PHNOM PENH: On 2 June 2022, the Aeronautical Information Management Awareness Workshop for Aeronautical Data Originators was held at the Phnom Penh Hotel, organized by Cambodia Air Traffic Services Company Limited (CATS), the air navigation service provider in Cambodia, in collaboration with the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA).
Opening the workshop, the Managing Director of CATS, Theeraphat Kulkijkamjorn, welcomed everyone in attendance, and said he was very grateful and honored to have the presence of the Minster in Charge of the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, Gen. Dr. Mao Havannall, as well as the delegation and participants from SSCA, presiding over the workshop event.
He said that CATS has been working with SSCA to ensure that all the 21 steps of the ICAO Roadmap for the Transition from Aeronautical Information Services (AIS) will be implemented as per requirements, with CATS as the chosen service provider of Aeronautical Information Management (AIM). He added that in order to fulfill this responsibility, it was necessary for CATS to expand the capacity development of its system and human resources, which is why CATS has chosen German aviation tech developer, Indra-Avitech, as its partner for providing the AIM System and capacity building.
There is still a lot of work that must be done to ensure the smooth transition from AIS to AIM, hence, the CATS Managing Director called for the participation, contribution and commitment from all stakeholders of aviation related organizations, such as regulators and operators of airports, air navigation, meteorology, search and rescue, air defense and others
Delivering his speech, the Minster in Charge of the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, Gen. Dr. Mao Havannall, said that Cambodia's aviation industry was constantly expanding up until 2020, when the unprecedented event of the global pandemic occurred. However, he said that under the prudent leadership of Prime Minister Hun Sen, the aviation industry is finally getting back on track.
In this year and the next, three new international airports are scheduled to open their operations, meaning that the aviation sector in Cambodia needs new technologies and concepts powered by high-quality aeronautical data to accommodate higher traffic demands while keeping airspace operations safe.
The Minister underlined that corrupt or erroneous aeronautical data could potentially affect the safety of air navigation, thus Cambodia commits to implement the transition from AIS to AIM at an utmost priority, with recognition of the ICAO requirements, the ICAO Global Air Navigation Plan (GANP), the Declaration of Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Civil Aviation, the Asia Pacific and the ASEAN Air Navigation Plan, that set out regional expectations and priorities on the transition from the legacy paper-centric AIS to a digital data-centric AIM.
He concluded his speech by saying he is confident that this workshop will provide positive results which will be able to create an even safer airspace.
The Aeronautical Information Management Awareness Workshop for Aeronautical Data Originators was organized to raise awareness among aviation-related organizations about the requirements of Aeronautical Information Management of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The workshop also aims to establish understanding and collaboration among the AIM stakeholders in order to produce aeronautical data and information needed for the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) for the safety, efficiency and regularity of flight operations and all users of airports and airspace in Cambodia.
