NATCA Participates in Meeting of The Global ATC Alliance

The Global Air Traffic Controllers Alliance, “The Alliance” for short, recently held a meeting in London. The Alliance is a coalition of labor unions representing aviation safety professionals from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States to speak with a collective voice on a range of subjects that have a common effect on the profession and the professionals they represent. President Rich Santa and former NATCA president and current Alliance Vice President Paul Rinaldi represented NATCA at this meeting.

Members of The Alliance met with Simon Hocquard, Director General of CANSO, to discuss a wide range of topics on how the two organizations can work together moving forward. CANSO — the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization — is a representative body of air navigation service providers (ANSPs) that together support more than 85 percent of the world’s air traffic. One of the main focuses of this conversation was making sure the workforce has a voice and is included in discussions about future directions CANSO plans to take. During the meeting, participants also reviewed and rewrote parts of their constitution, planned for World ATM, updated their website, and discussed outreach efforts.

About The Alliance, Santa stated, “We continue to make sure that NATCA has a seat at every table where issues vital to our profession are being discussed. This meeting with The Alliance was important because it is giving labor a greater voice in CANSO initiatives. By growing partnerships and alliances with organizations that provide air traffic control services, with air traffic industry partners, and other stakeholders, we’re ensuring NATCA members and the professions we represent are heard.”