Staying ahead

- The new Ha Noi ATCC, which started operations in 2014, provides a host of new services and equipment -

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What is your vision for Vietnam’s air services?

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Vietnam attracts more than 50 international airlines from 25 countries. And air traffic volumes are growing at a very high rate. The average growth rates for the period 2010-2014 is 12% annually for passenger and 12.6% annually for cargo.

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To meet this trend, Vietnam’s airports and airlines have invested heavily in improvements, building new terminals and airports and upgrading aircraft and ordering hundreds of new ones.

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Besides this, Vietnam’s development policy is based on open skies, which will provide an opportunity for domestic and international airlines to explore and develop the Vietnam aviation market.

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 It means air traffic management also has to invest. We will upgrade the ATM system, optimise our airspace organisation and improve ATC procedures at major airports to boost capacity.

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Dr. Pham Viet Dzung, Director General, Vietnam Air Traffic Management Corporation

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Is the Government supportive of your plans and providing enough investment?

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Our Government pays great attention to the development of Vietnam Air Traffic Management (VATM). It defines VATM as a special, State-owned corporation and has provided a suitable policy and mechanism for such an enterprise. In response to this attention, VATM continues to improve its operation of the national air traffic management system.

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Can you grow quickly enough to match demand?

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 In 2014, VATM handled nearly 550,000 flights. The increase in air traffic, with its associated challenges such as environmental protection, safety and security, is asking hard questions of aviation in general and of ATM in particular. To cope with these challenges, VATM is focused not only on its investment in technical infrastructure upgrades, but also on human resources. We have greatly expanded our workforce. In terms of technical upgrades, in 2014, VATM completed 10 ADS-B ground stations.

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Is it easy to attract and train enough staff to cope with the growth?

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We are well aware that human resources is a vital element for the development and operation of VATM. We have about 500 controllers serving at 26 ATC units nationwide and most of these units are 24-hour operations.

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At the moment, there is a shortage of qualified air traffic controllers. To help find new staff, we have made ATCOs’ employee benefits and working conditions more attractive and have also reduced their workload. In addition, in 2015, VATM has training as one of its priorities. We have a project named “Socialization in basic training for ATCOs” and we are looking for a partner to collaborate in this project.

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How important will CANSO be to your plans?

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CANSO plays an important role in our development plans. VATM was pleased to become a full member of CANSO on 1 July 2014. CANSO represents the ANSP community around the world and its vision is for global standards and policies that benefit any provider of air navigation services (ANS).

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VATM cannot provide high-quality services without these global policies in its plans or without the close collaboration with other Members and partners that CANSO facilitates.

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Tell us about this close collaboration.

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Together with airports and airlines, air traffic management is one of the three major elements that constitute aviation. We therefore co-operate closely with airports and airlines in the development and operation of ANS.

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One example of working together is the transition of some services from the airport authority to VATM. Some ground control services, briefing services and aerodrome metrological services belong to the airports authority, but in the near future these services will be integrated into VATM. Centralising these activities will improve the ATM operation.

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Noi Bai ATC tower – in 2014, VATM handled nearly 550,000 flights

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 What is your view of the proposed Seamless Asian Sky?

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 A Seamless Asian Sky is necessary as it will bring many benefits. However, this region has big differences in development levels Credit: VATM Noi Bai ATC tower – in 2014, VATM handled nearly 550,000 flights. and airspace management methodology. It means achieving a seamless sky will be more difficult than it is for Europe or the US.

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 VATM has participated in the 1.0 version of the Asia Pacific Seamless ATM Plan, within the framework of ICAO. We have also been working on technical issues within the ASEAN framework and are co-ordinating with countries through the Mekong sub-regional conferences and bilateral meetings. We are ready to share our resources – we share ADS-B and VHF signals with Singapore from our Con Dao station – and we are preparing for an ATFM trial with neighbouring countries.

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Along with PBN, ATFM will play the most important role in the creation of a Seamless Asian Sky. For Asia Pacific though, ATFM must be multi-nodal.

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Source: Airspace