Ambient Workplace Recording (AWR) can enhance ATC safety investigations but raises legitimate concerns regarding privacy, retention, access, and potential misuse. ICAO guidance highlights the need for strict protections, limited scope, and appropriate retention. Those principles should be clearly reflected in IFATCA policy on AWR, which should be aligned with ICAO standards, to restrict AWR use to safety investigations, establish agreed retention periods, and clarify access and oversight.
IFATCA Policy is:AWR shall be restricted to audio recordings only. AWR shall only be used to aid in incident and accident investigations to improve aviation safety. AWR not required for such purposes should be retained, from the time of its capture, for a period no longer than that which is agreed by the MA’s representative and the appropriate authorities using the ICAO minimum for AWR as a guide. The AWR system, including user management and access to recordings, shall be limited to authorised personnel mutually agreed by the MA’s representative and the appropriate authorities. AWR recordings are confidential and shall not be released to the public. Prior to the installation of AWR, laws and regulations shall be in place which prohibits the use of any recorded information against a controller in any criminal or civil litigation. The laws and regulations should provide for substantial penalties for any breach. |
| See: Resolution C4 – WP 95 – Bucharest 2026 |
