The Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) have launched a virtual training course on the ICAO Global Reporting Format for Runway Surface Conditions (GRF). The GRF establishes new ICAO methodology for assessing and reporting runway surface conditions aimed at improved flight crew assessment of takeoff and landing performance. The methodology takes effect on November 4.
The partners designed the online course specifically for air traffic controllers, aeronautical information service staff, and civil aviation authority representatives. It requires about three hours of study to be completed over six months.
“The GRF is coming into effect in six months’ time, and we’re keen to ensure the industry is prepared for this,” said CANSO director general Simon Hocquard. “This training course will explain the requirements and processes for effective runway condition assessment and reporting, and ultimately help ANSPs and civil aviation authorities enhance runway safety worldwide.”
The course content has undergone preliminary review by state and regional regulatory bodies to ensure that it complies with the GRF training requirement. In a statement, IATA called the training partnership the first of its kind between the three international organizations and said it establishes a platform for future collaboration on global safety enhancement activities.
“Runway safety continues to remain aviation’s biggest safety challenge, representing more than half of all accidents reported to ICAO for commercial operations,” said ICAO secretary-general Dr. Fang Liu. “We have been collaborating in recent years on numerous initiatives to reduce runway safety-related accidents and incidents worldwide, and the hard work undertaken to forge international consensus on the new GRF, in addition to this new collaborative training course supporting it, should help to deliver substantial runway safety performance improvements.”