Airways New Zealand CEO elected to third term as Chair of Global Air Traffic Organisation

Ashley Smout, CEO of Airways New Zealand, has been elected Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) for a third term of twelve months, at the Organisation’s Annual General Meeting in Kochi, India.


Mr Smout was appointed CEO of Airways New Zealand in 2002, and has since played a leading role in the development of global air navigation services over the last two years in his capacity as Chairman of CANSO.


CANSO is the international body representing air navigation services providers. Based in The Netherlands, its members control 60 percent of the world’s airspace and 80 percent of the world’s air traffic.


Mr Smout said he was honoured to be re-elected for a third term and continue his leadership role in assisting CANSO achieve its objective of global excellence in the provision of air navigation services.


“Globally our industry is facing huge challenges. In Europe air navigation service providers are looking to develop Functional Airspace Blocks as part of their commitment to a Single European Sky. In the United States, the combined pressures of revenue reduction and capacity increases are forcing bold new restructuring efforts. And in the rest of the world the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is pushing many States to improve their operational and safety performance,” said Mr Smout.


“And this is where CANSO comes in. CANSO’s mission is to be the global voice of the Air Traffic Management industry. Its primary goal is to support the improvement of global air navigation service performance through addressing industry issues, to better understand industry best practice, and to develop a network of bilateral and international contacts that can help air navigation service providers run their organisations better.”


“More recently, air navigation service providers have become more cognisant of the important role they can play in mitigating the impact of aircraft operations on the environment, especially in the development of new procedures aimed at reducing aircraft fuel burn and greenhouse gas emissions.”


At the recent CANSO AGM, a new environmental voluntary code of conduct of practice for air navigation service providers was approved.


Prior to being appointed CEO, Mr Smout held the position of Chief Operating Officer from 1999-2002. In this role he was responsible for all the domestic operations of Airways including business planning and strategy development. He has also held various marketing and management positions with New Zealand and international companies.


“I have been fortunate to be supported by a dedicated and skilled group of officials based at CANSO’s secretariat in Amsterdam, in addition to the many representatives of air navigation service organisations around the world who freely give their time and expertise to make global air navigation service more efficient, effective and safe.”


Mr Smout is supported by an Executive Committee including Eugene D Juba, Senior Vice President-Finance, Federal Aviation Administration (USA), Paul Barron, CEO of NATS (UK), Christoph Baubin, CEO and Chairman of Austro Control (Austria), Dr Shri K Ramalingam (Airports Authority of India), Eamonn Brennan (Irish Aviation Authority), Wrenelle Stander (ATNS South Africa), and Monte Belger (Lockheed Martin ATM, USA).