VZCZCXRO8930
OO RUEHDBU RUEHPW RUEHSL
DE RUEHBUL #3667/01 3181139
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 141139Z NOV 09 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3179
RHMFIUU/COMUSCENTAF SHAW AFB SC
RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUEAHQA/HQ USAF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO BRUSSELS BE
RXFPSHK/ISAF HQ
RUEHMT/AMCONSUL MONTREAL 0001
RULSDMK/DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON DC 0147
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE 0001
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC 0001

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 003667 
 
C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y (ADDED ADDRESSEES AND PASS LINES) 
 
MONTREAL PASS TO USMISSION ICAO 
SECDEF PASS TO COMCENT COM 
DOT FOR SUSAN KURLAND, ACTING A/S FOR AVIATION 
AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR EEB/TRA, S/SRAP, SCA/FO, SCA/RA, SCA/A 
DEPT PASS FAA FOR RAY SMITH 
USMISSION NATO FOR SECRETARY GENERAL, DI/ADAM 
ISAF FOR HQ ISAF/CC AND ISAF IJC 
USAF PASS TO USAFCENT A3, AUAB AFFOR A3, HQ AFFSA//A3//, 
ACC DO, ACCE-A 
 
E.O. 12958 N/A 
TAGS: EAIR PGOV AF
SUBJECT: LACK OF AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL OVERSIGHT RAISES SAFETY 
CONCERNS: A PROPOSAL FOR A UNIFIED AIRSPACE AUTHORITY 
 
REF: (A) 09 Kabul 2694 
     (B) 09 Kabul 2667 
 
KABUL 00003667  001.6 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Afghanistan's air traffic has grown by 67 percent 
over the past year, outstripping its antiquated, procedural-based 
air traffic control system and a surveillance system that covers 
only a small fraction of its airspace.  Joint airspace use by 
commercial and combat flights without up-to-date technology and 
active coordination between separate controlling entities has led to 
immediate safety and efficiency concerns for combat forces and 
commercial passengers alike.  A new USAID-funded radar at Kabul 
International Airport (KIA) will enhance safety, and a German-funded 
surveillance system coming on line in 2010 will improve airspace 
control. 
 
¶2. (SBU) However, the current system of air traffic flow management 
does not address the need for an organized assignment of takeoff and 
landing slots at KIA and raises serious concerns about air traffic 
safety.  We encourage the U.S. Combined Forces Air Component 
Commander (CFACC), as the designated Airspace Control Authority for 
Afghanistan, in coordination with Ministry of Transportation and 
Civil Aviation (MOTCA), to establish a dedicated airspace and air 
traffic authority.  In addition to enhancing safety, a unified 
system will promote increased efficiency and expand economic growth 
in Afghanistan.  End summary. 
 
Afghanistan's Airspace: Many Uses, Many Restrictions 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶3. (SBU) CFACC has delegated to multiple agencies and nations the 
authority to manage different portions of Afghan airspace, creating 
potential for gaps between responsible authorities.  Few Afghan 
nationals are involved in managing the country's valuable and busy 
airspace.  AFCENT manages (through a contractor) approach control at 
Bagram, Kabul, and Kandahar air fields, as well as control of all 
flights above 2,500 feet.  At KIA, the country's main commercial 
airport, air traffic tower controllers from ISAF member states 
rotate through in six-month tours.  Additionally, MOTCA contracts 
the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to train Afghan 
tower air traffic controllers at KIA tower, where they currently 
perform their job in a supervised environment. 
 
¶4. (SBU) While procedural air traffic control is within ICAO 
standards, it creates efficiency and economic challenges for 
airlines.  No air traffic controller has radar views of airspace 
above 16,500 feet, meaning they must rely on radio communication 
with aircraft, including the thousands of flights that transit 
Afghan airspace on international routes.  These flights stay above 
29,000 feet, while flights that originate or terminate in 
Afghanistan must stay below this altitude.  Modern jets are 
engineered to perform best at altitudes above 30,000 feet, meaning 
they are less fuel efficient, and thus more expensive to operate, at 
the lower altitude to which they are restricted.  Improvements are 
being made.  The German government is funding an 11.6 million Euro 
Multilateral system radar (MLAT) that will be operational in 
December 2010.  COMUSAFCENT is integrating existing radar and future 
MLAT data into a new Kabul Air Center Control (KACC) facility that 
will provide control over higher levels of airspace. 
 
 
Traffic Collision Avoidance Alarms Are a Growing Concern 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶5. (SBU) Joint usage of Afghanistan's airspace by combat flights 
controlled by air battle managers (not air traffic controllers) 
remains a challenge for commercial carriers.  Controllers for 
military and civilian aircraft coordinate to transition aircraft 
through each other's designated airspace.  Unless carefully 
coordinated, or in the absence of appropriate procedural controls, 
this practice would be inherently dangerous.  COMAFCENT has 
identified this area of concern, and directed the control 
authorities to improve tactics, techniques, and procedures and 
upgrade inter-agency communication.  However, further improvements 
are needed in order to reduce risk and improve efficiencies. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Many military aircraft operate in Afghanistan airspace 
 
KABUL 00003667  002.6 OF 003 
 
 
without reliable coordination with civilian air traffic control and 
often cross or approach civilian air routes.  Commercial aircraft 
are equipped with Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) devices 
that warn of potential collisions.  In the first ten months of 2009, 
pilots reported 93 incidents to KACC in which their TCAS warning 
sounded in the cockpit, requiring them to take action.  Of those 93 
incidents, 53 involved both civilian and military aircraft, and in 
eight, aircraft appear to have been operating outside of 
Afghanistan's regulatory procedures. 
 
Air Traffic Control: First-Come, Best Served 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶7. (SBU) Unlike most countries, Afghanistan does not have an air 
traffic control flow management authority for its overall airspace 
or at KIA.  CFACC is the Airspace Control Authority, but air traffic 
controllers have different chains of command, as well as safety and 
oversight standards, depending on the NATO nation providing the 
service.  There is also a lack of coordinated communication and 
common automation system between air traffic control facilities. 
For example, a commercial plane departing from KIA, bound for Dubai, 
receives clearance to take off and ascend above 2,500 feet from KIA 
air traffic controllers.  The controllers, however, are not aware of 
air space congestion en route (for example, near Kandahar, Central 
Asia's busiest airport) or weather conditions at other airports. 
Bad weather often slows takeoffs and landings at KIA, but KIA 
controllers have no mechanism to notify aircraft until they are 
nearby.  The planes must then circle overhead (sometimes for hours). 
 In order to improve service, efficiency, and safety, AFCENT is 
working with NATO nations to develop a standardization agreement 
that will create common processes, procedures, terms, and conditions 
for all nations that provide air traffic control to be completed in 
the next year. 
 
Air Traffic Management at Kabul International Airport 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
¶8. (SBU) Air traffic management at KIA is an additional problem. 
Most commercial flights depart between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., along with 
dozens of flights operated by military contractors, the United 
Nations and U.S. Government agencies.  All flights departing from 
KIA must transit Bagram airspace, meaning they often cannot take off 
if military flights are nearby.   Flight plans are poorly 
coordinated -- controllers at KIA do not know the next day's flight 
schedule in advance and often are not aware of a flight until the 
pilot requests engine start clearance. 
 
¶9. (SBU) This lack of central coordination and flow management has 
also resulted in constant, lengthy delays of up to two hours on the 
taxiway at KIA.  In one incident, passengers on a Pamir Air flight 
threatened the flight crew, who called in customs and ISAF police 
for assistance.  Police ultimately removed all passengers from the 
plane and cancelled the flight.  Executives at other airlines 
acknowledge most morning flights are delayed due to air traffic 
congestion. 
 
Comment 
- - - - 
 
¶10. (SBU) CFACC has supported numerous actions to improve air 
traffic services within Afghanistan, including the installation and 
operation of the new Kabul radar and approach control facility, and 
has partnered with the Federal Aviation Administration to train 
Afghan controllers at KIA and KACC.  AFCENT has also assessed KIA 
and launched efforts to improve airport flight planning and 
scheduling, regional airspace design, and standardization of airport 
and air traffic control.  Currently slated for completion in the 
next few years, AFCENT's construction of a new, semi-permanent 
facility for Kabul Area Control Center will integrate existing 
radars at Bagram, Kabul, Ghazni and Kandahar, thereby leading the 
way to the creation of an MLAT system that presents a true, robust 
picture of Afghanistan's airspace. 
 
¶11. (SBU) But while we recognize AFCENT's efforts and the need for 
partnership to develop Afghanistan's air traffic system, we believe 
more needs to be done.  We encourage CFACC, in coordination with 
 
KABUL 00003667  003.6 OF 003 
 
 
MOTCA, to establish a dedicated airspace and air traffic authority 
as soon as possible.  This organization would consolidate 
responsibility for doctrine, policy, standardization, oversight and 
integration of all aspects of Afghan air traffic management to 
support combat and civil aircraft operations.  It will also help us 
develop a long-term plan to hand over airspace control to Afghan 
authorities and accelerate efforts to upgrade Afghanistan's air 
traffic system under post's requested $140 million assistance 
package. 
 
EIKENBERRY