INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ORGANIZATION

Transcription

1 INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION ORGANIZATION REPORT OF THE SEVENTH MEETING OF THE SOUTH ASIA/INDIAN OCEAN ATM COORDINATION GROUP (SAIOACG/7) BANGKOK, THAILAND, MARCH 2017 The views expressed in this Report should be taken as those of the Meeting and not the Organization Approved by the Meeting and published by the ICAO Asia and Pacific Office, Bangkok

2 Table of Contents CONTENTS INTRODUCTION... i Meeting... i Attendance... i Officers and Regional Office... i Opening of the Meeting... i Documentation and Working Language... i Draft Conclusions, Draft Decisions and Decisions of SAIOACG Definition... ii List of Decisions and Draft Conclusions/Decisions... ii REPORT ON AGENDA ITEMS... 1 Agenda Item 1: Adoption of Agenda (WP01)... 1 Agenda Item 2: Review Outcomes of Related Meetings... 1 Agenda Item 3: Review of Current Operations and Problem Areas... 2 Agenda Item 4: Implementation of New CNS/ATM Systems... 9 Agenda Item 5: ATS Route Developments Agenda Item 6: ATM Contingency Plans and Search and Rescue Agenda Item 7: ANSP Coordination and Civil/Military Cooperation Agenda Item 8: Review of SAIOACG Task List Agenda Item 9: Any other business Agenda Item 10: Date and Venue of the Next Meeting Closing of the Meeting... 17

3 Table of Contents APPENDIXES Appendix A: List of Participants... A-1 Appendix B: List of Working and Information Papers... B-1 Appendix C: BOBTFRG Terms of Reference... C-1 Appendix D: SAIOACG Task List... D-1

4 Introduction INTRODUCTION Meeting 1.1 The Seventh Meeting of the South Asia/Indian Ocean ATM Coordination Group (SAIOACG/7) was held at Bangkok, Thailand from 01 to 03 March Attendance 2.1 The meeting was attended by 30 participants from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Singapore, Thailand, IATA, IFALPA, and ICAO. 2.2 A list of participants is appended at Appendix A to this report (note: Pakistan provided papers but did not attend the meeting). Officers and Regional Office 3.1 Mr. Ibrahim Thoha General Manager Air Traffic Management, Maldives Airports Company Ltd presided over the meeting throughout its duration as Chair of SAIOACG. 3.2 Mr. Len Wicks, Regional Officer ATM, ICAO Asia and Pacific Office was the Secretary for the meeting. He was assisted by Mr. Shane Sumner, Regional Officer, Ms. Zhou Ying, Associate ATM/AIM Officer, Mr. Raymond Seah, Associate ATM Officer from the same office, and Mr. Liu Song, Deputy Chief, ICAO Regional Sub-Office. Opening of the Meeting 4.1 Mr. Ibrahim Thoha welcomed participants to the meeting. 4.2 On behalf of Mr. Arun Mishra, Regional Director of ICAO Asia and Pacific Office, Mr. Len Wicks also welcomed participants to the ICAO Regional Office. Documentation and Working Language 5.1 The working language of the meeting and all documentation was English. There were 19 Working Papers (WP) and 11 Information Papers (IP) considered by the meeting. 5.2 A list of papers is included at Appendix B to this report. i

5 Introduction Draft Conclusions, Draft Decisions and Decisions of SAIOACG Definition 6.1 SAIOACG recorded its actions in the form of Draft Conclusions, Draft Decisions and Decisions within the following definitions: a) Draft Conclusions deal with matters that, according to APANPIRG terms of reference, require the attention of States, or action by the ICAO in accordance with established procedures; b) Draft Decisions deal with the matters of concern only to APANPIRG and its contributory bodies; and c) Decisions of SAIOACG that related solely to matters dealing with the internal working arrangements of these bodies. List of Decisions and Draft Conclusions/Decisions 7.1 List of Draft Conclusions/Decisions Draft Conclusion SAIOACG/7/SEACG/24-1: FIR/SRR Air Navigation Plan Review What: That, Asia/Pacific States and Administrations Expected impact: having responsibility for the provision of services within a Flight Political / Global Information Region (FIR) or Aeronautical Search and Rescue Inter-regional Region (SRR), should conduct a review of the ICAO data related to Economic the FIR or SRR and provide a verification to the ICAO Regional Environmental Office as early as possible, but in any event not later than 31 December Ops/Technical Why: The poor response from States and Administrations has resulted in insufficient verification of the data for the ANP Volume I FIR and SRR Tables. Follow-up: Required from States When: 31-Dec-17 Status: Draft to be adopted by Subgroup Who: Sub groups APAC States ICAO APAC RO ICAO HQ Other: Decision SAIOACG/7-2: Bay of Bengal Traffic Flow Review Group What: That, a Bay of Bengal Traffic Flow Review Group Expected impact: (BOBTFRG) be established in accordance with the Terms of Political / Global Reference at Appendix C to the Report identify and Inter-regional implement Bay of Bengal airspace safety and efficiency initiatives Economic (supporting the Seamless ATM Plan) in the Bangkok, Chennai, Environmental Colombo, Dhaka, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Kolkata and Yangon Flight Information Region (FIR) interface, which would include Ops/Technical Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand and IATA. Why: A number of urgent matters related to safety and efficiency required a focus on the BOB airspace. Follow-up: Required from States When: 31-May-17 Status: Agreed by the SAIOACG/7 Who: Sub groups APAC States ICAO APAC RO ICAO HQ Other: IATA ii

6 Report on Agenda Items REPORT ON AGENDA ITEMS Agenda Item 1: Adoption of Agenda (WP01) 1.1 The provisional combined agenda (WP01) was adopted by the meeting. The List of Papers (IP01) was noted. Agenda Item 2: Review Outcomes of Related Meetings Relevant Meeting Outcomes (WP02) 2.1 ICAO presented information relevant to the SAIOACG/7 meeting from recent ICAO meetings (not including airspace safety matters under the Regional Airspace Safety Monitoring Advisory Group - RASMAG), including the: Fourth Meeting of the APANPIRG Air Traffic Management Sub-Group (ATM/SG/4, Bangkok, Thailand, 04 to 8 July 2016); Special Coordination Meeting (SCM) on Afghanistan Contingency Planning (Abu Dhabi, 25 August 2016); Twenty Seventh Meeting of the Asia/Pacific Air Navigation Planning and Implementation Regional Group (APANPIRG/27, Bangkok, Thailand, 05 to 08 September 2016); and First Meeting of the Advanced Inter-regional Air Traffic Services Route Development Task Force (AIRARD/TF/1, Tbilisi, Georgia, 21 October 2016). 2.2 The ATM/SG/4 had agreed to the formation of an Asia/Pacific Unmanned Aircraft Systems Task Force (APUAS/TF), which was endorsed by APANPIRG in Decision APANPIRG SAIOACG/7 noted the first meeting of the APUAS/TF would take place in Bangkok from 03 to 05 April At the ATM/SG/4, India had discussed plans to address the issue of non-availability of suitable flight levels at SAMAR for westbound flights exiting Delhi Flight Information Region (FIR) via position SAMAR during day time to be managed by the CATOS - Collaborative Air Traffic Flow Management Over SAMAR. ICAO had queried whether this system was consistent with expectations in the Asia/Pacific Seamless ATM Plan. India had advised the ATM/SG/4 that the CATOS tool was intended to be a temporary measure to provide traffic flow management until the provision of Central ATFM services, and that IATA would be fully consulted about its operation. SAIOACG/7 was unclear whether the CATOS system had actually been implemented; unfortunately India did not attend the SAIOACG/7 meeting to provide an update. 2.4 SAIOACG/7 discussed the outcomes from the SCM on Afghanistan Contingency Planning. Afghanistan had made progress in terms of enhanced infrastructure. However, the Kabul FIR Air Navigation services (ANS) Contingency Plan was not of robust status as it failed to meet all the Basic Planning Elements expected of APAC contingency plans and did not address matters such as partial degradation of SUR (surveillance) and COM (communication) capability. Afghanistan, India, Iran and Pakistan were urged to provide capacity enhancements for daily improvement, not just for contingency this included the urgent implementation of at least 20NM longitudinal spacing all along the axis formed by Iran-Pakistan-India and Afghanistan-Pakistan-India routes. It was noted that Afghanistan, India and Pakistan were not able to attend the SAIOACG/7. 1

7 Report on Agenda Items 2.5 The AIRARD/TF/1 meeting discussed information on the development of the Performance-based Navigation (PBN) Highways concept. SAIOACG/7 noted that this concept was designed to use efficient PBN specifications, a degree of prioritisation, and end-to-end planning for advanced inter-regional Air Traffic Services (ATS) route development projects connecting major conurbations. 2.6 IATA had advised the AIRARD/TF/1 meeting that they would study the PBN Highway concept and provide data and analysis to the AIRATD/TF/2, noting that a future task would be to determine which PBN Highways would be accorded a priority, based on traffic requirements and less complexity. AIRARD/TF/2 was tentatively planned for October 2017, in conjunction with the Route Development Group East (RDGE)/27 meeting in Kazakhstan. Agenda Item 3: Review of Current Operations and Problem Areas RASMAG Outcomes (WP03) 3.1 ICAO presented WP03, which provided information on the outcomes from meetings related to airspace monitoring, such as the: Fifth Meeting of the Future Air Navigation Services (FANS) Interoperability Team Asia (FIT-Asia/5, Bangkok, Thailand, 02 to 06 May 2016); Twenty-First Meeting of the Regional Airspace Safety Monitoring Advisory Group (RASMAG/21) was held at Bangkok, Thailand from June 2016; and African Region (AFI)-Asia/Pacific Region (APAC)-Middle East Region (MID) ATM SCM (AAMA/SCM, Mumbai, India, 19 to 20 January 2017). 3.2 SAIOACG/7 noted that there were still a number of APANPIRG Deficiencies related to datalink services that were outstanding: China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam (all post implementation monitoring, paragraph of Annex 11) and India and the Philippines (provision of data for monitoring the height-keeping performance of aircraft, paragraph of Annex 11). However, India and Sri Lanka did not attend the SAIOACG/7 meeting. 3.3 Regarding Performance-based Communications and Surveillance (PBCS), SAIOACG discussed the following APANPIRG Conclusions APANPIRG/27-7: PBCS Operator Requirements, APANPIRG/27-8: State Implementation of ICAO Provisions for PBCS and APANPIRG/27-9: Asia/Pacific Region PBCS Transition Strategy. SAIOACG/7 noted that the Regional Transition Strategy expected States to implement PBCS capability as soon as possible, but not later than 29 March The SAIOACG/7 meeting reviewed the results of RASMAG/21 s analysis. The Bay of Bengal (BOB) Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) airspace overall risk was estimated to be x 10-9, which did not meet the TLS by a substantial margin. The Transfer of Control (TOC) points between the Kolkata FIR and Dhaka/Yangon FIRs and the Chennai and Kuala Lumpur/Jakarta FIRs remained the most prominent hot spots in the Asia/Pacific region, with ATC Category E errors accounting for more than 96% of reported Large Height Deviations (LHDs) in the BOB. 3.5 Initiatives to improve safety such as sharing Automatic Dependent Surveillance- Broadcast (ADS-B) data and implementing Air Traffic Services Inter-facility Datalink Communications (AIDC) on the problematic interfaces were planned, but an emphasis on improving human systems was also needed. Malaysia informed the SAIOACG/7 meeting that they were planning a meeting in April with India and Indonesia to specifically deal with the southern hot spot. 2

8 Report on Agenda Items 3.6 The Maldives advised that they had noted some improvements regarding coordination errors with neighbouring States. Bangladesh stated that improved human factor systems and changes to the procedural processes within the Dhaka FIR had been implemented to reduce the LHDs in the BOB, and have also noted a reduction in LHDs. 3.7 SAIOACG/7 noted that Indian registered aircraft accounted for 60% of the non-rvsm aircraft found to be operating in non-compliance in the Monitoring Agency for the Asian Region (MAAR s) RVSM airspace. RASMAG/21 also noted a lack of communication between the Indian DGCA and MAAR, lead to inefficiencies validating the RVSM approvals status of Indian aircraft. 3.8 Regarding reporting of LHDs, the RASMAG/21 report had commented on the fact that within the Indian and Indonesian FIRs, very few LHDs were being reported. Less than 3% of LHD reports were made within the boundary of Indian FIRs, which may be an indication of substantial under-reporting. 3.9 The SAIOACG/7 noted that the following States had relatively high remaining monitoring burdens (the requirements of Annex 6 paragraph referred): Bhutan (75%), Bangladesh (65%), Pakistan (64%), Democratic People s Republic of Korea (60%), Indonesia (48%), Myanmar (46%), Malaysia (44%), Thailand (43%) and the Philippines (31%) RASMAG/21 had noted that a new hot spot had emerged during 2015 along the western boundary of the Mumbai FIR, which interfaced with the Mogadishu, Sana a, and Muscat FIRs. The MAAR had noted that all the long duration LHDs in the western portion of the Mumbai FIR had been as a result of ATC breakdowns in coordination between Mogadishu and Mumbai, or Muscat and Mumbai. At the AAMA/SCM, the ICCAIA indicated that Aireon had offered to provide a proposal on the early operational capability of space-based ADS-B for the Mogadishu FIR on a trial basis. India had provided a dedicated telephone for incoming coordination to Mumbai, and offered to reduce the Flight Level Allocation Scheme (FLAS) requirements in the Arabian Sea The AAMA/SCM was advised that a Mogadishu ATM improvement programme was planned, which included Communications, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) upgrades, support for the establishment of a Somalian ANS regulatory capacity, and a transition process to Somalia government control. Oman would be urged by the ICAO MID Office to implement AIDC as soon as practical. The AAMA/SCM had recognised that Mumbai Area Control Centre (ACC) was ready to commence AIDC trials at any time, which would improve the LHD situation Thailand stated at SAIOACG/7 that there was a need to consider the potential cost benefit of providing space-based surveillance. IATA recalled that service improvement must be available at the same time as any surveillance upgrade. The Maldives were concerned by the datalink deficiencies and LHDs, which were mainly related to the use of the Automatic Dependent Surveillance Contract (ADS-C), Controller Pilot Datalink Communication (CPDLC) and AIDC. ANP Update (WP04) 3.13 ICAO presented an update on the Asia/Pacific electronic Air Navigation Plan (ANP). Meeting participants were invited to review the data affecting their administration and to provide feedback to ICAO on the data s accuracy. To date the feedback had been poor, with only the Japanese Fukuoka FIR data being able to be validated for inclusion in the ANP. 3

9 Report on Agenda Items 3.14 Given the lack of progress, the SAIOACG and SEACG meetings were jointly invited to consider actions to highlight the need for greater resources and urgency in responding to the FIR/SRR review for the ANP. The following Draft Conclusion was agreed by SAIOACG/7, for consideration by the ATM/SG/5: Draft Conclusion SAIOACG/7/SEACG/24-1: FIR/SRR Air Navigation Plan Review What: That, Asia/Pacific States and Administrations Expected impact: having responsibility for the provision of services within a Flight Political / Global Information Region (FIR) or Aeronautical Search and Rescue Inter-regional Region (SRR), should conduct a review of the ICAO data related to Economic the FIR or SRR and provide a verification to the ICAO Regional Environmental Office as early as possible, but in any event not later than 31 December Ops/Technical Why: The poor response from States and Administrations has resulted in insufficient verification of the data for the ANP Volume I FIR and SRR Tables. Follow-up: Required from States When: 31-Dec-17 Status: Draft to be adopted by Subgroup Who: Sub groups APAC States ICAO APAC RO ICAO HQ Other: Regional ATFM Status (WP05) 3.15 The Secretariat presented an information update on the Asia/Pacific Regional Framework for Collaborative Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM) and APANPIRG Conclusions supporting its performance objectives. The Framework had been amended to incorporate an editorial amendment related to submission of flight plans, and to add to the Framework a new Appendix F Asia/Pacific Regional ATFM Implementation Guidance The paper included a proposal for a Regional ATFM Status reporting strategy to enable the tracking of State implementation of key performance expectations from the Framework Thailand asked whether the proposed ATFM reporting regime would be assessed by the ATFM/SG before being implemented. The SAIOACG/7 meeting was informed that the reporting strategy would be proposed to the next meeting of the Asia/Pacific ATFM Steering Group (ATFM/SG), scheduled for May A draft Regional ATFM Monitoring and Reporting form was provided at SAIOACG/7 WP/05 Attachment B. Regional AIM Status (WP06) 3.19 The meeting was provided with information on the outcomes of the 11 th Meeting of the Aeronautical Information Services (AIS) Aeronautical Information Management (AIM) Implementation Task Force (AAITF/11). Items highlighted included AIS-related Air Navigation Deficiencies, regional progress in the transition from AIS to AIM, the Regional Plan for Collaborative AIM, and other relevant topics WP06 also discussed electronic Aeronautical Information Publication (eaip), the International Codes and Routes Designators (ICARD) application, and Aeronautical Information Regulation and Control (AIRAC) and the quality management of aeronautical information. 4

10 Report on Agenda Items 3.21 Considerable information was provided on the necessity for compliance with the Aeronautical Information Regulation and Control (AIRAC) cycle, and the implementation of robust AIS quality management processes, with significant examples of non-compliance provided. ICAO emphasized that the failure of a significant number of APAC States to comply with Standards that had been in Annex 15 for many years, pre-dating any consideration of AIM transition, was most concerning. It was essential that the ATM community recognized that their support was necessary to ensure that their AIS was capable of providing the high quality aeronautical data that was critical to ATM and flight operations IATA stressed the criticality of compliance with Annex 15 in regard to promulgation of major changes, and highlighted a recent example when a State had issued an amendment with data being received by the aeronautical data managers only 13 days before the effective date. IATA also emphasised that high levels of automation of aircraft and ATM systems demanded timely, high quality aeronautical information The Maldives advised that they had recently appointed an officer to develop a Quality Management System and would report to the AAITF/12 meeting (05 09 June 2017) any progress made in this regard Bangladesh also discussed AIM implementation progress, and assured the SAIOACG/7 of a continuing focus on this area to remove the related APANPIRG Deficiencies. Weather Balloons (WP07) 3.25 As presented by IATA, WP07 recalled that weather balloons could be of very large diameter and carry instrumentation of up to six kilograms or more, ascending to very high altitude, and descending with parachute support; therefore posing a potential hazard to aircraft operations. IATA had been receiving regular air safety reports from airlines on weather balloons, but had noted that there was often no NOTAM information on the balloon release, despite the ICAO Standards for hazard promulgation contained within Annex 15 and Annex ICAO invited IATA to present a paper on this matter to the upcoming AAITF/12. IATA stated that they would consider the available data and develop a paper as appropriate Singapore emphasised that this required a strong working relationship between ATC and the MET services normally responsible for release of the balloons. ICAO noted that States needed have a regulatory basis to ensure the MET services had the required coordination mechanisms in place, and offered to provide more guidance material on this subject from Australia. BOBCAT Operational Update (WP08) 3.28 Thailand provided an operational analysis and overview of westbound flights managed through the Kabul FIR by the Bay of Bengal Cooperative Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM) System (BOBCAT) with a focus on traffic sample data for the period of January 2014 until December 2016 (Presentation 01) SAIOACG/7 was reminded that flight movement messages should be forwarded to the Bangkok ATFMU via AFTN (VTBBZDZX). SAIOACG/7 noted that States failing to ensure proper transmission of movement messages, in particular departure messages (DEP), may be given APANPIRG Air Navigation Deficiencies as per APANPIRG Conclusion 27/12. Additionally, for Post-Operational Analysis purpose, monthly one-week Traffic Sample Data (TSD) from concerned ANSPs should also contain departure times from relevant aerodromes. 5

11 Report on Agenda Items 3.30 The analysis indicated that the major airports served by BOBCAT were Singapore (29%), Bangkok (26%) and Delhi (23%). It was noted that the average percentage of flights with departure message received from Delhi was only 1% while no departure messages were received from Mumbai. Moreover, the average departure punctuality for Singapore and Bangkok was 95% and 94% respectively, while Delhi was 12.5% Thailand stated that an average of only 32% of flights entered the Kabul FIR within five minutes of the Calculated Time Over the entry point (CTO) despite the high departure punctuality from top airports. This indicated that flights were unable to adjust operations to enter Kabul FIR within the CTO window, which may be caused by the actual flight time differing from planned Estimated Elapsed Time (EET) in flight plans due to factors such as weather variations, tactical ATC actions, or variances on flight performance. Therefore, in the short term, the current five minute buffer could not be reduced. Despite the low level of entry time compliance however, a high percentage of flights of flights (between 83% 94%) were still able to achieve the same or better flight levels compared to those allocated by BOBCAT Thailand also reported to SAIOACG/7 about the successful terminology change process for BOBCAT operations. The transition included a change from the use of Allocated Wheels-Up Time (AWUT) and Estimated Time Over (ETO) to Calculated Take-Off Time (CTOT) and Calculated Time Over (CTO), and became effective on 2 February This was ensured alignment with terminologies specified in ICAO Doc Manual on Collaborative ATFM and the Asia- Pacific Regional Framework for Collaborative ATFM Thailand noted that expected improvements in Afghanistan s ATS surveillance could result in a substantial increase in the Kabul FIR s capacity. They also noted that until the enhanced surveillance was fully operational, the BOBCAT system could continue to be used in support of operations during the transition period Singapore stated that the departure message issue was important for ATFM traffic demand monitoring and would follow up to investigate the non-receipt of departure messages by Bangkok ATFMU for departures from Singapore. IFALPA queried the difference between Kabul FIR Entry Time Compliance and Departure Punctuality whether an aircraft departing outside CTOT Window and entering Kabul FIR outside CTO Window would also be considered under Kabul FIR Entry Time Compliance when analysing flights not entering Kabul FIR at same or better flight level. Thailand clarified that if an aircraft departed outside the CTOT window, it would only be considered as Departure Punctuality not Kabul FIR Entry Time Compliance when analysing flights. IATA thanked Thailand for its continual support of airlines with BOBCAT and the supporting mechanisms. Multi-Nodal ATFM Operational Trial Progress Update (IP07) 3.35 Singapore and Thailand presented an update (Presentation 02) from the Distributed Multi-Nodal ATFM Operational Trial, a collaborative project to validate and operationalize crossborder ATFM using multiple nodes in Asia. IP07 described recent efforts to trial a Common Operating Procedure (COP) and a series of demonstration flights to manage demand-capacity imbalance at project airports With successful COP development and demonstration flights, the project entered Stage 3 Limited-Scope Operational Service. The objective of this stage was to introduce the use of distributed Ground Delay Programs (GDPs) to manage real demand-capacity imbalance scenarios A Technical Subgroup would develop an Interface Control Document (ICD) specifying how different ATFM systems would connect and exchange ATFM-related information automatically using Flight Information Exchange Model (FIXM) protocols. 6

12 Report on Agenda Items 3.38 The work of this group would be fed to relevant ICAO forums, including the ICAO APAC ATFM Information Requirement Small Working Group (ATFM- IR/SWG), FIXM Change Control Board (FIXM CCB), and the ICAO Air Traffic Management Requirements and Performance Panel (ATMRPP), to facilitate change on how ATFM systems across the globe could efficiently exchange information and enable a globally-interconnected ATFM network. IATA recognised the progress of the Distributed Multi-Nodal ATFM Operational Trial ICAO asked whether the next phase would include the ability to identify tactical capacity enhancements and other ATFM measures [other than GDPs]. Thailand confirmed that the current Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Multi-Nodal ATFM Operational Trial included ATFM measures using a combination of GDP issuing CTOT, Minimum Departures Interval (MDI) and Minutes-in-Trail (MINIT) to ensure air traffic demand was compatible with available capacity will be deployed when needed. Enhancing Bay of Bengal Enroute Capacity (WP19) 3.40 Singapore presented WP 19, which highlighted the need to enhance capacity for the routes over the Bay of Bengal (BOB), given the growth of air traffic movements over the area. In WP 17, Indonesia proposed the review of the current allocation of flight level for ATS route N563 so all levels would be available with co-ordination. Given the existing and planned ADS-B surveillance implementations in the area, IATA and ICAO urged concerned States to develop a mechanism to increase the capacity, reduce or remove restrictive procedures and improve efficiency over the BOB The meeting discussed the need to form a working group to review the traffic flow over the BOB. The group could possibly be held in conjunction with a planned Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Thailand (BIMT) meeting and report progress to the ATM/SG/5 meeting (31 July 04 August 2017). The SAIOACG/7 meeting agreed to the following Decision to form a Group, which would focus on the BOB and detail specific ANS improvement plans that augmented the Asia/Pacific Seamless ATM Plan s expectations (and also to help address the safety hot spots in the area): Decision SAIOACG/7-2: Bay of Bengal Traffic Flow Review Group What: That, a Bay of Bengal Traffic Flow Review Group Expected impact: (BOBTFRG) be established in accordance with the Terms of Political / Global Reference at Appendix C to the Report identify and Inter-regional implement Bay of Bengal airspace safety and efficiency initiatives Economic (supporting the Seamless ATM Plan) in the Bangkok, Chennai, Environmental Colombo, Dhaka, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Kolkata and Yangon Flight Information Region (FIR) interface, which would include Ops/Technical Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand and IATA. Why: A number of urgent matters related to safety and efficiency required a focus on the BOB airspace. Follow-up: Required from States When: 31-May-17 Status: Agreed by the SAIOACG/7 Who: Sub groups APAC States ICAO APAC RO ICAO HQ Other: IATA ANS PQ Update (IP02) 3.42 ICAO provided an analysis of the new Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach (CMA) Protocol Questions (PQs), which will be effective on 01 June There were now a total of 191 ANS PQs, compared to 232 PQs in the earlier 2014 set of questions. 7

13 Alphanumeric Callsigns (IP03) SAIOACG/7 Report on Agenda Items 3.43 ICAO provided information on a State capability survey for the acceptance and processing of alphanumeric aircraft identification, as the first step in a phased implementation of alphanumeric aircraft identification proposed by IATA A copy of the survey was provided at SAIOACG/7/IP/03 Attachment A. The SAIOACG/7 noted that few Administrations had responded to the survey. ICAO advised that the survey would be re-circulated due to the poor response rate. ATC Separation Standards Survey (IP04) 3.45 ICAO presented initial information on the Seamless ATM survey conducted to determine which Air Traffic Control (ATC) separation standards were being applied within the Asia/Pacific Region. The survey requested respondents to advise the minimum horizontal separation standards authorized for use by controllers within Category R (remote) and Category S (radar, ADS-B or Multilateration (MLAT) surveillance) The response from Asia/Pacific States and administrations to the survey was poor, with only 12 replies (30% of administrations). Given the response, the survey would need to be recirculated before the ATM/SG/5 (31 July 04 August 2017), in order to provide a better basis for analysis Figure 1 provided an initial indication of the efficiency of ATC separations, as they were theoretically available to be applied. Figure 1: Compliance with Seamless ATM Horizontal Separation Standards 8

14 SID/STAR Phraseologies (IP05) SAIOACG/7 Report on Agenda Items 3.48 The Secretariat provided information on changes to ATC and Pilot phraseologies related to Standard Instrument Departures (SIDs) and Standard Arrival Routes (STARs). The changes were communicated to States in ICAO State Letter AN13/2.1-16/54 dated 23 June 2016, and were included in Amendment 7 to ICAO Doc 4444 PANS-ATM, which became applicable on 10 November IATA noted that States were applying this amendment inconsistently. IFALPA also agreed that this was a problem area and noted that controllers were not using the standard phraseologies contained within the amendment. ICAO urged IFALPA to present information at the ATM/SG/5 on pilot experience using new SID/STAR phraseology in the region. VTBS Runway 19L Major Maintenance Project (IP06) 3.50 Thailand discussed a Runway 19L maintenance project at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, planned to take place from 03 March 2017 until 02 May 2017 (Presentation 03). Runway 19L would be usable only for departures with Take-Off Runway Available (TORA) being reduced to 2,750 metres. However the initial impact analysis indicated only minimal disruptions, with these being managed by Bangkok Air Traffic Flow Management Unit (ATFMU). IATA thanked Thailand for the consultation undertaken, so as to minimise the disruption to aircraft operators. Agenda Item 4: Implementation of New CNS/ATM Systems Seamless ATM Monitoring (WP09) 4.1 ICAO recalled that the Asia/Pacific Region monitored the implementation progress of air navigation improvements against the objectives set by the Global Air Navigation Plan Aviation System Block Upgrades (GANP ASBU) Block 0 and the Asia/Pacific Seamless ATM plan V Seamless reporting had been improving, with a total of 28 States/Administrations submitting one or more report on the ICAO Seamless ATM Reporting portal, including four additional States in the second half of 2016: Cambodia, Lao People s Democratic Republic (PDR), Pakistan and Viet Nam. Most of the administrations which had not reported (15) or provided a Point of Contact (10) were in the Pacific Region. 4.3 Overall the ten regional targets planned for completion in November 2015 were not achieved (Table 1). As a result, concerned States/Administrations were urged by APANPIRG/27 to give higher priority both at CAA and Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) levels and to mobilize human and financial resources to complete the implementation of Phase 1 objectives. Acceptable Implementation ADS-C, CPDLC B0-TBO Partial Implementation Strategic Civil Military coordination Tactical Civil Military coordination ATS surveillance with data integrated Regional Regional B0-ASUR 9

15 Report on Agenda Items ATS Inter-facility Data-link Communications (AIDC) B0-FICE Partial and Slow Implementation Civil Military use of Special Use of Airspace (SUA) Approaches, including PBN Air Traffic Flow Management/Collaborative Decision-Making (ATFM/CDM) B0-FRTO B0-APTA B0-NOPS Unacceptable Implementation Progress ADS-B airspace Aeronautical Information Management (AIM) Table 1: Summary of Priority Elements B0-ASUR B0-DATM 4.4 As ADS-C/CPDLC had largely been successfully implemented, it was possible that this item should be considered for removal from the list of ten priorities by APANPIRG. Given the poor implementation of appropriate ATC separations indicated in the initial survey (IP04), this element may be considered for inclusion as one of the priority items by APANPIRG/28. However, IATA cautioned that, as noted by WP09, the implementation of ADS-C/CPDLC by the Philippines had apparently not been completed; thus it was important to keep the element in focus for this State. 4.5 The following States had not yet reported, or appeared to have not met the Phase 1 ATFM expectations for high density FIRs (this would be further discussed by the ATFM/SG): South Asia: India (Delhi, Mumbai FIRs); Southeast Asia: Thailand (Bangkok FIR), Viet Nam (Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh FIRs), Indonesia (Jakarta FIR), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu FIRs), the Philippines (Manila FIR), Lao PDR (Vientiane FIR); and East Asia: China (Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Kunming, Sanya, Shanghai, Shenyang, Taibei, Wuhan FIRs), ROK (Incheon). 4.6 Regarding ATFM, Thailand noted that the Regional Picture may not accurately represent the actual implementation as initial performance indicator may be very simplistic (such as percentage of FIRs with ATFM/CDM fully implemented). Thailand further suggested using the ATFM Status reporting for status reporting. ICAO stated that the Regional Picture was driven by State responses which were sometimes incorrect and challenged as such, but it still relied on States to correctly identify their status. ICAO noted that the Regional Picture had the ability to indicate different levels of implementation, but this was a work in progress. Thailand and IATA appreciated WP09 was a key deliverable from the process of Seamless ATM planning and monitoring. 4.7 The overall summary for AIM was that the Asia/Pacific Region s poor progress represented a major lack of prioritization by decision-makers on this vital area. This would be further discussed by the AAITF meeting. 4.8 The Asia/Pacific was also well behind the implementation schedule for ATS surveillance with data integration within all Category S airspace), with 58% of administrations having reported completion (this would be further discussed at the ATM and CNS Subgroups. 10

16 Report on Agenda Items Update on ATM Activities in the Maldives (IP08) 4.9 The Maldives provided an update on enhancements implemented or planned in the ADS- B, AIDC, Search and Rescue (SAR), ATC separations and User Preferred Routes (UPR) areas. Noting that the carriage of ADS-B equipment was not mandatory within the Male FIR, full implementation of ADS-B by mandate was expected in The Maldives had signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Aireon on 29 December 2016 to assess and potentially implement space-based ADS-B capabilities AIDC trial messaging conducted between Mumbai, Chennai and Colombo proved to be successful, and there would now be a six month operational trial with Chennai. Trial messaging with Melbourne ACC was expected to begin soon In response to a question from ICAO, the Maldives stated that they were planning for a Joint Aeronautical and Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC). In addition, the Maldives advised that the use of 50NM separations within coverage of ADS-B was a stepping stone to the use of surveillance based separations, and that PBCS would be implemented for CPDLC. Indonesian CNS/ATM Update (IP09) 4.12 Indonesia presented an update on CNS developments within Indonesia FIRs, including: ATS communications; PBN implementation; ATS surveillance; and ATM system automation ICAO asked Indonesia to provide more detail on the actual SUR coverage and any difficulties encountered in implementing surveillance-based separation in certain airspace. Indonesia confirmed that they had implemented 5NM separation for Jakarta but there were some areas where the coverage or capability of the surveillance needed enhancement to provide surveillance-based separation. Agenda Item 5: ATS Route Developments Pakistan ATS Route Structure Optimization (WP10) 5.1 Pakistan provided SAIOACG/7 with information on readiness for managing regional air traffic operations during any disruption or contingency operation for ATS within Afghanistan airspace. In order to facilitate possible diversionary traffic circumnavigating the Kabul FIR, a new bidirectional ATS Route L506 had been agreed by Pakistan in coordination with ICAO, Iran and India. 5.2 The route (Figure 2) would be submitted as a Proposal for Amendment (PfA) to the Regional ANP, but would not be available for normal operations in accordance with requirements published in the Pakistan Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP). 11

17 Report on Agenda Items Figure 2: ATS Route L SAIOACG/7 commended Pakistan on the preparation made to ensure the continued safe and efficient operation of air traffic on the Major Traffic Flow in this area. Establishing Coordinated Flight Levels on N563 (WP17) 5.4 Indonesia presented WP17, which requested India to consider a proposal to renew the ATS Letter of Agreement (LOA) between the Jakarta and Chennai ATS Centres. 5.5 Indonesia noted inconsistencies by Chennai ACC in applying the agreed flight levels listed in the current LOA (BOB FLAS). Indonesia also stated that Chennai often asked Jakarta whether the transferred flight level would be approved by Jakarta or not, when Chennai sometimes gave approval at F320 which had already been advised as not being available. 5.6 ICAO supported Indonesia s intention to remove the FLAS from ATS route N563, as this was consistent with the Seamless ATM Plan s expectations for Category R airspace (note: ATS route N563 was Category S airspace until well within the Chennai FIR, and the first confliction point (low density route L645) was more than 200 NM from the FIR boundary. ICAO noted that any confliction between ATS Routes N563 and L645 would occur about 25 minutes into the Chennai FIR, and the area was also within surveillance coverage from potential ADS-B site on Great Nicobar Island. 5.7 Unfortunately, due to the non-attendance of India, these matters were not able to be effectively discussed at SAIOACG/7, but may be able to be discussed at the BOBTFRG. Establishing Indonesian FIR Singapore FIR Routes (WP18) 5.8 Indonesia suggested a new ATS route that would serve the traffic from Singapore and Kualanamu Airport (Medan) to the Middle East, Europe and Africa, and vice-versa. WP18 noted that the Malaysian authorities supported this proposal but were concerned about the coordination with India, with restrictions from the Chennai FIR. 5.9 Singapore clarified that this route proposal would be jointly developed between Indonesia and Singapore. The ICAO Regional Office urged the States to submit a joint PfA urgently if the route was needed by May 2017 as expected Due to the non-attendance of India, these matters were also not able to be effectively discussed at SAIOACG/7, so this would be added to the discussion points for the BOBTFRG. 12

18 ATS Route Catalogue (WP11) SAIOACG/7 Report on Agenda Items 5.11 ICAO presented the Asia/Pacific Region ATS Route Catalogue for review and update. The Asia/Pacific Region ATS Route Catalogue contained proposals for route changes that had not yet been agreed and implemented. Draft version 16 of the Asia/Pacific Region ATS Route Catalogue would be presented to the SEACG/24 and ATM/SG/5 for review before posting on the ICAO Asia/Pacific website The following States were urged to conduct a review of the ATS Route Catalogue (South Asia Section), and respond to the ASTM/SG/5 with a report on the status of the relevant proposals: Afghanistan IND07, IRAN01, P173; China - HIMALAYA02, HIMALAYA03; India IND01, IND07, IND08, IND09, IND10, PAK02, HIMALAYA01, HIMALAYA02, HIMALAYA03; Indonesia IDO01; Maldives COL01; Myanmar THA01; Nepal HIMALAYA01, HIMALAYA02; Pakistan IND07, IND08, PAK01, PAK02, HIMALAYA01, IRAN01; Singapore IDO01; Sri Lanka COL 01; and Thailand THA ICAO would contact the States concerned to remind them to conduct a review of the ATS Route Catalogue proposals relevant to their airspace. The meeting agreed that the ATS Route Catalogue should be referred to when conducting route development work (such as the BOBTFRG) Reference proposal THA01, Thailand updated the meeting that Bangkok ACC had been tactically routing aircraft direct between KRT and DWI when traffic permitted. However, due to ATC automation transition, the route proposal may need to wait for completion of ATC automation transition to be considered SAIOACG/7 noted that some States had not followed the expected PfA process for updating Volume II of the electronic Air Navigation Plan (eanp) in the last year. ICAO recalled that a template and procedure for PfA submissions was available on the website section APAC Air Navigation Plan. Agenda Item 6: ATM Contingency Plans and Search and Rescue Regional SAR Status (WP12) 6.1 WP21 provided an update of the Asia/Pacific SAR status, reflecting the progress of improvements within the Asia/Pacific Region against objectives set out in the Asia/Pacific Search and Rescue plan version

19 Report on Agenda Items 6.2 Significant Annex 12 compliance weaknesses remained in States relevant to SAIOACG: Afghanistan; Maldives; Myanmar; and Nepal. 6.3 In addition, it was noted that both India and Sri Lanka had significant high seas (oceanic) responsibilities, but still had some missing capabilities that needed to be addressed. Neither State was present at SAIOACG/7 to provide an update on progress. 6.4 The Maldives had reportedly made good progress in Aeronautical SAR, and would present a plan for SAR improvement to the Second Meeting of the Asia/Pacific SAR Workgroup (APSAR/WG/2, Bangkok, 30 May 01 June 2017). 6.5 The initial results from the new 41 element SAR Performance Indicators (related to the Asia/Pacific SAR Plan) are shown in Figure 3. Of the 24 States/Administrations that responded, the average implementation of the Asia/Pacific SAR Plan was 73%. Figure 3: SAR Plan Performance Indicators (41 Elements) 6.6 Analysis of the SAR Performance Indicators survey indicated that the Asia/Pacific Region s weaknesses were in the areas of: establishing of SAR agreements with neighbouring States; pre-arranged procedures for cross-border SAR responses; RCC plans to be integrated with the national disaster plans; next generation beacons (implementation of new beacons and disposal of old beacons); and the establishment of temporary delegation of SAR to another body or State as a contingency. 14

20 Report on Agenda Items 6.7 SAIOACG/7 noted that the following States relevant to SAIOACG had APANPIRG SAR deficiencies that needed urgent attention: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Maldives (2), Myanmar, Nepal. 6.8 The Maldives noted that they had made significant progress in Aeronautical SAR and expected the deficiencies to be eliminated during Regional Contingency Planning (WP13) 6.9 The Secretariat presented information on the Asia/Pacific Regional ATM Contingency Plan, developed by the Regional ATM Contingency Plan Task Force (RACP/TF) and adopted by APANPIRG/ It was noted that APANPIRG/26 (Bangkok, Thailand, September 2016) had agreed that the draft Contingency Plan be uploaded to the ICAO Asia/Pacific Regional Office edocuments web page to provide immediate guidance to States, including the agreed performance improvement plan with expected implementation date of 10 November 2016, pending the inclusion of information and performance objectives relating to volcanic ash contingency responses The finalized Contingency Plan s Performance Improvement Plan and volcanic ash contingency planning information were provided for the information of the meeting, at SAIOACG/7 WP/13 Attachments A and B The meeting was informed that RACP/TF had been dissolved by APANPIRG, and any residual or ongoing tasks would be managed by the ATM Sub-Group of APANPIRG (ATM/SG) Similarly to that proposed for Regional ATFM implementation status, a draft Regional ATM Contingency Plan Monitoring and Reporting form was provided at SAIOACG/7 WP/13 Attachment C. The proposal to implement Regional ATM Contingency status monitoring would be presented to ATM/SG/5, scheduled to be held in Bangkok, Thailand from 31 July to 4 August Agenda Item 7: ANSP Coordination and Civil/Military Cooperation Release of Upper Flight Levels Within Pakistan Airspace (WP14) 7.1 Pakistan advised that after a request from the ICAO Regional Office, the restriction on FL300 for all ATS Routes within the Lahore FIR had been removed with effect from 19 July The availability of FL300 would help in maintaining flow of regional traffic, subject to support from Afghanistan in accepting traffic at this level. Afghanistan did not attend the SAIOACG/7 meeting for comment on Pakistan s positive suggestion. 7.2 In addition to the various measures including realignment / establishment of ATS routes, the long requested availability of FL within the Karachi FIR had also been resolved to some extent, and now these flight levels were available on 17 international ATS routes within the Karachi FIR. This would help in accommodating long haul flights at economical flight levels and increase flight safety. 7.3 SAIOACG/7 congratulated Pakistan for these important improvements in civil/military cooperation, which demonstrated an effective liaison between the Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan and military authorities. 15

21 Report on Agenda Items Regional Civil/Military Cooperation (WP15) 7.4 ICAO presented information on Asia/Pacific s civil/military cooperation issues and initiatives. 7.5 SAIOACG/7 noted that new regional expectations for ballistic launch and space re-entry activities were incorporated into V2.0 of the Asia/Pacific Seamless ATM Plan in IATA commented that there was an improving trend in this area, and would report to the ATM/SG/5 on any data available for such activity. 7.6 The SAIOACG/7 meeting was advised about a project to upgrade Circular 330 Civil/Military Cooperation in Air Traffic Management was being undertaken by ICAO HQ in cooperation with a group of civil and military experts, including input from the Asia/Pacific Region. Indonesian Civil Military Cooperation (IP10) 7.7 Indonesia described the progress of civil/military cooperation to increase ATS safety and facilitate Seamless ATM operations. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) had been signed between the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Defence and Security, and a Note of Understanding was signed between the Indonesia Air force and Airnav Indonesia. 7.8 Indonesia also stated that some Indonesian airports had already been established for joint civil and military operations. Some civil airports were used for military operations, while some air force bases may allow the operation of civil aircraft. 7.9 IFALPA asked if joint civil/military airports could be used as alternates for flight planning purposes. Indonesia responded that some were available, as stated in the AIP In response to a statement by Bangladesh of their civil/military situation, the ICAO Regional Sub-Office (RSO) mentioned that a new tool Local and Sub-regional Airspace Management system (LARA) had been made available to the Asia/Pacific Region through their office and in addition, the RSO was willing to develop civil/military workshops to assist. Agenda Item 8: Review of SAIOACG Task List SAIOACG Task List (WP16) Secretariat 8.1 ICAO presented WP16, which contained the SAIOACG Terms of Reference (ToR) and SAIOACG Task List (Appendix D) for review. 16

22 Report on Agenda Items Agenda Item 9: Any other business ICAO Training (IP11) 9.1 ICAO presented the TRAINAIR Plus 2017 Course Schedule, which covered the following fields: Aerodromes; Air Navigations Services; Flight Safety and Safety Management; Security and Facilitation; Training Competency Development; and Management. Agenda Item 10: Date and Venue of the Next Meeting 10.1 The meeting noted the lack of participation by a number of important SAIOACG States. ICAO noted that if there was not enough enthusiasm by key States for a formal meeting, then one option may be to conduct an informal (non-icao) meeting. It was agreed that the next meeting of the SAIOACG (SAIOACG/8) would be combined with the Southeast Asia ATS Coordination Meeting (SEACG), and a decision taken at that time whether to disestablish the formal SAIOACG meeting, dependent on participation IATA expressed a view that a combined meeting may not provide enough time for all the work necessary. ICAO noted that the intention was to hold the combined meeting over a full five day period Cambodia offered to host the combined SAIOACG/SEACG meeting in February The meeting thanked Cambodia for this kind offer to host. Closing of the Meeting The Chair thanked the meeting participants for their significant work during a busy meeting program