Last week, over 100 CATCA members attended the ‘Communicating For Safety’ (CFS) conference, hosted by our NATCA colleagues in Las Vegas. This event, organized by NATCA for the past 25 years, has grown into one of the world’s premier safety conferences. We had an incredible turnout, with 84 CATCA members attending as part of their ‘Fam Flight’ entitlements, while others joined on their own time, recognizing the immense value of this opportunity to learn about our profession and the aviation industry.
This year’s theme, ‘Navigating the Future Together,’ resonated strongly with our membership, as the topics and discussions held over the three days were highly relevant to our work. As usual, the conference closed with The Archie awards dinner in which each NATCA region recognized one controller or team for their outstanding work in the assurance of safety during a certain event. Ours is an occupation that operates largely ‘behind the scenes’ and with little fanfare and it was great to see fellow controllers being recognized for what we do. Feedback from our members was overwhelmingly positive.
Click here for the full agenda for this year and the dates for next year’s conference: https://www.natca.org/events/cfs/.
During his keynote address, FAA Administrator Michael Whittaker highlighted issues that closely mirror those we face here in Canada: addressing fatigue, investing in regulatory oversight, fostering a just culture, managing the inherent safety risks of short-staffing, and prioritizing people and collaboration. His recognition that staffing approaches must account for future growth—and not just replace retiring controllers—was especially refreshing. Whittaker also stressed the FAA’s commitment to investing and improving not only technology, but also infrastructure, and enhancing the quality and comfort of workspaces for air traffic services (ATS) staff. These themes clearly resonated with our members.
Across the various panels, workshops, and presentations, there was no shortage of valuable insights for our members. Personally, my biggest takeaway was the high level of engagement and professionalism shown by CATCA attendees. The genuine interest in the state of the industry and our profession was clear throughout the three days, and our members’ passion for their work was on full display. The strong participation in the Professional Standards workshop, attended by many CATCA members, reaffirmed this.
NATCA leadership has reached out and expressed their gratitude for CATCA’s involvement and support of the conference and for our members’ participation and professionalism. For those who couldn’t attend this year, I highly encourage you to consider attending next year.
Finally, I want to extend special thanks to Prairie RVP Jerry Brodt, who worked tirelessly before and throughout the conference to ensure a positive experience for many CATCA members.
Nick von Schoenberg
President