Reorganization of Meteorological Services at the International Civil Aviation Organization and Its Implications on the Provision of Meteorological Information for International Air Navigation

In 2014, the Air Navigation Bureau (ANB) of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) completed a major internal reorganization. Included in this reorganization was the disbanding of the Meteorological Section within the ANB and the establishment of a Meteorology (MET) Panel (METP) under the ICAO Air Navigation Commission (ANC). The METP is currently composed of 17 experts from State MET Authorities aviation user/stakeholder groups, (e.g., International Air Transport Association (IATA)), and scientific organizations, (e.g., World Meteorological Organization). The principal function of the METP is to develop the requirements for and facilitate the provision of meteorological information and services necessary to meet the identified needs of aviation decision-makers. A significant and recent change in how ICAO views meteorological services is that MET information is now considered an enabler in supporting the operational service needs defined by other ICAO panels. These panels include the Air Traffic Management Requirements Performance Panel (ATMRPP), and the Information Management Panel (IMP) that has oversight for the planned implementation of the System Wide Information Management System (SWIM).

The METP is organized into the following four working groups: MET Requirements Information, MET Information and Services Development, MET Information Exchange, and MET Operations Group. This paper will describe the mission of the METP as defined by the ANC and how the four working groups will collaborate to define the Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) for meteorological services for international air navigation in support of the ICAO Global Air Navigation Plan (GANP). The challenge forthe METP is to understand the operational needs of the user community, identify the information gaps in current services, and develop the functional and performance requirements to meet the operational needs. Additionally, the METP will oversee the implementation of those services necessary to meet the operational needs. This paper will illustrate how that process will work and identify the highest priority services that need to be implemented by 2018, as directed by the ANC.