Ireland lauds air traffic control system, ten years on

DUBLIN, Ireland - The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) on Sunday notched up ten years of its involvement with COOPANS, which it says has saved participating countries Ireland, Portugal, Austria, Denmark Croatia, and Sweden, hundreds of millions of euro.

On 18 April 2011, the COOPANS ATC system went live in the IAA's operational centre in Shannon, Co. Clare. Ten years on, the IAA says, it continues to be the leading Air Traffic Control (ATC) system in Europe, delivering safety and environmental benefits for airlines.

COOPANS was set up by three European ATC providers, including the IAA. Shannon was the first Operational Centre in 2011 followed swiftly by LFV (Sweden) and NAVIAIR (Denmark). In the intervening years the Alliance has grown with Austro Control, Croatia Control, and NavPortugal also joining.

"By having access to this modern equipment, we are making the skies safer for our customers and passengers and we are also helping them reduce their costs and improve their efficiency," Peter Kearney, Chief Executive of IAA and Chairperson of the COOPANS Alliance Board said Sunday.

"COOPANS is an award-winning system and has been recognised by the European Commission as an example of the 'Single European Sky' in action. As chairperson of the COOPANS alliance, I am now looking forward to leading the IAA and our partners to another 10 years of commercial success. The IAA and COOPANS are committed to innovation in air traffic management.

The Alliance has enabled the IAA and its partners to cut their development costs, through pooling resources and continuous and synchronised upgrading of the Air Traffic Management system. As a result, the partners avoided having to pay more for such equipment individually. The Alliance has invested over €140M to date and the IAA alone has invested over €30M, saving airlines customers (and passengers) in the region of €50M.

COOPANS meets the EU's plans for the harmonization of ATM systems in Europe and helps the Alliance to meet EU regulatory requirements.

Kearney said, that with the many challenges aviation faces over the coming years, the Alliance has a key role to play in helping the regrowth of the industry, through the efficiency and safety benefits that it delivers and in setting new standards for harmonization and efficiency in air traffic management.

COOPANS is an international alliance between the air navigation service providers of Austria (Austro Control), Croatia (Croatia Control), Denmark (Naviair), Ireland (Irish Aviation Authority), Portugal (NAV Portugal), and Sweden (LFV).