of around 1400 commercial airlines, 26,700 aircraft in service, 4130 airports, and 173 ANSPs (ICAO, 2016a).

The provision of ATM involves a wide range of interest groups. National governments are important stakeholders in the provision of ATM. Under the Convention on International Civil Aviation (the Chicago Convention), national governments are ultimately responsible for ensuring that adequate and safe ANS are available.¹ In addition, governments want to protect airspace above their territories for national and international defense reasons. Although national governments have an interest in airports, most airports are primarily used for civilian purposes, and governments are comparatively less interventionist in airport operations than in ANS. For example, there has been a greater willingness to commercialize and privatize airports compared with ATM.

ANSPs have four main customer groups:

Airlines and commercial aircraft operators—international, domestic, and regional airlines and large commercial freight operators (aircraft>5 tonnes). This group generally comprises the bulk of air traffic volumes for ANSPs. They use the full range of services that ANSPs provide.

General aviation aircraft—This group covers small aircraft not operated on a common carrier basis, including both corporate and business aircraft, such as small jets, smaller commercial