The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) has announced that it is to organise the 7th International Operators Symposium (IOS), with the theme ‘Challenging the Restricted Environment’. It is to be held at The Valparaiso Palace Hotel in Palma de Mallorca from October 27-29, 2002.

Members of the EBAA have suggested that the main daily concerns of business aircraft operators are access, safety and environment. These suggestions generated the theme of the symposium.

Its goal is to enable business aviation operators to cope with the access challenge and to maximise the use of their aircraft by bringing the widest possible range of professional opinion on these issues.

News from the regulators and service providers is that the European Commission will unveil its new ‘Slot Regulation’, while Eurocontrol will reveal its search on maximising the airport capacity with new approach procedures.

The conference will be divided into three working sections: ‘Airport access’, ‘Noise and Environment’ and ‘Safety’, each with a series of case studies.

The first session will attempt to identify how ‘airport access’ is presently managed at coordinated airports and how new slot regulation may benefit business aircraft operators. Ludolf van Hasselt, European Commission Directorate-General Transport, will discuss this issue on Monday October 28, at 0935. Consideration of existing runway approaches and future procedures supported by new technologies will also be carried out in this session. A keynote speech, ‘No Access for Business Aviation without Security Provisions,’ will be presented by Don Spruceton, director general of IBAC at 1440.

The ‘Noise and Environment’ session will include a presentation on the regulator’s position. It will also examine how ‘good neighbour’ practices can be promoted by cooperation and not infringing on the privacy of airport communities, which is detrimental to business aviation.

Guy Visele, president of Aviation Experience, will present ‘European Current and Future Noise Regulations’ on October 29 at 0915.

In the final ‘Safety’ session, experts will unveil new methods of warning and training pilots on icing conditions. Different techniques, procedures and situations will be examined, along with discussion of the human factor.

The EBAA confirms that, as before, visitors will have the opportunity to voice their own views and opinions during the open debate session.

More information is available at www.ebaa.org