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In connection with the complicated epidemiological situation in the country, as of November 16, 2020, BULATSA suspends the holding of English language proficiency examinations (TEA) for non-BULATSA employees.

BULATSA Academy renews the exams for new air traffic controllers. Those wishing to submit documents for the autumn selection can do so until 17.00 o’clock on October 30.

Due to the situation with COVID 19, the management of BULATSA cancelled the spring session, but the reception and processing of documents has not stopped. The economic crisis caused by the pandemic had a serious impact on the transport sector, forcing BULATSA to reconsider its plans for the future, but still BULATSA decided to continue the selection of air traffic controllers, albeit with a slight reduction in the numbers required. The aim is to continue the practice of conducting two selections per year, in the spring and autumn.

BULATSA Academy is part of the Bulgarian Air Traffic Services Authority and is the only certified in Bulgaria organization for training of air traffic controllers, according to the requirements of the European Union and the applicable national legislation. The training of the approved candidates lasts about a year and a half, during which time a scholarship is provided for them. Upon successful completion of the course, the future air traffic controllers receive certificates of competency that meet the established international standards and can begin to practice the profession.

Those wishing to work as air traffic controllers must be under the age of 31, with a university degree, a minimum bachelor’s degree (regardless of major) and a good command of English – level B2. Anyone who does not have a valid level certificate will be able to take a free test at the BULATSA centres in Sofia, Varna and Burgas. In the selection of candidates for air traffic controllers, BULATSA uses FEAST and WOMBAT tests. If failing the FEAST and WOMBAT psychomotor tests, the candidate will be re-admitted to a next selection of air traffic controllers, after not less than 24 months from the date of the previous appearance, whereby not more than two appearances on each of the tests is allowed.

More information about the individual stages of the exams can be found HERE.

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BULATSA ASSIST principle: How to effectively sustain safe operations

Georgi Peev, BULATSA Director General, gives an insight as to how his ANSP has been coping with the challenges of COVID-19

As someone who worked as an air traffic controller, I had been extensively trained to act quickly and decisively in abnormal situations. At such times the well-known ASSIST principles kicked in – Acknowledge, Separate, Silence, Inform, Support, Time – a mnemonic to help air traffic controllers and the pilots handle the unknown. Of course, this is not a silver bullet and the hours spent training for it cannot guarantee a perfect outcome every time. The other crucial factor in times of distress is that you had a strong team beside you and everyone acts as one.

If I draw a parallel between the ASSIST logic and the way BULATSA handled the current challenging situation, I can describe our actions as follows.

Acknowledge: We recognised the potentially hazardous situation in its very early stages. BULATSA started preparing for a serious scenario in mid-February, much earlier than the national emergency was announced on 13 March. Our first goal was to ensure that this new situation was well-understood and acknowledged by all of us. A special management team was assigned to deal with the coming challenges. We were monitoring and analysing the available data and news on a daily basis to elaborate our immediate responses based on different escalating scenarios, including a variety of traffic predictions.

Separate: We needed to act fast to protect the most important company asset – our people. We established and maintained separation between the different types of employees – operational, technical and administrative, in order to contain the risk if an outbreak happened. Additional distancing was established between ATCOs in their working positions, and four separate fixed teams of ATCOs and ATSEPs were created. Most administrative staff started working from home.

All of these measures ensured the continued good health and confidence of our people. Having healthy operational and technical staff with good time and space distancing, who are well informed, trained and kept competent, allows BULATSA to apply flexible sector configuration in response to the traffic demand. Key safety measures like professional awareness of issues and limitations are also of great value.   

As the pandemic quickly transitioned to economic, financial and liquidity crisis, we had to clearly distinguish the highest priority activities and projects to be kept alive and going, such as safety management system maintenance, performance planning and forecasting, upgrade of the Automated ATC system with new FRA and DLS functionalities, civil-military coordination activities, common requirements regulation compliance. Some of the other projects and activities were put on hold waiting for better times and proper funding.

Silence: As management we kept the highest possible level of care and understanding in the lock-down period.  People needed some time to understand, accept and manage the crisis personally and professionally.

Adapting was not an easy task for any of us, but having a clear focus and the support of your colleagues always helps.

Inform: The information flow is essential for keeping up good spirits in the company. In today’s digital society, in which there are so many sources, the quality of information is absolutely critical. We started a few open channel platforms for ATCOs and other staff through which every single employee can get the necessary information, ask questions and hear what the management is doing. Topics cover all aspects of our employees’ remote working, teamwork, lessons learnt, the financial and economic impact on our activities and remuneration, and the geopolitical situation.

Support: At a personal level all our activities aim to provide a safe and managed transition to the new normal, whatever that could be. At the organisational level we use all possible supporting mechanisms – we are thankful to our CAA and government, the Network Manager, CANSO and fellow ANSPs for the open information sharing mechanisms. We keep in touch and will hopefully find ways to support European aviation.  

Time: We are very aware that the COVID-19 crisis will be here for a while. We will need time for us and the rest of the aviation industry to recover from this and to adapt to the new normal. BULATSA’s team and I are determined to overcome the current situation, and by doing so I am confident we will emerge stronger.

In conclusion I would recall my ACC instructor saying – “If you want the best, be ready for the worst”. And from a management perspective I would add – rely on your people and act. Whatever uncertainties there might be we should never stop looking for opportunities and keep an eye on the possible risks. The future is what we can create in our own thoughts right now.

The article is initially published in CANSO blog.

Five professional organizations working in the field of air navigation services – the Air Traffic Controllers European Unions Coordination (ATCEUC), the European Transport Federation (ETF), the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations (IFATCA), the International Federation of Air Traffic Safety Electronics Associations (IFATSEA) and the International Federation of Aeronautical Information Management Associations (IFAIMA) – call in a joint statement on the members of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) of the European Parliament for urgent measures to support the Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) to ensure the sustainability and recovery of the sector after the crisis. The professional organizations express their strong discontent with the proposed by the European Commission changes in the regulatory mechanisms set for the period 2020 – 2024. The organizations express their discontent with the proposals of the European Commission for measures that would jeopardize the activity and quality of services, the preservation of key jobs and maintaining the current working conditions. ANSP’s revenues depend entirely on the payments of the airlines and do not depend on the state budgets and aid. ANSPs are facing huge financial difficulties since the beginning of the crisis. They are caused by the lack of revenue from the airlines, which postponed the payment of service fees for subsequent years, and the lack of traffic. The statement emphasizes that in the short term, ANSPs are fighting the risk of financial insolvency and that the long-term strategic investments in technology and human resources, which are key to ensuring a digitally sustainable European sky, are jeopardized. Link to the document: http://www.atceuc.org/documents/pdf/joint-psos/–letter-to-members-of-tran-committee.197.html

The entire world is experiencing unprecedented times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtually all industries and businesses have been impacted but the aviation industry has been one of the worst affected, due to the travel restrictions imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19. Air traffic around the world has reduced by 80-90% compared to last year.

Amid this pandemic, Air Traffic Management (ATM) staff and, in particular, air traffic controllers continue to work, keeping our skies safe. They provide an essential service to the medical, humanitarian, military, repatriation and cargo flights still taking place. International organisations, governments, regulators and Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) must ensure continuity of operations while complying with the health and sanitary requirements that this situation demands. They must also provide sufficient financial and regulatory support to the ANSPs to fulfil their mission.

The current situation highlights that Air Navigation Services are part of a country’s critical infrastructure, playing a key role in the distribution of much-needed medical supplies to address this health crisis. Regrettably, the funding of this critical infrastructure is at risk due to the flawed financing mechanism that includes airspace users wanting to defer the payment of route charges already incurred. This will severely impact both the current and future operation of ANSPs.

Although it is not clear when commercial air traffic will start to recover, it will undoubtedly happen and ANSPs must remain ready to cope safely and efficiently with rising demand. It is paramount that Sates provide ANSPs and the ATM critical infrastructure with the required financial support throughout this crisis and during the recovery period. IFATCA believes that stopping training, laying off highly qualified staff and/or implementing irreversible cost-reduction measures will delay the recovery of the aviation industry and should be avoided at all cost.

In Europe, all changes in the ATM industry in the last 20 years have been made under the umbrella of the Single European Sky (SES) initiative. The SES has focused almost exclusively on cost and capacity even though cost-efficiency cannot be the sole objective of a critical infrastructure. This narrow focus has led to a performance scheme that focusses primarily on the ability to balance cost and capacity. While the scheme is managed by the European Commission, airlines have had a huge influence on the scheme, essentially determining how ANSPs are operated and financed.

With a financing system focussed solely on performance, it is not hard to predict that the current crisis will force ANSPs to again look at stopping training, laying off staff, reducing salaries and, in general, taking short-cuts wherever possible to maintain a minimum level of service. Similar measures taken during the 2008 financial crisis, resulted in grid-locked European skies and escalating delays and costs.

While the European Commission and the States are concentrating on how to effectively respond to this crisis, reacting to this threat should not be the sole focus. We must look at this pandemic as a once in a lifetime opportunity. An opportunity to be proactive and anticipate future needs, to evaluate the current mechanisms with a critical eye and to use our experience to avoid repeating past mistakes. Only then will we be able to safeguard the safe, orderly and expeditious flow of air traffic in the face of current and future challenges.

IFATCA is calling upon the European States* to:

1. Recognise that the provision of Air Navigation Services is a critical infrastructure which plays a key role in the resolution of crisis situations.

2. Make sure that the provision of Air Navigation Services is financially supported to overcome this crisis and ensure that sufficient essential qualified staff is available when commercial air traffic returns.

3. Stop the Single European Sky performance scheme until the wider implications of this crisis are fully understood and it is possible to evaluate the suitability or not of the scheme going forward.

4. Implement airspace management measures to enable much-needed coherent and coordinated responses to future crises, be it humanitarian, cyber or financial.

We kindly ask you to involve IFATCA and the key operational staff it represents in the decision-making and the work carried out to address this crisis. IFATCA is offering to put the experience of its members to develop and support sound solutions to ensure the sustainability of the Safety, continuity and orderly flow of the ATC services in the European Airspace(s).

Amsterdam, 20 March 2020: The COVID-19 pandemic has plunged the aviation industry into an unprecedented crisis, and action is needed now to maintain the stability and resilience of the whole aviation system, and to keep our skies safe in the future. CANSO – the association that represents the air traffic management (ATM) industry – strongly urges States to protect air navigation service providers (ANSPs) from financial collapse.

The ATM industry is under severe pressure. ANSP revenues are directly related to the volume of air traffic they control and so they are extremely vulnerable to the dramatic decrease in air traffic currently being experienced across the globe.

 “The current crisis has unfortunately hit our airline customers hard, but airlines deferring payment or not paying at all for air navigation services is absolutely not the solution,” said CANSO Director General, Simon Hocquard. “We need to make sure we do not create long term damage to the aviation system and avoid one company’s solution being another’s problem.”

“Unlike the airlines, we cannot suspend operations and lay off a large proportion of our staff,” Simon explained. “We have to continue to keep our operations running safely, to keep our sectors manned in order to ensure the safe transit of aircraft including cargo flights delivering vital medical supplies and food. We cannot close our airspace, we still have flights to manage, albeit at a reduced level. The airlines and society rely on the ANSPs to provide a safe service when the traffic comes back, and so the ANSPs must be kept solvent as well as the airlines.”

As well as keeping their employees healthy and safe, many ANSPs are introducing operational measures aimed at helping the industry as much as possible such as removing constraints to shorten routes and maximise flight efficiency. They are also deploying cost containment measures but a decrease in revenue could significantly impair their ability to safely and seamlessly handle traffic when the volumes inevitably pick up again.

“Air traffic management is a critical part of our national infrastructures and we must protect it. That starts by making sure we do not cut off the essential revenue stream that enables them to provide a vital and safe service today and, in the future.” Simon Hocquard added.

CANSO urges national decision-makers to enable financial support for the ANSPs, airlines, airports, handling agents all of which would help to ensure stability and resilience of the entire aviation industry.

In connection with the declared state of emergency in the country due to the spread of COVID-19, BULATSA cancels the spring session for recruitment of air traffic controllers. The candidates who have already submitted documents will be included in the fall session.

BULATSA started implementing restrictive measures to limit the spread of the virus to the maximum extent possible.

The admission of application documents continues throughout the year and everyone wishing to study at BULATSA Academy can register online through www.bulatsa.com .

Let us be responsible and limit the contacts to the maximum, following the recommendations of the National Operational Headquarters!