The seventh ATNICG Working Group Meeting was held at Bangkok Regional Office on 29 January 2010.  The meeting was informed that Air Traffic Services Message Handling System (AMHS) service commenced operation between Hong Kong and Macao, China since end of December 2009.

AMHS is the first application system to work over the ATN to replace the AFTN for efficient support of aeronautical messages delivery, including graphical charts/diagrams, between ATS operational centres.  Other ATN-based application systems to be implemented include AIDC, ADS-C, CPDLC and FIS.

With AMHS put into operation, both Hong Kong and Macao, China have experienced reliable and much faster aeronautical message delivery to each other.  Being an ATN/AMHS backbone site, Hong Kong, China’s launching of AMHS service will facilitate the expedited implementation of a highly resilient ATN/AMHS network in the APAC Region as well as harmonizing the global AMHS implementation.

The ATNICG is continuing the coordination with APAC states on implementation of ATN and AMHS for completion of the backbone infrastructure by 2011.