Pacific Islands Aviation Weather Services (PIAWS) Panel
The PIAWS Panel was established by PMC in Tonga in 2015, to provide technical advise on matters pertaining to Aviation Services and the implementation of the Quality Management System (QMS).
Purpose
According to the Terms of Reference, the PIAWS Panel aims to:
The purpose of PIAWS Panel is to provide technical advice to PMC on matters relating to aeronautical meteorological services including cost recovery, quality management and competency standards.
Roles and Responsibilities
a.) The establishment of linkages, coordination, discussion and liaison with the WMO Regional Association V (South-West Pacific) Working Group on Weather Services’ Task Team of Quality Management System (RA V WG-WX/TT-QMS), Task Team on Training, Competencies and Qualifications (RA V-WX/TT-TRG), and Task Team on Cost Recovery (RA V WX/TT-CR);
b.) The establishment of linkages, coordination, discussion and liaison with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Regional Office for Asia and Pacific (ROAP) including attending some of APAC MET annual meetings to ensure that the Panel and APAC MET groups are able share information and possible avoiding duplication of efforts with the aim of assisting in resolving deficiencies and improving compliance with relevant ICAO standards and recommended practices;
c.)The establishment of linkages, coordination, discussion and liaison with the WMO Commission for Aeronautical Meteorology (CAeM) Expert Team on Governance (ET-GOV) with the aim:
i.) To establish appropriate governance and business model and/or set up of a pilot project on cost recovery with one or more countries to test possible solutions designed specifically for the case of Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) that would allow countries participating in service provision to benefit from the air navigation services charges attributed to aeronautical meteorological services;
ii.) To provide guidance on the development of underpinning national legislation and regulation;
iii.) To consider a regional cooperation approach in service provision in the Pacific and address related governance issues;
d.) The establishment of linkages, coordination, discussion and liaison with other Expert Teams of the WMO CAeM as needed to address identified regional issues;
e.) The establishment of linkages, coordination, discussion and liaison with the Pacific Aviation Safety Office (PASO) with the aim of promoting the importance of enhanced aeronautical meteorological services and their contribution to safety and efficiency of air transport in the region;
f.) The exploration of opportunities to intensify assistance including bi-lateral twinning agreements and development of a regional target of resolving deficiencies related to the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) with special focus on compliance with quality management, competency standards and provision of requisite services required by ICAO and WMO regulatory documents;
g.) The establishment of a regional roadmap for phased improvements of the meteorological service to aviation addressing all PMC-3 Recommendations related to aeronautical meteorology, and to consider:
i.) The exploration of opportunities of deployment of advanced technological solutions through a regional collaborative approach with strong focus on improved 24/7 airport weather observations and reports, effective and efficient communications for timely data exchange, monitoring of aviation hazards including volcanic ash, and updating the airport climatological summaries;
Note: It is well understood that improved aerodrome observations would contribute to national data collection and, in the long run, climate data sets.
ii.) The exploration of opportunities for improved forecasts for aviation with linkages to the regional Severe Weather Forecasting and Disaster Risk Reduction Demonstration Project (SWFDDP);
ii) Liaison with the user community, in particular major airlines, to receive feed-back on their concerns and needs of improved meteorological service in the region;
h.) The regular reporting to PMC members on the progress of PIAWS Panel;
i.) The reporting to PMC.
Activities
The Kick-Start Meeting of the PIAWS Panel in Nadi, Fiji, on 29 October 2015. In 2016, the Second Session of PIAWS Panel was held in Suva Fiji on 27 May 2016. The PIAWS Panel held its Third Session in Honiara, Solomon Islands on 2 September 2016. In 2017, the PIAWS Panel held its Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Meeting by teleconference on April 21st, May 30th, June 9th and July 14th. The Eight Session of the PIAWS Panel will take place on 12 August 2017 at PMC-4 in Honiara, Solomon Islands.
Future Work
The PIAWS Panel will present of the following items (Agenda Item 12) at PMC-4 in Honiara, Solomon Islands on 15 August 2017:
12.1) Progress on the PIAWS Panel including outcomes of related regional and international meetings and surveys
12.2) Compliance with ICAO requirements including Annex 3, QMS (ISO 9001-2015) CAR Document/ Part 174 and competency assessment and capacity development of AMOs and AMFs.
12.2.1) Compliance with ICAO Annex 3
12.2.2) QMS ISO 9001-2015
12.2.3) CAR Document Part 174
12.2.4) Competency assessment and capacity development for AMOs and AMFs.
12.3) Cost recovery for aviation weather services.
12.4) Future Work of the Pacific Island Aviation Weather Services (PIAWS) Panel including Terms of Reference.
Secretariat Support
The Pacific Meteorological Desk Partnership at SPREP provides the secretariat support for the panel.
Contact Details
For more information, please contact Henry Taiki ([email protected]) and Alexander Montoro ([email protected]).