Saura opens the World ATM Congress

Today, the Secretary of State for Infrastructures, Transport and Housing, Pedro Saura, opened the 2019 World ATM Congress, which is being held at the IFEMA fairground in Madrid and will host 8,500 professionals from 130 countries. Present at the Congress are 230 aviation companies and 80 air navigation service providers.

Pedro Saura, Secretary of State for Infrastructures, Transport and Housing, arrives at World ATM Congress

Saura ha reiterado reiterated Spain’s commitment to the European Single Sky

The Secretary of State for Infrastructures, Transport and Housing, who started his presentation by sending his condolences to the relatives of the 171 people who lost their lives this past weekend in air accidents in Ethiopia and Colombia, reiterated Spain’s commitment to the European Single Sky, as well as Spain’s contribution to the development of global air transport as a component of social cohesion and inclusive growth.

Saura stated that air transport is a strategic sector for any country, in terms of territorial structure, social cohesion and economic impact, and affirmed that in Spain’s case, these characteristics take on added significance due to its transcontinental geographic location, its peninsular and insular uniqueness and its status as a top tourist destination.

As the Secretary of State recalled, air traffic has been growing non-stop for over five years, and he noted that last year it again grew (5.3%) above the European average (3.7%).

As Saura explained, this volume of flights and passengers and the strong growth forecasts for the industry will require redoubling the human and investment resources needed to respond to the challenges that await us in the future.

The first challenge he referred to is the need to have the operational capacity and efficiency to respond to the foreseeable growth in demand. Another challenge involves safety/security: “We can’t speak of mobility if we’re not considering it from a standpoint of maximum safety and security”, he stated.

We must also strive for sustainable air connectivity as an essential component of the fight against climate change, and for planning that prioritises the proper selection of investment projects and responds to the real needs of society based on rigorous economic-social-environmental criteria and on the intensive use of big data.

Saura referred to the Fourth Industrial Revolution as yet another challenge stemming from innovation and digitalisation, and to Spain’s position at the cutting edge of technology and competitiveness, as evidenced by the efficiency and excellence of the services it offers.

About ENAIRE

ENAIRE is the company belonging to the Public Works Department that handles air navigation in Spain. It renders aerodrome control services at 21 airports, including those with the most traffic.

In 2018 ENAIRE operated 2.1 million flights to and from four continents (Europe, America, Asia and Africa), transporting 300 million passengers.

ENAIRE is the fourth most important European air traffic manager, and, in a clear commitment to the Single Sky initiative, belongs to international partnerships such as SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) Joint Undertaking, SESAR Deployment Manager, A6, iTEC, CANSO (Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation) and ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation).