In exceptional recognition of Bosnian-Herzegovinian expertise, the knowledge and experience of the Bosnia and Herzegovina Air Navigation Services Agency (BHANSA) is being used as a template for a challenging project by the Danish air navigation service provider NAVIAIR, in taking over air traffic management over Greenland from Canada and Iceland. It is worth noting that the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation, EUROCONTROL, recommended BHANSA to Danes to seek advice for sharing experiences.
Project Silaannarput and Collaboration with BHANSA
With the implementation of the project named Silaannarput, scheduled for 2031, NAVIAR intends to leverage the experience and knowledge of BHANSA experts gained during the project of taking control of Bosnia and Herzegovina's airspace from neighboring countries, Serbia and Croatia. A series of meetings with Danish colleagues have already taken place, during which BHANSA’s staff shared their successful approach to taking control of Bosnia and Herzegovina's airspace, an event much acclaimed in the world of air traffic management (ATM). Taking control over the airspace is an extremely complex project, divided into clearly defined phases that are highly demanding from technical, infrastructural, economic, regulatory, and international-legal standpoints. One particularly challenging aspect is ensuring a sufficient number of trained air traffic controllers before the project's implementation.
Focus on a Comprehensive Air Traffic Controller Training Program
Therefore, the Danish team has expressed special interest in implementing a comprehensive air traffic controller training program modeled after BHANSA's, still the largest single project for training air traffic controllers in Europe. The principles of this program, with an emphasis on practical on-the-job (OJTI) training in other countries’ control centers, the Danes plan to adopt in educating their controllers for the Greenland project. During the meeting, the importance of close cooperation and coordination with neighboring air navigation service providers (ANSPs) in the jurisdiction transition process was also emphasized, to ensure high operational efficiency and safety of the airspace at all times.
Challenges of Successful Implementation
BHANSA Director Davorin Primorac expressed pride in the Danish initiative for international cooperation in air traffic management (ATM). "The lack of direct financial assistance from the state, which our Danish colleagues fortunately can rely on, makes BHANSA's success even greater in their eyes. I sincerely hope that our cooperation with NAVIAR will turn into a lasting partnership and serve as a model for similar ATM projects worldwide." Primorac emphasized that the challenges BHANSA faced during the process of taking control of Bosnia and Herzegovina's airspace, including security, legal, and regulatory aspects, and cooperation with EUROCONTROL, were openly shared with Danish colleagues. Representatives from the Bosnia and Herzegovina Directorate of Civil Aviation (BHDCA) also participated in the meeting clarifying the regulatory framework for the transition of jurisdiction between different air navigation service providers.
Importance of Global Cooperation in ATM
Anna Eva Villefrance, Director of NAVIAR's Air Traffic Control Center in Greenland, also highlighted the value of the established partnership, describing it as "an excellent experience in knowledge sharing." She stressed that collaboration of this kind is a unique example of successfully managing a complex project filled with various challenges, emphasizing the importance of international cooperation in the ATM sector. The visit of the NAVIAR team responsible for implementing the Silaannarput project to BHANSA's Area Control Center in Sarajevo marks the beginning of a long transitional period during which continued cooperation is expected, aimed at a smooth Danish takeover of air traffic management over their territory in Greenland.
Collaboration with NAVIAR is a clear indication of the importance of the global exchange of ATM expertise and surely opens new chapters in international cooperation in air traffic management. Naviair and BHANSA’s CEOs, Anders Rex and Davorin Primorac, had the opportunity to meet at Airspace World in Geneva in March 2024, where opportunities for collaboration were discussed.
The BHANSA team is proud to contribute to this significant project of their Danish colleagues and remains committed to sharing knowledge and experience to improve global safety and efficiency in air traffic management.
