Castries – Wednesday, October 26, 2011– The Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA) celebrated International Day of the Air Traffic Controller along with the rest of the world on October 20th, 2011. The 20th of October every year is designated as the International Day of the Air Traffic Controller. The job of an Air Traffic Controller is to keep a safe, orderly and expeditious flow of air traffic and to prevent collisions between aircraft and any other object. The International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers Associations (IFATCA) was founded on 20 October 1961 and now has a membership consisting of 133 member associations which represents over 50,000 air traffic controllers worldwide. The role that the air traffic controller plays is at the center of what is deemed the safest and most efficient form of transport, air travel.

Through the development of equipment and systems that have been introduced to the field of Air Traffic Control over the years have helped improve efficiency and contributed to a sound and safe Air Traffic Control (ATC) system. However, it is the individual air traffic controller that has always been, and still remains, the main component in maintaining a safe and efficient ATC network that is present today. Air Traffic Controllers are critical to the operations at the Airports, and they make an invaluable contribution to the aviation industry. The St. Lucia Association of Air Traffic Controllers (SLATCA), is the local chapter of the International Federation of Air Traffic Controller Association.

The Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority employs twenty‐eight air traffic controllers who together safely land over 30,000 aircraft per year.