IFATSEA at ICAO’s Personnel Training and Licensing Panel: a necessary seat

By Patrick Delaney

Every day, International Federation of Air Traffic Safety Electronics Associations (IFATSEA) represented employees keep the Global Airspace System safe. From Air Traffic Safety Electronics Personnel (ATSEP) specialists maintaining radar, navigation, and communications systems, to inspectors certifying equipment and overseeing industry compliance, IFATSEA members ensure that aviation safety is not a slogan it’s a reality.

Many of the standards that shape how ATSEP work is regulated, trained, assessed, and qualified are not written solely by a State’s regulator or Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP). They are developed internationally at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). One of the most important ICAO bodies influencing our profession is the Personnel Training and Licensing Panel (PTLP).

PTLP discussions directly affect technical specialists worldwide, including ATSEP represented internationally through organizations such as IFATSEA. Through IFATSEA, ATSEP unions and professional associations engage at ICAO to ensure frontline technical expertise is reflected in global standards.

What happens in the PTLP may seem distant from the shop floor or field office, but its outcomes increasingly affect the daily realities of IFATSEA members.

What Is ICAO PTLP and Why Should IFATSEA Care?

ICAO’s PTLP is responsible for developing and updating global standards for how aviation professionals are trained, assessed, and qualified. Its work feeds directly into ICAO Annex 1 (Personnel Licensing) and related guidance material that States use when shaping regulations and workforce policy.

PTLP focuses heavily on:

• Competency‑based training and assessment (CBTA)
• Automation and human performance
• Changing skill requirements in modern CNS/ATM systems
• Consistency across technical aviation professions

These are exactly the areas where IFATSEA members live and work every day.

IFATSEA Members Are Already Doing This Work Globally

IFATSEA represents ATSEP who install, maintain, certify, and oversee the systems that make up the backbone of the Global Airspace System. ICAO itself recognizes that technical personnel performing operational safety‑related tasks are essential to system integrity and safety.

Yet internationally, technical aviation specialists including ATSEP still lack the same level of formal recognition and licensing protection as other aviation professions. ICAO has issued guidance on CBTA, but binding global standards remain limited.

PTLP is where those gaps are debated and potentially closed.

Why IFATSEA Representation Matters

ICAO panels include regulators, management representatives, and subject‑matter experts. What they do not automatically include is the frontline worker perspective.

Without IFATSEA representation:

• Training standards may drift away from real‑world maintenance environments.
• Automation risks may be underestimated, leading to skill erosion.
• Staffing and workload realities may be ignored.
• Safety‑critical technical work risks being viewed as interchangeable or secondary.

IFATSEA has a long history of standing up when decisions are made without those doing the work. That same principle applies at the international level.

International Standards Affect Local Jobs

When ICAO changes training or qualification frameworks, those changes often filter into:

• States regulatory policy decisions
• Workforce planning
• Training program design
• Contracting and modernization strategies

That means ICAO decisions can ultimately influence how IFATSEA members are trained, evaluated, and utilized, sometimes without IFATSEA ever being consulted, unless they are engaged upstream.

A Natural Extension of IFATSEA’s Safety Mission

IFATSEA has consistently argued internationally that safety depends on properly trained, adequately staffed, and professionally respected workers. Engaging with ICAO’s PTLP aligns directly with that mission.

It’s about:

• Protecting safety margins in an increasingly automated global airspace
• Ensuring training standards reflect reality, not theory
• Defending the professionalism of technical aviation specialists
• Making sure global decisions do not undermine domestic safety practices

Currently at ICAO

The ICAO document Procedures For Air Navigation Services – Training – (Doc 9868) supports ICAO document Annex 1 – Personnel Licensing. Currently, ATSEP personnel do not fall under Annex 1. As previously reported at the IFATSEA General Assembly, ATSEP-related material is being removed from Doc 9868 and incorporated into the Manual on Air Traffic Safety Electronics Personnel (ATSEP) Competency-based Training and Assessment (Doc 10057).

The task of removing the ATSEP material from Doc 9868 and incorporating it into Doc 10057 is being completed by the PTLP. The PTLP consists of several Working Groups, PTLP Working Group 11 (ATSEP) is the specific Working Group responsible for this task.

PTLP Working Group 11 (ATSEP) consists of subject matter experts that include IFATSEA members. The IFATSEA members are actively involved in the review and transfer process, ensuring that the integrity, intent, and technical accuracy of the material are maintained as it is moved from Doc 9868 to Doc 10057.

In addition to this effort, the Working Group has been tasked with reviewing and updating training objectives in Doc 10057. This work includes the removal of obsolete objectives and the modernization of existing content to reflect current operational and technical requirements. A key focus area is the enhancement of cybersecurity training objectives to strengthen awareness, improve preparedness, and support the resilience of air navigation systems against evolving cyber threats.

Meanwhile, the ICAO Cybersecurity Panel (CYSECP) has spent the past three years conducting a gap analysis to determine the need for cybersecurity Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs). This work has included a comprehensive review and cross-referencing of the Annexes to the Chicago Convention to identify cybersecurity provisions that are explicitly or implicitly addressed, determine where gaps exist, and evaluate potential solutions to address those gaps.

As part of this effort, the panel has developed the first edition (2026) of the Aviation Cybersecurity Manual (Doc 10232). This document represents ICAO’s first comprehensive guidance material dedicated specifically to aviation cybersecurity. The manual has recently entered the peer review process, during which ICAO panels and working groups are invited to review the document and provide comments and recommendations. As part of this review, Doc 10232 has been forwarded to the PTLP Working Group for evaluation, with particular attention to its implications for ATSEP training, competency development, and cybersecurity-related training objectives.

The Bottom Line

Decisions affecting technical aviation professionals are being made at the international level. IFATSEA members already contribute to aviation safety every day through their world-class expertise, professionalism, and commitment to operational excellence. That expertise deserves to be represented wherever standards, guidance, and policies are developed.

If you are interested in representing IFATSEA in these important discussions, please reach out to your national association, the relevant IFATSEA Regional Director, or a member of the IFATSEA Executive Board.

When it comes to aviation safety, those who perform the work are uniquely positioned to understand its challenges and opportunities. Their experience and expertise are essential to ensuring that the standards shaping the future of aviation remain practical, effective, and focused on safety. Those who do the work must have a voice in defining how the work is done.