The Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) is releasing a paper which defines its position on the separation of regulations from service provisions and lays down a set of principles to be followed.

"We strongly believe that the responsibility for air navigation services - and especially safety - rests with the service providers. However, external regulators must oversee them to ensure that proper standards are developed and maintained. This is in the interest of the flying public, the airlines and airports, and of the service providers themselves," says Derek McLauchlan, CANSO secretary general.

CANSO, as the representative organisation for the independent air navigation service (ANS) providers, believes that the industry would benefit from both a common understanding of the benefits of separation and a consistent implementation of the concept.

The Geneva-based organisation says it has studied closely the linkage between ATS provision and regulation, and this report examines the concept by: Detailing the case of separating service provisions from regulations; proposing a role for the service provider; defining service provisions; defining regulations; identifying the regulators.

The report will be available for distribution on and after the end of November, 2000. For more information, contact external relations manager Ilona Pongracz, tel: +41 22 417 44 15.