They have been evading us for three years. Preparations are underway for the grand return

• The expected end to the war in Ukraine will mean the reopening of the skies over the territory of our eastern neighbor.
• For Poland, this will involve a significant increase in transit traffic.
• The Polish Air Navigation Agency is already preparing for this and is conducting intensive training for future air traffic controllers.

The Polish Air Navigation Agency is preparing for a significant increase in air traffic. With the expected end of the war in Ukraine, the sky over Ukraine will be reopened , and probably over Russia in the longer term. Transit traffic, which took place on a large scale before the outbreak of the war, will return to Poland . This will shorten the travel of carriers from Europe to Asian airports.

The Polish Air Navigation Agency has been operating in financial "suspension" for three years

- This is something we diagnosed a year ago and we spent the last few months preparing for it. This is visible in our long-term plans , in which we have a financing framework that we have effectively negotiated and established based on talks with the European Commission and carriers - says Magdalena Jaworska-Maćkowiak, president of the agency.

During the European Economic Congress in Katowice, the head of PAŻP added that the return of this type of traffic will stabilize the financial situation in the agency .

– Normality will return – after years, PAŻP will change its revenue structure. This means that route rates that carriers have to pay will return to normal , they will be reduced. This will happen automatically. Organizationally, we are ready for this return – she emphasized in Katowice.

Record interest in air traffic controller jobs

In order to handle the increased traffic over Poland, PAŻP is currently conducting intensive training for future air traffic controllers.

- We currently have over 200 people at various stages of training. Never before have there been so many people at PAŻP. I dare say that at the moment this is the largest number in the whole of Europe . It is a bit crazy because it requires our training centre to work in three shifts - said the head of PAŻP.

Candidates are trained by PAŻP instructors for two years. They spend the first six months learning the theoretical foundations of the profession, including aviation law, aircraft construction and navigation principles. For the next 6 months, candidates train in air traffic management in an isolated environment during the simulator part. After the first year, it is time for practical training.

After obtaining a specific assignment (area control, approach control or one of 15 air traffic control towers), trainees begin OJT (on the job training), which is a practical stage of preparation for work as an air traffic controller. This involves learning under the supervision of an experienced instructor right on the job. This stage lasts a year and ends with an exam. After passing it, the candidate receives a license and becomes a controller.