EUROCONTROL's new Member State Iceland: "a stronger Atlantic bridge"

It is true that EUROCONTROL and Iceland have had excellent cooperation over many years and there have been several discussions, both within Iceland and with EUROCONTROL, about becoming a full member. Iceland gradually increased its participation and was given an observer status to the Provisional Council (PC), allowing us to attend and participate more actively with EUROCONTROL. My first involvement was when I received a letter from the previous Director General encouraging us to take the step towards accession. It was time to take the decision on our membership and to me, it was clear that working more closely with EUROCONTROL would benefit all.

With this extension of the European network brought on by Iceland‘s membership, we will gain a stronger bridge between Europe and North America, allowing for a more efficient management of the Network. We are highly dependent on aviation and most of our traffic either goes east or west – if this bridge does not operate smoothly, it will impact Iceland and further beyond.

In terms of the SES vision, it is clear that Iceland does not face all of the performance issues that are found in the core of the European Network, such as traffic congestion or the heavy impact of severe weather, a growing problem. Although we have noted an increase in severe weather events, because of our geographical position this is something we are quite accustomed to. But we did experience an unusual incident in December 2022 when we had to pause flights into and out of Keflavik airport – not because the airport was closed, but because the road to the airport was blocked by snow.

There are certainly other issues that we share which will benefit from a more a unified approach, for example civil-military coordination, which is an important topic.

The Icelandic aviation industry is performing well today and we see opportunities for growth both in the hub operation and visitor numbers to the country.

One of the aspects that makes Iceland special is our location, an island in the middle of the North Atlantic, situated between two continents on an active volcanic ridge – the consequences of which we experience rather frequently. The risk of further eruptions remains; in the last three years, nine eruptions have occurred in the area close to the airport, but fortunately, no ash cloud has formed.

The Icelandic Transport Authority is in the process of initialising a reorganisation of parts of our airspace. With the support of EUROCONTROL, we are exploring the possibilities of making changes to some control zones, terminal manoeuvring areas and airspace classifications. In addition, we are considering the integration of U-space airspace. Iceland is receiving support from EUROCONTROL, under the auspices of the Support to States initiative, in many areas that are currently under consideration by our ANSPs and aerodromes as well as the Transport Authority. This includes workshops on system-wide information management (SWIM), advanced surface movement guidance and control systems (A-SMGCS), the Global Action Plan for the Prevention of Runway Incursions (GAPPRI) and cyber security.

However, we do not have the same level of drone activity as in other European states – though if you want to test your drones in severe weather conditions you are welcome to come to Iceland. We have had problems with drone activity around the eruptions; we had to ban drone flights because the operators wanted to get good pictures at the same time as tourist helicopters were flying above also trying to get good pictures – meanwhile, commercial flights were landing at the Keflavik airport in close proximity to the volcanic site.

By enhanced collaboration and coordination. By seamless data sharing and integration of data sources, reducing the risk of miscommunication and delays, ensuring smooth transitions across regions. By optimisation routes and considering more flexibility in terms of ATM. But I don’t necessarily think that Iceland will bring many new things to the table when it comes to the TBO concept.

What we can bring to the table is the experience of working across continents, working closely with all our neighbours in the International Civil Aviation Organization North Atlantic (ICAO NAT) region for the last few decades, work that has been focused on collaboration and cooperation, while at the same time respecting different regulatory frameworks, different processes and procedures. Work that has always been focused on finding the way forward that unites and serves the needs of all parties.

We have recovered strongly from COVID (see Iceland’s enormous reach across the Atlantic) but we don’t expect to see this level of growth continue over the next few years.

Icelanders don’t have many options when travelling out of the country or inviting others to visit us. This has made aviation important for the people living here and we need the industry to be sustainable. We are working in the same direction as our neighbouring countries regarding fuel efficiency and other measures to reduce carbon emissions. I believe that our location can also be an important factor in reducing the environmental impact. An extensive network with good connectivity and utilisation helps to reduce the negative impact. The current combination of transit and tourism makes it possible for us to travel and improves the quality of life in Iceland.