Corporate foresight

Air carriers, airports and air navigation service providers have been called upon in many instances to show cause as to why a weakness in their industry which later resulted in an accident or economic loss was not detected in time and obviated. 

European region, reported that approximately 3,000 flights had been cancelled across Europe in a single day on 21 December. ° 

The truly exceptional winter conditions which affected some parts of Europe in December 2010 - with many historic records broken as regards snowfall and temperatures - tested aviation and other transport modes alike. Throughout the difficulties, Europe s airpOTts ensured that over 85% of air traffic was unaffected. Passenger safety was upheld at all times and no accidents occurred despite extremely challenging operating conditirais.  

The Board of ACI EUROPE emphasized the compelling necessity for sustained and effective cooperation on the ground between aU actors and suggested to the Commissioner that airports be empowered by EU law to set minimum service and quality requirements for ground handlers. They added that this would also complement the efficient delivery of the Single European Sky. 

Giovanni Bisignani, CEO of the International Air Transport Association (I AT A), at a speech delivered to the Aviation Qub in London in early February 2011 called for better preparedness for severe weather in the wake of major airport shutdowns in December. Bisignani said  

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The fundamental questions that arise are, should airports be held responsible for service failure brought about by a natural phenomenon and should airports have had, what in modem business parlance is called corporate foresight . " Firstly, in terms of responsibility, the question could be raised as to whether irrespective of the... 

Corporate foresight is a process of formulation and should not be confused with a set of techniques. Through a sustained consultative process, corporate foresight involves the examination of a series of future scenarios and ideally prescribes solutions. Foresight shares common ground with risk management and evaluation of risk, ° and addresses the nature of the particular business and the uncertainties of the business environment. For example, in the airport industry, a grave uncertainty is the weather, as in the context of an unexpected winter storm or the eruption of a volcano which spews ash into the atmosphere. Both these events occurred in 2010 in Europe. 

Patrick Becker, Corporate Foresight in Europe-. A First Overview, supra, note 30 at 8. 

BeckerP (2002) Corporate foresight in Europe a first overview. Institute of Science and Technology Studies, Germany, p 7... 

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