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EUROCONTROL / IFATCA 2008: a collaborative approach to the future > Operating the network
Pierre Tran assesses the role of the English language in air traffic control and outlines
the contents of EUROCONTROL’s English Language Proficiency for Aeronautical
Communication test
Talking the talk
Clear communication is key to air safety –
a concern addressed by a new test for
English language proficiency in the air
traffic controller (ATCO) community.
“Communication is the vital link
between controllers and pilots,” says Patrik
Peters, Executive Vice-President for
Europe, International Federation for Air
Traffic Controllers’ Associations
(IFATCA). “Without this link there is no
air traffic control.”
In the complex environment of air traffic
management, the human factor looms
large, so anything that reduces uncertainty
in voice communication must be a plus in
the equation.
As the international airline industry took
a hard look at communication between
pilots and air traffic controllers, it became
clear there was work to be done in the area
of language proficiency.
“Demands for language proficiency
to enhance air safety led to
EUROCONTROL’s work on the English
Language Proficiency for Aeronautical
Communication [ELPAC] test,” says
Michel Pistre, head of the Training
Development and Harmonisation Unit
which developed it in the framework of
the EUROCONTROL SENSE
programme. Since pilots can ask the
controller for English to be used, if they
do not speak the local language, this shifts
the linguistic problem to the level of
English spoken by the controller at the
ATC microphone.
Adrian Enright, project manager for
EUROCONTROL’s English language
proficiency test, as well as a member of the
International Civil Aviation Organisation
(ICAO) Study Group that developed the
new Standards, notes that although
English has become the de facto language
of international aeronautical
communication, there has been a lack of
any defined level of proficiency.
Furthermore, Enright says: “US airlines
and the Federal Aviation Administration
were notable in pushing for improved
international standards in radiotelephony
communications, in light of accidents in
Asia and other regions of the world, where
poor voice communication between
aircrew and ground control were identified
as a weak link.”
Development work on ELPAC began in
February 2005 and, after trialling some 700
air traffic controllers, EUROCONTROL
formally launched the ELPAC test on 6
September 2007. The assessment tool is
now available to National Supervisory
Authorities and air navigation service
providers of EUROCONTROL and the
European Civil Aviation Conference
Member States. The test comes just in
time. ICAO has stipulated that, as of 5
March 2008, air traffic controllers and
pilots must demonstrate proficiency in the
languages used in aeronautical
communication. English shall also be
available on request to pilots flying in
international airspace and on international
routes. The European Commission,
meanwhile, has set 17 May 2010 as its date
for English language proficiency under the
Common European ATC licence. This will
apply to all holders of an air traffic
controller or student controller licence in
the European Union (EU).
At the recent 36th assembly of ICAO,
it was recognised that although States
made efforts to comply with the March
2008 deadline, some encountered
difficulties complying with the target
date. Therefore, it has been decided to
allow them a three-year extension,
provided they make their implementation
plans and risk mitigation measures
available to all other contracting States.
The social implications of the new
requirements are far reaching because a
failure in the test potentially means
suspending or revoking the controller’s
licence, and loss of employment. Thus,
taking the test means playing for high
stakes; not just for the individual
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controller, but the level of service provided
by the national organisation. But it is not
all negative. Apart from the obvious
benefits to flight safety, improved job
mobility within the EU is seen as one of
the positives of passing the test. And a
standardised assessment will focus official
attention on vocational language training,
which will hopefully lead to an overall
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