Field of Dreams: The Case for a Mid-East “GulfControl”

In a 1989 sports drama filmed in a small town in the central US, actor Kevin Costner, portraying the lead character, hears a voice tell him to “build it and they will come”. The “it” refers to a baseball field that requires him to plow-under his cash crop of corn and await the ostensibly more profitable baseball fans who will supposedly come watch the, unfortunately imaginary, players. At one point in the film, one of Costner’s co-stars describes the potential fans with the words “..its money they have but peace they lack”.  

Fast forward 21 years, substitute the Iowa cornfields with Arabian Gulf airspace and we are now discussing Air Traffic Management issues in the GCC – in particular, the desperately needed rationalization and re-design of what is presently a complicated and costly mix of maladjusted airspace. In essence, the quote from the Field of Dreams can be applied to this same situation; the money is there but, at least on the part of airspace users, the peace of mind is missing.  

The continuing delay in regional ATM progress over such a long span of time is admittedly not due to a shortage of good intent since a number of diverse ATM and government organizations as well as various local air carriers, all with a desire fueled by the need to reduce delays and attendant costs, have been participating in a number of regional meetings and conferences on the subject of ATM modernization. Unfortunately, most of the outcome seems more directed at the development of white papers than the creation of concrete action.

Unlike the characters in the film, the need for action is not a point in debate in the minds of those in senior air transport management in the Gulf States. If we believe the Boeing, Airbus and IATA economic and aircraft delivery forecasts for the region, the Gulf will shortly see serious operational and economic constraints imposed not by the usually cited world-wide shortage of pilots or the unavailability of aircraft financing but rather through an even less widely known but equally disastrous shortage of usable airspace. With estimates of anywhere from 10-15 more runways being planned in the next few years for the Gulf’s land-constrained nations, continuing delay in solving these airspace constraints will be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back, if you pardon the regional analogy. It would be truly unfortunate, and economically untenable for the Gulf’s economies, if the expansion of the air links now widely credited for the region’s financial recovery is short-circuited by a failure of the Gulf States to develop a rational plan to utilize a resource that is in even shorter supply than water – available flight levels.

However, there is a credible and historically workable solution. The creation of EuroControl provides ample evidence of the economic and financial benefits of regionally based ANSP’s as well as the blueprint for the regulatory changes necessary to see a companion “GulfControl” implemented in the mid-East – an area, much like the EU, with similarly disparate political and social demands. Notwithstanding the current angst from some in the European Parliament with an axe to grind against the concept of regionally based ATM operations, there is really no other serious alternative that can hold a candle to the operational improvements and delay-reductions that can be obtained by such an organization were it to gain wide support from local government regulators. The only questions are who pays, who runs it and where is it located. Again, those with the background in the creation of past regional ANSP’s as well as how to design and structure workable airspace are the one’s to turn to in the creation of a plan for economic salvation from the threat of imminent airspace starvation.  

In the film, Costner’s character eventually comes to recognize that the creation of the “Field of Dreams” is more about his legacy than the building of the field itself. Many insiders in the airline industry in the region hope that those in power and influence in the Gulf States will soon come to that same realization.    

Captain Ed Davidson is the former Senior Vice President-Fleet for Emirates Airline in Dubai and is now Program Manager for International Aviation at Tetra Tech AMT based in Arlington, Virginia. TetraTech AMT is an air transport consulting firm.