The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) held the Seventh Meeting of the Asia/Pacific Air Traffic Flow Management Steering Group (ATFM SG/7) and the Sixth Meeting of the Asia/Pacific Meteorological Requirements Working Group (MET/R WG/6) in Fukuoka, Japan, from 15 to 19 May 2017. The meetings included a joint session on the second day (16 May) and a joint technical tour to the Air Traffic Management Center (ATMC) of the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) on the afternoon of the fourth day (18 May). The joint session drew around 90 attendees from 16 states/administrations (Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong (China), India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the United States of America and Viet Nam) and three international organizations (the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Associations (IFATCA) and ICAO). Around 30 staff from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) were also present at MET/R WG/6 (including the joint session) in an organizational role.
MET/R WG/6 began with opening remarks from the Director-General of JMA's Fukuoka Regional Headquarters, Takuya Deshimaru. In a keynote address titled Increasing Need for ATM-tailored MET Information, Masashi Kunitsugu — the Director of JMA's Aeronautical Meteorology Division — highlighted the rapid expansion of air traffic in the Asia/Pacific region and the resulting increased need for more advanced and precise air traffic management (ATM) services as well as ATM-tailored meteorological services. He also briefly covered ATM-tailored meteorological services in Japan and related regional activities to which JMA has contributed, and noted JMA's appreciation for the importance of user feedback in the development of such dedicated services.
During the meeting, experts shared information and discussed the establishment/implementation of specialized meteorological services to support ATM operations. Details of Japanese ATM-tailored meteorological services and related regional activities briefly covered in the keynote address (such as services of the Air Traffic Meteorology Center (ATMetC), Himawari-8/9 and related products, volcanic ash exercises in the region, and the collaborative SIGMET issuance demonstration project) were provided in JMA presentations. One of these, titled Collaboration between MET and ATM, was jointly presented by ATM (JCAB) and MET (JMA). It featured a case study on collaborative action for effective air traffic flow management (ATFM) against strong winds affecting aircraft operation around Tokyo International Airport and Narita International Airport based on joint analysis by JCAB and JMA.
After four days of information sharing and lively discussion among various regional experts, a number of areas for further improvement were identified. One draft conclusion was made on the development of regional guidance for MET information supporting ATM. An ad hoc group had been drafting this guidance since the fourth meeting in 2015 with the expectation of its approval as version 1 at the 21st Meeting of the ICAO Asia/Pacific Meteorology Sub-group (MET SG/21). The ad hoc group was tasked with drafting version 2 with the incorporation of outcomes to be provided by the MET SG and ATM Sub-group. For further details, see the ICAO webpage at https://www.icao.int/APAC/Meetings/Pages/2017-MET-R-WG6_MET-ATM-Seminar.aspx.
