On March 8, the Royal Aeronautical Society, Washington Branch, presented its Trans-Atlantic Leading Edge Award to Flight Safety Foundation President and Chief Executive Officer William R. Voss for his work coordinating safety efforts in North America and Europe. Here are the remarks he made in accepting the award:
In accepting this first Trans-Atlantic Leading Edge Award, I feel the need to reflect on the role of the traditional transoceanic relationship in the context of the new global aviation market that is beginning to emerge. Ten years ago, the dynamics were pretty simple — 40 percent of the world’s traffic was in the United States, 40 percent originated in Europe, and the remaining 20 percent was scattered rather thinly across the world.
Regulators outside the United States and Europe adopted a wise and pragmatic strategy. They waited until the United States and the Europeans dealt with things, and then adopted those rules and strategies.
Things are looking differ…
