Swedish Air Traffic Controllers Association

SATCA is an association of about 700 air traffic controllers in Sweden and an active member of the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations, IFATCA.

The aim of the association is to:

• Work for the development of air traffic control and a continuous high level of safety.
• Collaborate and exchange experiences with other organizations, authorities and other parties within and outside the country so as to further our members professional skills and unity.
• Preserve and protect our members professional, legal, social and financial interests through suggestions and propositions to the trade unions, authorities, individuals as well as other parties and organizations.
• Monitor and actively work towards the improvement of the working conditions of our members.
• Promote unification, unanimity and unity amongst our members.

The profession of air traffic control emerged during and immediately after World War II. With the staggering technical development in air travel a strong regulatory need emerged. This was mostly a call for safety but also a need for clear and systematic regulation in the sky.

Sweden, during the war, developed a strong national air force and in the years that followed was incorporated into a civilian international communications system and joined the European development so that it all could be planned peacefully. Initially, there were both civil and military air traffic controllers.

The future would dictate that these occupational groups could not be integrated for years to come and a common education could not be held until the 70’s.

The need for unity among individual air traffic controllers was growing stronger. In the early 50’s, there were about 80 Swedish Controllers. They were a homogenous group that had military backgrounds, regardless of whether they were a civil or military controller.

Professional issues were handled by the employer and union issues were handled by the trade union. Do not forget that this was long before democratic reforms and rules on participation rights of workers. International connections all pointed unambiguously towards a strong desire for professional associations for air traffic controllers in most democratic countries. Except for the ability to influence professional issues, most likely a wish to influence social issues such as working hours, wages and working environment was also a factor.

In Sweden, toward the end of the 1950s, discussions started regarding the establishment of an air traffic controllers association.

They were surely inspired by the Netherlands, Germany, France and Denmark, where associations already existed and where they were preparing to form a federation of European associations, much like the already existing pilot associations. But Sweden could not participate due to the fact that there was not a Swedish association.

”Luftfartsverket”, the air force and the trade union, observed what was happening and, in the end, had no objections to the establishment of a Swedish association of civil and military air traffic controllers. ”Svenska Flygtrafikledarföreningen”, as it was then called, was established during the winter of 1961-62.

During this time 13 national air traffic controllers associations had a meeting in Amsterdam in October of 1961 and passed a motion to form the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations (IFATCA). IFATCA’s first conference was to be held in April of 1962 in Paris.

“Svenska Flygtrafikledarföreningen” submitted their application in due time and was, along with the British association, affiliated with IFATCA which now comprised 15 member associations.

SATCA, which has now been around for 50 years, was established as an expression of the air traffic controller’s demand for recognition of the unique status and extraordinary circumstances’ of which the profession has demonstrated.

More and more national associations could join ranks and stand behind the wording of IFATCA, "the objects, functions and problems of ATC are of a similar nature in all countries irrespective of national boundaries".

We need to solve our problems in unity.

To contact SATCA, send an e-mail to: sekr@satca.com