AIRSPACE &SAFETY INITIATIVE COMMUNICATION AND EDUCATION PROGRAMME – AVIATION HOUSE – 7 OCTOBER 2008

UKFSC CE MEEETING SUMMARY

· The Agenda.

· A presentation on the AIS NOTAM Website Presentation was provided by DAP and NATS. The main points covered were:

o NATS is licensed to provide NOTAMS as part of the internationally agreed AIS package. NOTAMs have been around in their current form for 60 years.

o The way ahead for NOTAMs is to produce a machine readable NOTAM and in Europe this will take the form of XNOTAM and will be a temporal, continuously updated output.

o Major benefits will include improved pre-flight briefing, increased efficiency, consistent quality, machine readable and international coverage.

o XNOTAM will require a comprehensive computer model and Eurocontrol are trialling such a system.

o UK issues 21000 notams per year and there are 20000 notams in issue at any one time in the world.

o The full presentation.

· GPS mapping for air use does not include glider sites and therefore should only be used as a secondary aid to route planning both in UK and on the continent.

· There was concern expressed about the lack of publicity on the introduction of 406 rescue beacon and withdrawal of the 121.5 facility. Every effort to be made to increase knowledge among the CA and GA communities.

· Publicity for the introduction of ATSOCAS is seen as priority both in the UK and among international users of UK airspace. It was also considered important that a package or presentation on UK airspace classification would be a useful tool to be distributed among the entire flying community.

· Draft meeting notes from the ACP meeting.

Rich Jones

Chief Exec

UK Flight Safety Committee