OneSKY to benefit air travellers
Air travel in Australia will be safer and faster under the OneSKY Air Traffic Management system, delivering economic and environmental benefits to the nation.
Thales is proud to support Australia’s ambition to deliver the world’s most advanced and integrated civil and military air traffic management system, continuing our long partnership with Airservices Australia and the Australian Defence Force.
Thales Australia CEO Chris Jenkins said the delivery of OneSKY was an historic event for Australian aviation and would benefit air travellers, the Air Force, airlines, the economy and the environment.
“This is Australia leading the world and Thales, the world leader in Air Traffic Management systems, has brought together the best team and the best expertise in the world to deliver OneSKY from our ATM Centre of Excellence in Melbourne.
The development and delivery of OneSKY supports 450 highly skilled, high-tech jobs with Thales in Melbourne plus around 200 additional jobs in our Australian supply chain. It builds on the long term investment by Thales and technology transfer that has brought world-leading Air Traffic Management research and development to Melbourne since the early 1990’s, creating a billion dollar export business.
Airservices Australia, the Air Force and the Government are to be congratulated for the leadership being shown in adopting the most advanced global technology for aviation management.
OneSKY will manage all civilian and military air movements across 11% of the earth’s airspace, covering the vast continent of Australia and extending west into the Indian Ocean and east to New Zealand.
It will enable Australia to safely manage and benefit from the rapid increase in air travel over the next 20 years at a time when airspace management is changing significantly.
It uses the latest cutting-edge technology to improve flight co- ordination, safely increase the use of airspace, optimise air traffic flow and improve the way planes approach the runway, resulting in substantial benefits.
For air travellers and the airlines it will mean reduced travel times and fewer delayed flights; improved safety and reduced fuel burn, and for the Air Force, safer co-ordination with civilian air movements at a time when the skies are becoming more complex to manage due to increased use.
All of this adds up to substantial efficiency gains, driving economic benefit for Australia, and environmental gains from reduced CO2 emissions.
This is a large and complex project requiring the highest levels of safety and security. Both Airservices and the Air Force are to be commended for their rigorous approach, fully defining the system requirements, acceptance criteria and schedule ahead of contract signature. This is best practice for a complex critical infrastructure project such as OneSKY.
