Peter van Rooyen has been an Air Traffic Controller since 1990 with a diploma in Aviation Safety Management from IATA.  He has worked operationally and also in a variety of training and supervisory roles.

Peter’s career started in the South African Air Force in 1990 as a tower controller, he did his Approach Radar course in 1995 and then became an instructor at the Air Space Control School in 1997.  In 2000 he moved to civilian life wanting to challenge himself in the busier civilian airspace, so he joint Air Traffic and Navigations Services Company (ATNS). He did his Civilian Approach and Area Radar and Procedural Control Course in 2000 and works as an Area Controller at OR Tambo International (Johannesburg) now.

Peter has also been involved in Air Traffic Control Professional activities since he joined The Guild of Air Traffic Controllers of South Africa (GATCSA) in 2000.  He has held various positions on the GATCSA Executive Board including being President of the Guild.

Naturally, Peter’s next step was to get involved with the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Association (IFATCA) and since the regional conference in Ghana, he has joined the family.  In 2008 he decided to challenge himself more and made himself available for elections to join the professional and legal committee (PLC) of IFATCA, working on various interesting topics and presenting papers at the annual IFATCA Conferences.  Peter was elected on this committee every year since 2008 up until 2018.

Another great opportunity came Peter’s way when the IFATCA Executive Board appointed him the Chairman of Committee C at IFATCA annual conference for 4 years running from 2015 till 2018, facilitating the deliberations of the professional and legal issues in air traffic control around the world.  In 2018 at the 57th IFATCA Conference in Ghana, Peter was elected onto the IFATCA Executive Board (EB) as Executive Vice President Professional (EVP P). The experience in GATCSA and IFATCA has broadened Peter’s overall knowledge and has given a good international context to a number of important issues that affect air traffic control in South Africa and Globally.