The Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) Company of South Africa is part of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) member states and global Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) that are gathered in the Caribbean island city of Willemstad, to discuss the future of Air Traffic Management (ATM).

The four-day CANSO Global ATM Summit and Annual General Meeting (AGM) started on Sunday and ends on Tuesday, 18th June 2013.

Actively participating in this event, ATNS is conscious of the key issues such as the difficult times the aviation industry is going through. The company continues to implement measures that will reduce the costs of doing business in South Africa and in the continent. This is done by supporting CANSO’s vision of interoperability and seamless operations between sectors and countries, through being part of the continental collaborative efforts of working toward a single airspace, among others.

ATNS recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Swaziland, which is an example of regional cooperation and collaboration, said Mr. Thabani Mthiyane, ATNS Acting CEO. "In advancing safety in the region, we have implemented the very small aperture terminal (VSAT) satellite network which has provided and invaluable service in enhancing safety in the Southern African Development Community and the North East Africa (NAFISAT) region.

The network provided by ATNS in partnership with another global organisation, namely the International Air Transport Association (IATA), provides a communication platform that allows for air traffic services (ATS) direct contact between countries and the digital transfer of flight plans and related information, which serves as a catalyst for the safety of flight operations".

Referring to the World ATM Congress held in Spain early this year (in February), Mr. Jeff Poole, the CANSO Director General, said – in his opening address – that Airline companies, Airport operators and the International Civil Aviation Organisation, made it very clear that the air traffic management cannot and will not stand still. "Our stakeholders are looking for our active engagement to be able to address key issues and drive the necessary changes to achieve significant performance improvements. During this Summit, this is yet another opportunity to take positive and deliberate steps to drive forward – our vision for the future" stated Mr. Poole boldly.

Ms Milicia Albertus-Verboom, the Director General of the Dutch Caribbean Air Navigation Services Provider (DC ANSP), welcoming the aviation community in her country said "we are working towards diligently towards a seamless, global coordinated system of air navigation system in order to cope with the traffic growth in the Latin America and Caribbean region". She further stated that "DC ANSP continues to strengthen cooperative and collaborative ties with local, regional and international organisations in the aviation industry".

ATNS has implemented operational efficiency interventions such as continuous descent and climb operations, known as Performance Based Navigation (PBN). These coordinated exercises reduce the fuel burn by aircrafts and indirectly reduce gas emissions which are detrimental to the environment.