Envisaging the future air traffic management system

The International Civil Aviation Organization (2005) Global Operational Concept proposes significant changes to the organization and delivery of air traffic management(ATM) services in the next 15 years. The aim of this article is to envisage the potential impact that these changes could have on the organization of work, the allocation of roles and responsibilities, and the demands that are placed on the people in those roles. The analysis is carried out using an abstraction hierarchy, analyzing the changes in the purpose and priorities of the future ATM system, the functions that it performs, the way that these functions might be allocated, and the types of displays and decision support tools that people will require to carry out these functions