50 Years of ANSA

Serving air traffic control

On February 27, 2017 ANSA celebrated its 50th anniversary. Over the many years, its members from 22 countries had participated in a dozen air navigation projects in as many countries. As one of the first unique professional associations of the german aviation industry sector of this kind, its name had spread wide and become well known for on-time completion of all its assigned tasks.

With greatly reduced activity due to the average high age of its members ANSA looks back in pride to its involvement in projetcs of the International Civil Aviation Organization - ICAO, the European Union, the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation - EUROCONTROL and the various civil aviation authorities (CAA) and their financing institutions like UNDP, EBRD or the EIB.

Besides governmental bodies like the US Federal Aviation Administration FAA, the EU’s directorates VII and XIII, the Russian Federation’s Rosaeronavigatsia, EUROCONTROL and national civil aviation authorities (CAA) good contact could have been maintained with the US Air Force in Europe. Air navigation services providers of Turkey, the Czech Republic, of Aserbaidchan, Libya, Jordan, Bulgaria or Denmark chose ANSA for support.

Non-industrial activities ranged from the arrangement and conduct of aviation exhibition conferences and seminars to expert advice in court, ATS related presentations in Europe and Canada with IFATCA as well as contributions in the international aviation press. Outstanding contributions to the profession were two international studies on the aeronautical information services (AIS) and aeronautical information data (AID), the furtherance of area navigation (RNAV) procedures in flight and the formation of a german air traffic control safety committee in the 1970ies.

Extraordinary achievements were ANSA’s successful intervention on the provision of air traffic control services within the Nicosia FIR during the crisis between Turkey and Cyprus in 1973 and the avoidance of a sentence to prison for the spanish air traffic controller in the Tenerife North aircraft accident with the Danair 1008 flight in 1980.

ANSA's activities and projects have been accompanied over the years by journalistic work in the international aviation press, seminars, lectures and moderation at around 20 trade fairs and conferences. Finally, between 2009 and 2021, a documentation series on the development of air traffic control in Germany between 1919. Further information and access to the book series can be found under Publications.