CANSO Director General honoured with inaugural Keramiankis Award for improving the safety and efficiency of Airspace

Athens, Greece, 18 February 2019 – The Hellenic Aviation Society has presented the inaugural Keramianakis Award to Jeff Poole, Director General of CANSO (the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation). The Award is given to people that have contributed to the evolution of air transport around the globe. Jeff Poole was given the award in recognition of his leadership of CANSO’s achievements in creating even safer, more efficient and better harmonised airspace for airspace users. 

Speaking at the Conference and Annual General Assembly of the Hellenic Aviation Society, Mrs. Ioanna Papadopoulou, President, Hellenic Aviation Society said: “I am privileged not only to have known but to have worked with and learned a lot from Emmanuel Keramianakis. It is therefore a great honor to be offering an award In Memoriam of Emmanuel to another prominent and highly distinguished personality of the aviation sector, Mr. Jeff Poole, whom I would like to sincerely thank, on behalf of the Hellenic Aviation Society, for his presence and insightful speech during the Hellenic Aviation Society Conference and Annual General Assembly”.

Dr Kostas Iatrou, Honorary Member of the Hellenic Aviation Society added that: "We are pleased to give this award to Jeff, a true leader and a person that has moved CANSO forward”.

The Keramianakis Award honours the memory of Emmanuel Keramianakis (1939-2017), an eminent figure in the Greek civil aviation sector, who successfully represented the interests of Greece for many years with international organisations and regulators. The award is given to people that have contributed to the evolution of air transport around the globe.

Jeff Poole, Director General CANSO, said, “I am delighted to accept the Keramianakis Award as recognition of the excellent work of CANSO and the air traffic management industry towards the provision of safe, efficient and cost-effective airspace. We have achieved a lot in the past six years, not least by adhering to the strong principles of partnership and cooperation espoused by Emmanuel Keramianakis during his career.” 

He added: “Such partnership is vital to ensuring safe, seamless and efficient travel for airspace users; whether at the international level with global organisations such as ACI, IATA, ICAO; or the regional level with airspace organisation and air traffic flow management initiatives; or at the national level, where air navigation service providers, airlines and airports cooperate to avoid delays and manage traffic flow efficiently. We still have much to do but will continue, like Emmanuel Keramianakis, to be guided by strong vision and principles.”

In his keynote address to the Hellenic Aviation Society, Jeff Poole spoke about the outlook for the aviation industry and the opportunities and challenges ahead, particularly for air traffic management. He highlighted the economic benefits of aviation, in particular to economies such as Greece that benefit from tourism; the importance of air traffic management in providing connectivity; the need to manage growing traffic safely and effectively and ensure adequate investment in modernising air traffic management; and managing the changing roles and skills of air traffic staff with the introduction of new, advanced technologies and processes. The speech can be downloaded here.

Notes for editors
 

About CANSO

The Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) is the global voice of air traffic management (ATM) worldwide. CANSO Members support almost 90 percent of world air traffic. Members share information and develop new policies, with the ultimate aim of improving air navigation services (ANS) on the ground and in the air. CANSO represents its Members’ views in major regulatory and industry forums, including at ICAO, where it has official Observer status. CANSO has an extensive network of Associate Members drawn from across the aviation industry. 

About the Hellenic Aviation Society 

The Hellenic Aviation Society is a non-profit institution which aims to contribute to the progress and development of air transport; to promote to the public the work of aviation and its economic, political, cultural and social contributions to the country; to cooperate with and provide research and consultative assistance to institutions engaged in the various aspects of aviation; and to create and keep an historical archive and library on both Hellenic and international aviation.

Keramianakis Award 

The Keramianakis Award honours the memory of the first President and Honorary Member of the Hellenic Aviation Society. The award is given to people that have contributed to the evolution of air transport around the globe.

Emmanuel Keramianakis 

Emmanuel Keramianakis (1939-2017) was an eminent figure in the Greek civil aviation sector. He headed the Greek delegation in over 70 rounds of air service negotiations including those related to the bilateral air service agreement with the USA in 1984-85 and 1990-91. Keramianakis For 15 years he was a member of the European Commission Aviation Group which elaborated the first, second and third aviation legislation packages in the European Union. He successfully represented Greece in meetings and conferences organised by the European Civil Aviation Conference and by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).In 1999 he was appointed as an expert for mediation on dispute resolution by ICAO.

Keramianakis studied political sciences and law at Athens and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He was a speaker at air transport forums organised by Cranfield University, UK and at Aristotle University on "The liberalisation of air transport in the European Community and its impacts in Greece". He published several papers and articles on air transport issues in Greek newspapers and magazines. He was a lecturer and examiner for the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority for 15 years and a lecturer in professional courses for managers and airline staff and representatives in Greece (1990-1994). He was also an adviser to the Minister of Transport in Greece.

Keramianakis served as the first President of the Hellenic Aviation Society between 2004 and 2012, when he was elected as its first Honorary Member. Aviation News honoured him with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.