Skyway Autumn Winter 2015

IMPROVING ATM NETWORK PERFORMANCE

magazine

AUTUMN/WINTER 2015

AIR TRAFFIC FLOWMANAGEMENTGOES GLOBALRECAT: A QUICK WAYTO ADD CAPACITY ATCONGESTED AIRPORTS

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Editorial5 Looking back, moving forward

Frank Brenner, Director General, EUROCONTROL

Waypoints

10 ICAO and EUROCONTROL formalise new languageproficiency testing cooperation

Centralised service programme delivers feasibilitystudies

11 Radio frequency spectrum – astrategic asset for aviation

MUAC hits its 2014performance targets

12 The journey from the CentralFlow Management Unit to theNetwork Manager

Focus

14 Experience, partnerships: the basis of the NetworkManager’s achievements

18 Revealing the secrets of the airport black hole

21 A quick way to add capacity at congested airports

24 RECAT to improve life for aircraft operators, thetravelling public and airports

25 LARA support gathers momentum

Data29 Asia Pacific

growing fastest –but otherregions are stillsignificant

Insight34 “We need to change the way that we look at ATM”

Frank Brenner

36 “The big challenge is to work together”Haydar Yalçin

38 “Interoperability is an absolute necessity foraviation”João Aguiar Machado

40 “Better connectivity and profitability”Henrik Hololei

Viewpoint44 Global air traffic flow management – ICAO’s

perspectiveNicolas Hinchliffe, Air Traffic Management/AirNavigation Bureau at the International Civil AviationOrganization

48 EASA’s role in wake turbulence separationstandardsEmmanuel Isambert, Strategy & Safety ManagementDirectorate; Alain Leroy, Head of Department,Certification Directorate; Andrea Boiardi, Chief Expert,Certification Directorate, European Aviation SafetyAgency

50 Hungary pioneers full free route airspaceoperationsKornél Szepessy, Chief Executive Officer and JózsefBakos, Head of Air Traffic Services, HungaroControl

52 “A step change in ATM performance will comethrough greater integration” Marc Hamy, Vice-President Air Transport and PublicAffairs at Airbus SAS

57 RECAT will be a major capacity enhancer at ParisCDG airportPhilippe Barnola, Head of Paris Charles de Gaulle andle Bourget Air Traffic Service at the Direction desServices de Navigation Aérienne (DSNA)

www.eurocontrol.int Autumn/Winter 2015 Skyway

Contents

SKYWAY 3

AN-124 A380

A332 B744

MD11 B763

B738 A320

E190 AT45

SF34 LJ35

AN-124 A380

A332 B744

MD11 B763

B738 A320

E190 AT45

SF34 LJ35

RECAT-EU Categories

SuperHeavy

UpperHeavy

LowerHeavy

UpperMedium

LowerMedium

Light


4 SKYWAY

Welcome toSkywaymagazine

Inside front cover GroupEAD

Page 7 Indra

Page 28 ATC Global

Page 33 World ATM Congress

Page 37 Aireon

Page 42 Thales

Page 54 ENAIRE

Inside back cover Rockwell Collins

Outside back cover Frequentis

Advertisers Index

Managing EditorsLucia Pasquini, Catherine De Smedt

EditorPhilip Butterworth-Hayes

AdvertisingKay Rolland101 rue de Sèvres92100 Boulogne Billancourt, FrancePhone: +33 609 133 [email protected]

DesignSimon Smith Associates

PrintingWyndeham Grange

European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL) September 2015. All rights reserved. The entirecontents of this publication are protected by copyright. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in aretrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording orotherwise, without the prior permission of EUROCONTROL. The reproduction of advertisements in this publicationdoes not in any way imply endorsement of their content by PMI Media Ltd or EUROCONTROL. The views expressed inthe articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policy of EUROCONTROL.

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www.eurocontrol.int Autumn/winter 2015 Skyway

5

This year we are celebrating20 years of central flowmanagement in Europe, 20

years of reducing delays,improving safety and cutting costsby matching demand andcapacity – not country by countrybut across the entire continent. Inorder to overcome capacityconstraints in the 1980s theMinisters of Transport decided toset up a supranational structure inEurope, going beyond nationaltasks and regional flow units. Thiswas when EUROCONTROl’sCentral Flow Management Unit(CFMU) was born. The success ofthe CFMU was not immediatelyvisible as several concerns, aboutwhether national responsibilitiescould be accommodatedadequately in a central structure,

had to be overcome. Now, there is no doubt about thesuccess of the Network Manager, built on the EuropeanUnion (EU) designation of EUROCONTROl and based onthe CFMU experience; rather, it is applauded by allstakeholders.

The Network Manager role, nowadays, is much, muchwider than just central flight planning and flowmanagement. It ranges from airspace design to crisismanagement and from deployment of network-widesolutions to working with individual airports to improvetheir connectivity and thus to improve the predictabilityof the network. Many of us remember the dramaticincrease in capacity brought about by the introduction ofreduced vertical separation minima (RvSM). Today we areseeing the progressive introduction of Free Route Airspace(FRA), organised not just within individual states but also,crucially, across national boundaries.

Over the years, EUROCONTROl has built up a vastreservoir of experience and expertise, as well as

reinforcing its reputation for impartiality, both as regardsair navigation service providers (ANSPs) and also civil andmilitary airspace users. This has been achieved throughadopting an open and transparent approach to our role,with airline liaison staff in our operations room andattending operational meetings. Similarly, we arerecognised for our work on developing civil-military andmilitary-military cooperation across Europe.

All this comes at a cost – but one that is not as greatas many imagine. Only some €250 million out of €9billion of air traffic management (ATM) costs fund theNetwork Manager (2%). EUROCONTROl has reducedcosts by more than required for the first reporting periodof the Single European Sky (SES) Performance Schemeand we are continuing to drive them down, alwaysbearing in mind the range of tasks performed by theNetwork Manager and the need to be able to respondimmediately to disruptions and crises. Moreover, thesavings to airlines that are generated by the work of theNetwork Manager are very significant. delays in 2014were remarkably low and route extensions (how muchextra an aircraft flies as compared with a theoreticalminimum) are lower than ever.

That directly translates into less fuel burn and less cost (each minute of air traffic flow and capacitymanagement (ATFCM) delay is estimated to be worthapproximately €89).

One of our targets – one that we have set ourselves– is to do with how much the Network Manager itselfreduces delays. here we look only at savings that havehappened directly as a result of our actions, ignoring allthose instances where we have worked with ANSPs toreduce delays. Our target is to reduce en-route ATFCMdelays by 10% and I am proud to say that we met thistarget again in 2014, reducing en-route delays from 42seconds to 36 seconds, saving over 900,000 minutes forthe airlines and their passengers – a lot of time whichtranslates into a great deal of money. we are struggling,however, with the EU environmental target that intendsto decarbonise through the usage of efficient routes. Ourgoal, to come as close as possible to the shortest distance

Looking back,moving forward

EDITORIAL

Frank Brenner,Director General,EUROCONTROL


6 EDITORIAL

(the great circle route), is out-manoeuvred by the factthat airspace users can choose longer routes whichmight be less environmentally friendly but which are lesscostly, as they avoid areas with high route charges.

The Network Manager role has only been inexistence for four years and it is evolving constantly. Crisismanagement is one good example of this, withwidespread recognition of the need for effective pan-European responses to crises, at both the operational andpolitical levels. A more proactive role is being taken,reaching out to airports and developing betterconnections (B2B and B2C) with a range of players inaviation.

There is of course more to do; we need to continuebearing down on cost and further improving ourresponsiveness to our stakeholders, both operationallyand through our governance structures, as the EuropeanAviation Safety Agency (EASA) is our oversightorganisation.

One important way in which we see our roledeveloping in the near future will come with new ATMtechnology, implemented and operated through someadditional centralised services. These services will becontracted out to consortia for their actual operation,thereby creating a market for some central ANS support

services. The NetworkManager will make surethat these servicessupport the ANSPs in theirwork to achieve EUperformance targets, andalso support the ANSPs,airports and airspace usersoperationally around theclock. This is particularlyrelevant as ATM is movingtowards an operationalconcept that is more focused on the network and onsharing real-time information. It will be vital to have astrong and reliable Network Manager at the hub ofEurope.

EUROCONTROl has the systems, the experience andthe expertise to take the Network Manager role forwardinto the next decade as a partner in the InternationalCivil Aviation Organization (ICAO) worldwide flight planand capacity management concept. we aredemonstrating the willingness to adapt and to evolve,responding to the needs and priorities of ourstakeholders, while retaining the independence andimpartiality required for this crucial role.

“Over the years,EUROCONTROL has built up avast reservoir of experienceand expertise, as well asreinforcing its reputation forimpartiality, both as regardsair navigation service providersand also civil and militaryairspace users.”

Air navigation service providers (ANSPs)have to face an environment that hasbeen getting more and more complex

in recent years. The Single European Skyinitiative defines clear targets to each countryto improve their performance on cost, delays,the environment and safety. ANSPs have to dealwith new challenges derived from the changesin the airspace regulation and the evolution oftheir business.

These factors are putting new technologiesin the spotlight as enablers through which toprovide flexible, scalable and robust solutions inair traffic management.

The iTEC International Collaboration is along-term agreement that started in 2005 todevelop common advanced ATM systemsand share costs and activities among thepartners, using a common supplier, Indra.Current iTEC Collaboration is led by ENAIRE,NATS and DFS as founding members, withLVNL as part of DFS System Group. Indra isthe technological partner and supplier of thisinternational Collaboration whose goal is to

develop a high-end air traffic managementsystem for busy and complex airspace thatmeets the SESAR requirements and enablessignificant steps forward in productivity.

This latest generation system, iTEC air trafficmanagement (ATM) system, is based on aircrafttrajectory prediction that allows air traffic to bemanaged in a safe, fluent and efficient way,offering pilots the possibility to optimise theroute to their destination.

Indra moves ATM business forward thanksto iTEC Cloud, a completely new concepttargeted to provide the right answer to the newchallenges.

iTEC Cloud, services from the cloudBased on Indra experience both in ATM

systems domain and in IT technology, ‘iTECCloud’ intends to provide the answer to thecoming demand of Software as a Service (SaaS)for the very specific domain of air trafficmanagement.

iTEC Cloud will be based on iTEC software,and it will include all its functional andarchitecture features. Using a modular design itwill allow selecting the capabilities required byeach specific domain.

iTEC Cloud will rely on the following keyarchitectural principles:

• The software layer is completelyindependent from supporting hardwareand facilities.

• Operational and Technical users work withThin Clients which may be located inremote facilities as all processing isperformed in centralised servers.

An iTEC solution tailored to each businessreality

The flexibility, scalability, and highavailability features supported by iTEC Cloudwill allow different possibilities to provide ATMservices to potential customers, based on the


ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE 7

Moving ATM businessforward‘iTEC Cloud’ brings modern cloud computing technology into air traffic management, allowing iTEC Partnersto address the coming businesses challenges from the right position.

Challenges in ATM business.

iTEC Collaboration: ENAIRE, NATS, DFS andLVNL, and Indra as the technological partner.Dated: Madrid, CANSO World ATM Congress,March 2015.

iTEC Cloud

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Software as a Service approach:

• Using customer-owned infrastructure andfacilities (internal Cloud). The customer toacquire SW and HW infrastructure able toprovide internally required services.

• Using third party facilities. Housing the iTECvirtualised software in the infrastructure ofa third party as required by the customer.

• Using Indra’s Cloud Hosting facilities toprovide a complete set of servicescombining the capabilities in infrastructureand managed services (Indra Flex-IT Suite).

• A combination of the above in order tocope with:

– Spikes in capacity due to seasonality

– Business Continuity/Disaster Recoveryplans.

These sales models facilitate the offering ofglobal business experience. This encompassesthe deployment and operation of the ATMsolution meaning that the customers canconcentrate on their core business.

Benefits through iTEC CloudiTEC Cloud service provisioning offers

customers a highly tailored solution whichdelivers a series of advantages through cloudcomputing design:

•Demand-based capacity: the flexibleprovisioning approach allows to rescalethe ATM services provided in a highlydynamic manner to fit customer needsunder their evolving business scenario. Thisfits perfectly with air traffic environmenttrends such as seasonality.



independent from location/devicefacilitating a decrease in client devicerequirements.

•Dynamic provisioning: services can becommissioned/decommissioned in recordtime thanks to the lack of provisioning andsales activities meaning impact onintegration is greatly reduced. This reduced‘time to market’ takes shape as a strategictool for companies to react pre-emptively.

•Guaranteed safety and security: strict safetyand security policies currently applied intraditional ATM services are maintained.Demand based Capacity: the flexibleprovisioning approach allows to rescale theATM services provided in a highly dynamicmanner to fit customer needs under theirevolving business scenario. This fitsperfectly with air traffic environment trendssuch as seasonality.

All these factors allow ANSPs to optimise theoperational costs and simplify the maintenanceand support while ensuring full compliancewith current regulations.

A new concept targeted to provide theright answer to the new challenges:

iTEC Cloud concept opens up new businessopportunities in the ATM market, e.g.

•To provide infrastructure solutions to ANSPswilling to deploy and use an ‘internal Cloud’,supporting different IT services.

•To develop an ‘iTEC Cloud’ to provide iTECsoftware-based services to consortia, e.g.applying to the services defined byEUROCONTROL as Centralised Services.

•To be able to provide services based oniTEC software to ANSPs, airports, airlines,and all other entities requiring suchsolutions.

iTEC Cloud ServiceCatalogue.

iTEC Cloudcontext.

• Flexible pricing model: clients are invoicedbased on their real service consumption.This ‘as a service’ billing model translatesinto an important cost saving for theclients, who are able to tailor their Opex.Billing alternatives can be configuredbased on a wide range of consumptionparameters, from the active number of ATCpositions to the present Flight DataProcessors vCPU/vRAM use.

• Resources pooling: ATM applications arerun using a multi-tenant model allowingdifferent customers to share a commoninfrastructure while logically secured andsegmented.

• Service monitoring: use of resources can beoptimised, as the utilised services can bemonitored, controlled and reported.

•Delocalised: the thin client architecture(based on X-server, Web Browser or VDI)allows data and resources to be accessible

iTEC Cloud

On 1 July 2015, in Strasbourg,in the margins of the

European Civil AviationConference's (ECAC's) 34th Session,Frank Brenner, director General ofEUROCONTROl, and RaymondBenjamin, Secretary General of theInternational Civil AviationOrganization (ICAO), signed a newcollaboration agreement for a moreeffective implementation oflanguage proficiency requirementsin the context of the ICAO home ofEnglish language ProficiencyProgramme (I-hElPP).EUROCONTROl and ICAO willcooperate by providing,implementing and operatingEUROCONTROl’s ElPAC (Englishlanguage Proficiency forAeronautical Communication) testas a language proficiency test foruse by both flight crew and airtraffic controllers. EUROCONTROl’sElPAC is the only test to haveachieved full ICAO recognition. Thiscooperation will improve globalaviation safety.

“In view of the global nature ofaviation, clear aeronauticalcommunications are vitallyimportant to safeguard flight safety

and ICAO provisions thereforerequire flight crews, air trafficcontrollers and aeronautical stationoperators to demonstrate ameasurable aviation-relatedproficiency in English,” stressedRaymond Benjamin. “ICAO isrefocusing itself today, under ourNo Country left Behind initiative,on improving local and regionalcapacities and assistance so thatICAO SARPs (Standards andRecommended Practices) areeffectively adopted and all Statesmay benefit from the presence ofsafe and reliable internationaloperations.”

Frank Brenner commented onsigning the agreement: “Thecollaboration between ICAO andEUROCONTROl is a large steptowards improving languageProficiency Implementation at theglobal level. States/CAAs wishing toimprove their language ProficiencyImplementation may work with I-hElPP and benefit from thesupport and tools offered.”

To date, the ElPAC test is theonly such test to have receivedrecognition from ICAO for being inconformance with its SARPs, as well

as the further ICAO guidancecontained in the UN aviationagency’s Manual on theImplementation of ICAO languageProficiency Requirements (doc9835).

The most recent Session of theICAO Assembly adopted aResolution which encourages ICAOto assist States with theimplementation of its Englishlanguage ProficiencyRequirements by strengtheningexisting partnerships with otherorganisations and fostering newrelationships. Under their newlyformalised collaboration in this

Following the development of a Concept of Operations forCentralised Service (CS) 8 (Pan European Network Services) and 9

(data Communication Service) in 2013 and the respective workshopswith stakeholders, the Agency was tasked by the Member States(directive No14/83 of the Permanent Commission dated 3 February2014) with assessing and demonstrating the operational, technical andfinancial feasibility of CS2, CS3 and CS9; and the development, set-upand demonstration of CS1,CS4, CS5, CS6, CS7, CS8; and proceeding tothe implementation of each centralised service only after a positivedecision by the Provisional Council.

In accordance with the Member States’ request, the Agencydecided to conduct a feasibility study for CS8 prior to committing toany contractual obligations for the development, set-up and

demonstration of CS8. The feasibility studies for centralised services 8 and 9 address all the

points requested by the Member States, namely safety, security,governance, avoidance of monopolies/intellectual property rights(IPRs), cost and benefit analysis and impact for stakeholders, financingand liability/responsibility/ownership.

Both studies were delivered to the Member States on 1 September 2015.


ICAO and EUROCONTROL formalise new languageproficiency testing cooperation

Centralised serviceprogramme deliversfeasibility studies

EUROCONTROL News

10 WAYPOINTS

area, ICAO and EUROCONTROl willbetter support States by:

• Creating awareness for the role oflanguage ProficiencyRequirements and supportingStates with theirimplementation.

• Offering an acceptable means ofcompliance for meeting thelanguage ProficiencyRequirements (i.e. an ICAO-recognised language Proficiencytest).

• Building a gateway for languageProficiency raters, licence holdersand test service providers.

Frank Brenner (left) and Raymond Benjamin agree language proficiency testing.


MUAC hits its 2014 performance targetsThe latest annual report of the Maastricht Upper Area Control

Centre (MUAC) provides an analysis of its performance throughout 2014.

during 2014 MUAC delivered outstanding results, matching demandwith output in what was an extremely challenging year. The year wasmarked by an overall positive safety performance, stronger-than-expected air traffic growth and major fluctuations in traffic patterns.

The overall safety performance was positive: two Category Bincidents with a MUAC contribution were recorded while theeffectiveness of the safety management system was maintained.

The business cycle was marked by stronger-than-expected air trafficgrowth and major fluctuations in traffic patterns, in particular in thewestern part of the airspace. Adverse weather, industrial action inneighbouring airspace and major military activity required theapplication of air traffic flow management protective measures whichimpacted service delivery. Air traffic volume increased by 2.4%compared to 2013 with MUAC again handling in excess of 1.6 millionflights, supporting another year of sustained growth. with 1.96composite flight-hours per air traffic controller-hour, very high levels ofair traffic controller productivity were maintained throughout the year.

Radio frequencyspectrum – a strategicasset for aviation

Punctuality remained excellent with 98.9% of flights unimpeded; theaverage delay per flight was 0.17 minutes. Several airspace designinitiatives, technical upgrades and partnerships enabled increases incapacity.

data analysis for 2014 reveals that direct route usage amounted to61% and that the total number of nautical miles (NM) saved by operatorsamounted to 850,800, generating savings in the order of 5,105 tonnes offuel and 17,016 tonnes of CO2 compared to the previous fixed-routenetwork. At the tactical level, the allocation of direct routes resulted in atotal flight distance reduction of 6,758,963 NM (or 4.5 NM on average perflight), saving more than 40,550 tonnes of fuel and reducing CO2

emissions by 135,179 tonnes.The results achieved for safety, capacity, cost-effectiveness and

horizontal flight efficiency were encouraging, making it possible forMUAC to meet the set targets.

This report highlights the many successful initiatives employed byMUAC that have contributed to its strategy and performance. MUAC willcontinue to strive to maintain its market-leading position in the coreEuropean area and will look forward to contributing further to theefficiency of the network.

WAYPOINTS 11

The next worldRadiocommunication

Conference (wRC) will take placein Geneva, Switzerland, on 2-27November 2015. The aviationcommunity must be present andsupport its spectrum requirementsin order to protect its future.

Air traffic controllers usecommunication, navigation andsurveillance systems which rely onradio frequencies. Radar, the GlobalPositioning System (GPS) and very-high-frequency radio (vhF radio)all use radio frequencies, alsoknown as “the spectrum”.

Globally harmonised spectrumallocation is essential to provide asafe and efficient global transportsystem. hence the spectrum usedby aviation must be free fromharmful interference to guaranteethe integrity of its systems.

The development ofaeronautical systems is also highlydependent on the availability ofthe radio spectrum. It is therefore

important to ensure thatinternational radio regulationreflects this need, to support bothEuropean growth and the pan-European Single European Sky(SES) programme.

In protecting its own currentand planned services, aviationshould never underestimate theincreasing demand for thespectrum from other users, or theneed to play an active role infuture spectrum allocation.

The allocation of the entireradio frequency spectrum,including the portion allocated toaviation, is decided at State leveland managed on their behalf bythe InternationalTelecommunications Union (ITU).The ITU is a United Nationsspecialised agency for informationand communication technologies.Its objective is to create radioregulations on the use of spectrumfrequencies for the whole worldand for all types of operations or

economic sectors (including themaritime sector, the scientificcommunity, telecommunications,space, etc).

The aviation spectrum isallocated at periodic worldRadiocommunicationConferences. This process ensuresthat aviation operations areharmonised and standardisedinternationally, thus guaranteeingsafe and regular flights throughoutthe world. The results of the wRCshave treaty status for the signatoryStates; this makes the wRC anessential event for aviationprofessionals.

Many States count onEUROCONTROl to represent them

in aviation spectrum matters. Thisrole is managed by theAeronautical Spectrum FrequencyCoordination Group (ASFCG) andcovers both civil and militaryaviation needs. As a result,EUROCONTROl is an observermember of the ITU and attendswRC meetings, although onlyStates may vote. EUROCONTROlexperts in aviation spectrum andfrequency management, Raffikhatcherian and Sven Fraenkel, areplaying an active role in the wRC-15 preparation process and will bepresent at the wRC15 to defend,once again, the needs of andprotection criteria for theaeronautical spectrum.


12 WAYPOINTS

The journey from the Central FlowManagement Unit to the Network Manager –

by Joe Sultana, Director Network Manager, EUROCONTROL

In March 2016, we celebrate 20years of centralised flow

management. It was in March1996 that the last of the fiveformer regional Flow ManagementUnits was incorporated into theCentral Flow Management Unit,CFMU.

These five units – in France,Germany, Italy, Switzerland and theUnited kingdom – had beencreated in the early 1980s to copewith increasing airspacecongestion. But it soon becameapparent that flow managementcould not be done efficiently onthis piecemeal basis and a decisionwas taken by EUROCONTROl’sMember States to create the CFMUto deal with flow management allover Europe.

The CFMU was pivotal inpreventing overloads in ATC

sectors and balancing demandand capacity. with an equitable,fair service model and robustsystems, it was instrumental inbringing delays down to moremanageable levels.

But that was not enough. TheCFMU dealt with capacityimbalances through restrictions –that is, by imposing delays.Although it is better to keepaircraft on the ground rather thanin a holding pattern in the air,delays are costly and make forinefficiency overall.

we needed to find a wayaround this issue. we had toactively increase available capacityand then ensure that it wasproperly used. There are two waysof doing this:

• through structural changes –new systems, new routedesigns, more runways

• using available capacity moreefficiently.

The first method is effectivebut it takes a long time and a lot ofresources. So, some 10 years ago,

we decided to focus on thesecond approach and launchedthe dMEAN programme. dMEANstands for dynamic Managementof the European Airspace Network.we decided to try to find ways ofmanaging all the elements in thenetwork, not just focusing onregulating traffic flows.

The European airspace networkis constrained neither in place nortime; there will always be areaswhere traffic can flow freely. It canbenefit airlines to move traffic toan area which is not congestedand so circumvent bottlenecks.

we set up a series of linkedprojects in the framework of thedMEAN programme whichtargeted different improvementareas. we worked with civil andmilitary air traffic service partnersto implement the truly flexible useof airspace and to ensure that noairspace was blockedunnecessarily if it was not needed.we began working onpredictability and flight planadherence. As you can imagine, itdoes not help your operations if

you base your planning on flightplans that are then not followed.

Flow management could notjust be an en-route airspace toolwithin a separate ATM domain. Soin 2008, air traffic flowmanagement (ATFM), airspacedesign, capacity planning andairport operations becameorganisationally linked for closercoordination between theseactivities.

In parallel to all this, a politicalprocess was ongoing and the ideaof a dynamic network managerbecame a keystone in theEuropean Commission’s SingleEuropean Sky (SES) initiative.

A logical next step was toextend the scope of the dMEANprogramme by linking it to theCentral Flow Management Unit. Itwas also the key reason formerging two directorates in theAgency – CFMU and part ofCooperative Network design(CNd) – to make up the NetworkManagement directorate.

In doing this, we broughttogether a variety of specialistskills. we united people who didairspace design, people who hadskills in capacity planning, peoplewho worked with airports andpeople in safety management. Byputting them together with theCentral Flow Management Unit,which had all the informationneeded on flight plans, routes andhow they are used, the capacitygaps and potential delays, wecreated a directorate which couldmanage the entire process of flowand capacity management. Itformed a ready-madeorganisation, able to take on theNetwork Management functions.

Then, in 2010, the volcanic ashcrisis happened and it became

Today, we connect:42 States69 Air Traffic Control Centres84 Flow Management Positions520 Airports1,940 Aircraft Operators.

We have:over 3,500 end users peaks of 34,000 flights/day over 10 million flights a year.

One flight plan is processed every three seconds.

We treat nearly 80,000 flight plan electronic messages every day.

We feel the pulse of Europe’s network operations

The role of the Network Manager


WAYPOINTS 13

clear to the aviation communitythat we at EUROCONTROl werethe only ones who had theinformation, the systems, thecommunication channels and theorganisation to manage crises onthat kind of scale.

Our designation as theEuropean ATM Network Managercame in July 2011, a role we hadbeen preparing for, for over 15years at that stage.

Our results to date as Europe’sNetwork Manager are good. weare meeting our performancetargets, often by a comfortablemargin. we have positive reportsfrom our oversights and audits.Our operationally-focusedactivities are considered essentialin the orderly and efficientfunctioning of the European AirTraffic Services system.

It must be emphasised that weare not the only ones responsiblefor the smooth running of thesystem. we work in permanentcollaboration and closepartnership with the air navigationservice providers (ANSPs), airports,aircraft operators and the military.

with EUROCONTROl as theNetwork Manager, the wide rangeof skills that the Agency has at itsdisposal can be put to best effect.This fact was recognised by ourgoverning bodies, which insistedthat the network managementfunction be applied to all our 41Member States, not just the 28that belong to the EuropeanUnion.

It goes further still. we recentlysigned agreements with Moroccoand Israel, enabling them to bemuch more closely involved in allour activities. we also collaboratewith Egypt on airspace andnetwork capacity issues. we have

good operational coordinationlinks with other service providerseven further afield: the UnitedStates’ Federal AviationAdministration (FAA) and Russia,for instance.

Being able to operate in largerareas of airspace makes the wholesystem more efficient becausethe network of routes can bedesigned for optimal efficiencyand flow measures can be appliedevenly, so restoring balance.

EUROCONTROl has investedmassively in its Network Managerrole. Our systems are constantlyrefreshed and extended; ourservices improved and alignedwith their users’ needs.

we work closely with the SESATM Research (SESAR)deployment Manager to ensurethat our planning andprogrammes dovetail with theirs.we question each one of ouractivities, striving to make thembetter, more useful, morevaluable. At the same time, wehave reorganised our operationalservices to ensure that they arelean and fit for purpose.

Our passion for efficiencyfeeds into our ambition tomanage a network that runssmoothly. we constantly work todiminish disruption, whether it iscaused by severe weather,industrial action or ATC systemupgrades. we plan for theunexpected. we keep everyoneinformed about current issuesand make sure that all involvedtake the decisions needed on the

Plans, designs, coordinates and optimises the airspace.

Matches the right amount of demand with the availablecapacity, working in partnership with aircraft operatorsand local ATFM units.

Looks for alternative routes when there is congestion.

Informs all players about ATFM measures and theirpotential impact, sharing aeronautical data.

Monitors and oversees network operations, ready tomitigate in cases of major disruptions or crisis.

Manages scarce resources like transponder codes.

Offers aircraft operators more efficient flight routeingpossibilities.

Develops network technical enablers:

• dynamic Demand Capacity Balancing, using short-termATCFM measures such as flight level capping and minorre-routeings;

• airport collaborative decision-making;

• arrival and departure management;

• free route airspace.

Shares trajectory planning and prediction with all ANSPs.

Makes archived information available for better planning.

What the Network Managerdoes in air traffic flow andcapacity management

The eruption on 10 April 2010 of Iceland’sEyjaallajökull volcano produced an ashcloud over Europe which shut much of thecontinent’s airspace; managing the crisissuccessfully was a major driver toEUROCONTROL’s appointment asNetwork Manager.

basis of constantly-updated andcomplete data.

Every single thing we do isaimed at keeping the networkrunning as best it can. we have

performed well to date and werelish the prospect of being ableto do so in the future, for thebenefit of all air passengers inEurope.

© Árni Friðriksson

With 20 years’ operational experience,EUROCONTROL’s Network Managerprepares for a return to traffic growth andto become an integrated partner withinan increasingly global air traffic flowmanagement network.


14 FOCUS

Experience,partnerships:

the basis of the NetworkManager’sachievements

For Europe’s airspace managersthe next few years will have morethan their fair share of challenges.

European traffic is forecast to return togrowth patterns not experienced sincebefore the economic downturn, with 10million annual movements likely in 2016for the first time since 2008.EUROCONTROl’s latest STATFOR short-term forecast predicts 11.4 million flightmovements by 2021, a rise of 19%above 2014 levels.

The region also enters the secondperiod of performance targets (RP2), setby the Performance Review Board onbehalf of the European Commission (EC)for the years 2015-2019. These includeaverage flight delays of less than half aminute per flight (in 2014, flight delayswere 0.6 minutes per flight),improvements in flight efficiency(reduced environmental impact), morethan 3% improvement in cost-efficiency,and universal implementation of safetymanagement systems.

Meeting these targets will requireevery iota of experience that theNetwork Manager (NM) has gatheredover the last 20 years and optimise thepartnerships that have been establishedwith airports, air navigation serviceproviders (ANSPs), civil and militaryairspace users.

Over the past two decades theEUROCONTROl Central FlowManagement Unit has evolved from apatchwork of regional units rationingcapacity in a static way, to today’sNetwork Manager – a tightly organisedcommunications hub covering 42States optimising the network’sperformance and appointed by theEuropean Commission for the EuropeanUnion (EU) area. The Network Managerhas grown from balancing demand andcapacity to overseeing the introductionof more efficient flight paths, managingplanned and unplanned events – suchas the Eyjaallajökull ash cloud in2010 – and supporting compliancewith Europe-wide performance targetsin safety, capacity, environment andcost-efficiency.

“Flow management is balancingdemand with capacity, which is fine, butunless you are doing something aboutincreasing capacity you are going to getcaught out sooner or later,” said directorNetwork Manager, Joe Sultana.EUROCONTROl has for many years

© Shutterstock - Luis Santos


FOCUS 15

recognised the importance of looking atincreasing capacity as well as makingdynamic use of the capacity that exists.One of the first results of this work wasseen in the Balkan war during the 1990s,which led to airspace closures lastingseveral months but had marginalimpact on air traffic delays. “Discussionscentered on how to combine the flowmanagement operation with a morestrategic way of thinking aroundbuilding capacity, making moredynamic use of airspace and managinginternational events,” said Joe Sultana.

At this time the EuropeanCommission was developingcompetency in air traffic managementwith the aim of creating a SingleEuropean Sky (SES). The ash crisis in2010, which closed European airspacefor six entire days, helped accelerate theCommission’s intent to establish a singleorganisation to handle major events,and in 2011 EUROCONTROL wasdesignated as the Network Manager as

part of Single Sky legislation. “I think the rationale soon became

obvious,” said Joe Sultana. “Certainly theairspace users, who fly across thenetwork, recognise you need a centraloperation to coordinate the responseacross the different paths. The NetworkManager has the overview of what ishappening every minute and seeswhere the problems are, or where theywill be, and makes sure there is areasonable response to it, even if it’sdelaying an aircraft. If the system cannotcope, they are at least pleased they havethe minimum delay possible.”

Profound collaborationBrian Flynn, EUROCONTROL Head of

Performance, Forecasting, and Relations,explains that flow managementinvolves more than goodcommunications. “Air traffic flowmanagement (ATFM) is an electiveprocess. When it works well, it isunderlined by profound collaborative

decision-making. If you don’t complywith flow management, the measureswill lose their effectiveness and capacitywill be reduced. ” For example, aregulated departure delay is negated ifthe pilot then flies faster to catch up losttime. This erodes confidence in thesystem, and too many flights into asector or airport prompts controllers toreduce the standard capacity as aprecautionary measure. “We have lots ofexamples of this,” said Brian Flynn.“Europe is unique in providingcentralised flight planning services. Thisensures that throughout the 42 Statesthat are members of the NetworkManagement area, all the controllers,pilots, aircraft operators and airportsshare the same flight plan.” When theCentral Flow Management Unit wascreated, about 50% of flight plans wereprocessed automatically. Today thisfigure is over 96%, leading to hugeeconomies of scale and the ability to seethe entire network picture. “We can seewhere there is spare capacity, wherethere is space for aircraft to operate,

Source: EUROCONTROL/STATFOR (ESRA08)

En-route delay(minutes/flight)

The Network Manager: 24/7 actor in coordinating andmanaging response to crises affecting aviation in EuropeEuropean Aviation Crisis Coordination Cell: NM, EC, EuropeanAviation Safety Agency, EU Presidency, Airport Operators, ANSPs,Airports, Military and 40 State Focal Points

En-route delay Target2012 2013 2014

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.63

0.700.60

0.500.61

0.53

En-route delay (minutes/flight)

NM delay savings 2014

Achieved en-route delay 2014

0.80

0.60

0.40

0.20

0.00

0.61

0.09

IFR

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illio

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th (bars)

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STATFOR (Feb. 2015)

10%

8%

6%

4%

2%

0%

-2%

-4%

-6%

16 FOCUS

and we get a view of network demandso we can determine where the peaksare going to be,” said Brian Flynn.

The Network Manager also providescorrelated position reports based onANSP surveillance data. “We have apicture of where every flight is, every 30seconds for more than 85% of theEuropean area, which improves

predictability immensely. Asa result, the air traffic controlsystem in London (orelsewhere) can have aprecise estimate of anaircraft entering theirairspace hours rather thanminutes before the aircraftenters. That data we alsodistribute to airports andaircraft operators, where it isintegrated into all the users’systems to provide a muchmore accurate picture. Infact, it is used in the arrivalboards of the major airports,”said Brian Flynn.

Flight efficiency inEurope is now better thananywhere else in the world.The difference between theactual route flown and themost direct route betweentwo points has fallen steadilysince 2011, and is now about2.5% or 20km. The routenetwork design efficiencyhas also improved annually.NM, with its operationalstakeholders, achieved the

en-route capacity target in all but oneyear of reporting period 1 – and thatone year saw much disruption due toindustrial action. The performancereview report published annually by thePerformance Review Body also reportsthe Network Manager has succeeded in

reducing delays by more than 10%annually since 2012.

This is despite several unplannedevents which have interrupted regulartraffic patterns. The tragic event of MH 17 and the closure of airspace ineastern Ukraine and the Black Searesulted in re-routeing traffic through six or seven countries, while conflict inSyria and Iraq caused traffic to divertthrough southern Europe, contributingto double digit growth in countriesincluding Bulgaria, Hungary andRomania. “The way we have handledvarious security crises demonstrates the resilience of the network,” addedBrian Flynn.

The Network Manager relies on asubstantial set of information tools.Particularly useful is the NetworkOperations Portal (NOP), a web-basedportal that is an encyclopedia ofplanned, actual and past operation data.The NOP is used to identify any capacityshortfall within the system, and to makeprovisions for traffic peaks, for examplesurrounding international sportingevents. The unit has extensiveconference facilities – in some instancessupporting teleconferences with morethan 600 people during a network crisis– and increasingly uses electronic

business-to-business (B2B) technologyto exchange intelligence. “There is atransparency of information in a secureenvironment that enables everybody tosee what is going on, which encouragesfair play and discourages gamingactivity,” said Brian Flynn.

Global connectionsIn addition to regional targets, the

Network Manager has to interface withtraffic flow in the rest of the world.“About 20% of flights come fromoutside Europe,” said Joe Sultana. This isexpected to rise to 25% in the next 10years as higher growth rates in theMiddle East, Southeast Asia and SouthAmerica impact on global traffic.“Around the globe there are about 12ATFM regions where we see thesedevelopments. There are different localflow management arrangements, butthey all have a different model.” JoeSultana is aware of a shift in externalfocus with the regions to the east andsouth of Europe becoming moreinfluential.

There are several challenges, notleast the unpredictable nature of flightsarriving from outside Europe. There are ahigh number of missing flight plans,while some flight plans deviatesubstantially from the actual entry time,and there are lateral route deviationsbetween the flight plan and actual routeflown.

EUROCONTROL is working with theInternational Civil Aviation Organization(ICAO) and other regions to support theconcept of seamless and interoperableATM operations via data exchange andother arrangements. Another exampleof cooperation is with Singapore’s AirTraffic Management Research Institute(ATMRI), a joint initiative between theCivil Aviation Authority of Singapore and


“Flow management isbalancing demand withcapacity, which is fine,but unless you are doingsomething aboutincreasing capacity youare going to get caughtout sooner or later.”Joe Sultana,Director Network Manager

A windowon theEuropeannetwork

JAN

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FOCUS 17

Nanyang Technological University,which has established a regionalsimulation and modelling capabilitybased on the EUROCONTROL NetworkManager’s regional airspace designcapability. “We have a unique set ofsystems and expert operational andtechnical knowledge that can be usedto help improve European and globalATM performance. If we find the correctinstitutional basis probably inpartnership with European ANSPs andEuropean industry, I think these valuableresources could be used in any part ofthe world,” said Brian Flynn.

In North America, work is ongoing toactually harmonise the data formats andprocedures used by the US FederalAviation Administration (FAA) and theNetwork Manager to allow seamlesssharing of information. For more than 10 years the FAA and EUROCONTROLhave exchanged data and used dailyteleconferencing to coordinate trafficflow and the concept is now part of anICAO ATM Operations panel aimed atglobal ATFM. The panel aims to establishguidelines to support efficient and fullsharing of all relevant data fromplanning to tactical, aligned with thegoals of the Global Air Navigation Plan(GANP).

Flight efficiencyMeanwhile on the immediate

horizon, the Network Manager isaddressing coordination within theEuropean area. If Europe is to meet thesecond performance period targets, itneeds to deliver sufficient capacitywhile meeting the efficiency objectives.“Developments in SES ATM Research(SESAR), such as 4-dimensionaltrajectories, will

become reality in the next five years, soair traffic management has to change tomake best use of the ability to predictwhere the traffic will be, within +∕-3seconds,” said Joe Sultana. “Today, anaircraft has a departure time with a slotwindow of 15 minutes. So the accuracyof what we do can be out by 15 minuteseven at the start of a flight.”

Joe Sultana wants to bring this downto one minute or 30 seconds to be ableto predict constraints much moreaccurately, maybe eliminating some ofthe restrictions that are applied today.“This is also linked to arrivalmanagement, and involves the majorairports where capacity is at a premium,”he said. “We have to maximise therunway throughput, landing an aircraftevery thirty seconds, or a minute, orevery two minutes depending uponwhere you are. Trying to coordinate thiswith departures which are 15 minutesout is too much.” The Network Managercalls this cooperative trafficmanagement.

Contributing to improvedpredictability is the Free Route Airspaceprogramme, currently being rolled out

by Member States in accordance withthe EC Regulation 716/2014 whichrequires its implementation in upperairspace by 2022. Free Routes enableairspace users to plan a route betweendefined entry and exit points withoutreference to the Air Traffic Services routenetwork, in order to fly the optimumflight path. “This will give usmore predictability in terms ofwhere the aircraft is going to fly.Eventually it will be availableacross the whole Europeancontinent,” said Joe Sultana. Inparallel, the Network Manageris developing B2B connectionsbetween ATC, airlines andairports that will enable datasharing in a much moreseamless way. The ATMinformation portal is aEuropean Commission initiativethat will provide data system-wide in the right format towhoever needs it. “We arelooking at the technical andoperational improvements forthis project in the next fouryears,” he said.

Joe Sultana acknowledgescapacity is just one of thechallenges facing the NetworkManager over the next fiveyears, but he is confident the

organisation has theexperience and resources tocontinue to deliver results.“The Network Manager is the heartbeat of the Single European Sky,

ensuring that the operation works allaround the SES, and beyond. It can dothis in an impartial and transparentmanner acting in the interest ofnetwork efficiency and meeting cost-efficiency targets.”

“If you don’t complywith flow management,the measures will losetheir effectiveness andcapacity will bereduced.”Brian Flynn,Head of Performance,Forecasting and Relations,EUROCONTROL

2014 – Dailyflights in theEuropeanNM area

Network

Manager adds

value to network

performance!

NM– connecting youto the network!

a new phase of spreading theprogramme wider and deeper – toless busy airports and to clientsoutside the core traffic areas ofEurope.

“The smaller the airport the lessclear is the business case forimplementing A-CdM,” said davidBooth, “so we have developed newinitiatives – with support also fromthe European Commission – to makefunding available for airports thatwish to implement A-CdM. And forreally small airports that want to beconnected to the network, but wherethere’s no business case for full A-CdM implementation, we have the‘Advanced ATC (Air Traffic Control)Tower’ programme. These airportsprovide a reduced set of departureplanning information messages whencompared with A-CdM airports. Someairports are implementing asAdvanced ATC Tower airports as a firststep towards full A-CdMimplementation. we have already 14airports implemented with this, five inGermany, seven in the Uk and oneeach in Ukraine and France.

“The A-CdM and Advanced ATCTower airports provide accurateestimations of take-off times basedupon the locally available off-blocktimes and variable taxi-time for eachflight. These take-off-time estimates

For most theoretical physiciststrying to unlock the secrets ofthe universe, understanding the

nature of black holes represents,perhaps, the ultimate scientificchallenge. For aviation professionalstasked with keeping aircraft to theirflight schedules, the equivalent of theblack hole is a large hub airport. Theywill know when the aircraft is due toland and when it is scheduled to take

off again, but once it entersthe area of potentialuncertainty that representsa large airport a veil ofmystery appears todescend on the entireschedule managementprocess.

Until now. Thanks to thegrowing popularity ofprogrammes such asAirport Collaborativedecision Making (A-CdM)(see box overleaf ), aircraft

operators, airspace planners, airportsand air traffic management (ATM)professionals are now seeing a muchclearer picture of the flight turnaroundprocess at even the busiest hubs. Andwith this clearer picture airspaceplanners are, at last, starting to be ableto understand and predict howindividual airport operations willimpact the entire European air traffic

management network.“First and foremost, A-CdM is

aimed at improving transparency andefficiency of operations at the airportitself,” said david Booth, A-CdMImplementation Manager atEUROCONTROl. “what we are tryingto do now is increase, from theNetwork Manager’s viewpoint, thevisibility in that black hole, so we haveinformation on the departing flightsmuch earlier, starting from threehours in advance when the flight planis filed. For airports the benefit is thatthey will start to know exactly whenan aircraft will arrive on a particularstand and ground handlers, forexample, can start to plan to have theexact resources ready for the arrival. Itshould reduce the occasions whenyou arrive at the gate and the captainsays ‘our stand is occupied becausewe’ve arrived too early’.”

The A-CdM programme iscontinuing to pick up pace in Europe.There are now 16 fully implementedairports with A-CdM procedures inplace, covering almost all thecontinent’s busiest hubs. Another four or five are planned forimplementation this year, with othersto follow. The benefits are starting toflow (see box overleaf ) but it is a crucialtime now for the programme asEUROCONTROl and its partners begin

Introducing Airport Collaborative Decision Making to Europe’s busiest hubshas taken longer and has been more complex than originally foreseen – butthe benefits of greater transparency are now being felt throughout thenetwork and deployment is accelerating.


18 FOCUS

Revealing the secretsof the airport blackhole

“For airports the benefitis that they will start toknow exactly when anaircraft will arrive on aparticular stand andground handlers, forexample, can start toplan to have the exactresources ready for thearrival.”


FOCUS 19

are used by the Network Manager toimprove its 4d flight profiles whichautomatically results in more accuratetraffic count predictions, i.e. animproved air traffic flow and capacitymanagement (ATFCM) service by theNetwork Manager Operations Centre(NMOC). The improved 4d flightprofiles are also shared with ourpartners; air navigation serviceproviders (ANSPs) for use in their localflow management tools; aircraftoperators in their flight followingapplications and with the destinationairports for improvement of landingtime estimates.”

The improved take-off timeestimates may already be availablewhen the aircraft is inbound into theA-CdM airport due to the flightconnection (inbound to outbound) atthe airport and it is further improvedduring the turnaround process whenhandling agents and tower areincluding the flight in their planning.

The take-off-time estimates fromCdM airports providemore/significant benefits to theNetwork Manager and its partnersduring adverse conditions, i.e. at timeswhen International Civil AviationOrganization (ICAO) flight plan off-block times are highly inaccurate.

Improving connections betweenindividual airports and the overall ATM

network will mean fewer delays,happier passengers, more profitableairlines and a lower environmentalfootprint. A study into the theoreticalnetwork benefits of the A-CdMprogramme conducted by theEUROCONTROl Experimental Centrein Bretigny in 2009, based on 2007data, suggested that with 42 airportsequipped with A-CdM by 2019 therewould be a reduction in delaysthroughout the European ATMnetwork of 20%. But that was basedon theoretical consequences ofimprovements resulting from theimplementation of the first A-CdMsystem in Munich. “we’re re-runningthat study now, to have those benefitsmore accurately defined,” said davidBooth. “we want to see exactly whatbenefits are being realised at thepresent time with the number ofairports we have now.”

Even before the results of thestudy it is clear that improvingpredictability of turn-round times andpre-departure sequencing is alreadyreducing controller workload, fortower controllers, en-route centrecontrollers and airspace managers.“we’re waiting for the final figures tocome from the Maastricht Upper AreaControl Centre (MUAC),” said davidBooth, “but we know that controllersthere have noticed a much greater

predictability and stability of trafficcoming their way.”

Tower controllers at individualairports have also reported reductionsin workload as a result of A-CdM asbetter predictability now allows themto plan pre-sequencing of departuresup to 30 or 40 minutes in advance ofthe flight being ready to leave thestand.

EUROCONTROl is now workingon enhancing those benefits further,working with partners to integratefuture A-CdM concepts within theEUROCONTROl suite of centralisedservices (CS) and Single European SkyATM Research (SESAR) programmes.These initiatives will build on workthat the Network Manager has doneto, for example, check that when aflight plan is filed for a departing flightthere is also an appropriatedesignated airport arrival slot. “whatwe are trying to do is to reduce thenumber of multiple or duplicate flightplans in the system,” said david Booth.The objective of CS1 is to check theconsistency of flight plans againstairport slots on a centralised basis,informing the ATM stakeholders ofmismatches and providing post-operation analysis.

“Airport operations centres willalso become increasingly importantaspects of integrating large airports

© Flughafen München GmbH


20 FOCUS

within the network,” said PaulAdamson, head of Airports atEUROCONTROl. “A-CdM is very muchthe baseline for this. we want tointegrate the Airport Operations Plandefined by SESAR with the NetworkOperations Plan, building on the A-CdM processes and culture. wehave a task force now that’s looking atthat and trying to identify exactlywhat the data exchange flows shouldbe in the Airport Operations Plan so it

can be fully integrated within theNetwork Operations Plan.”

The Network Manager is alsoworking, in response to stakeholderrequests, to develop a central datarepository which will automaticallygather information from differentairport A-CdM systems for key eventssuch as target off-block-times andtarget start times, so appropriatestakeholders will be able to accessnon-commercially sensitive aircraft

events which will impact their ownoperations. The initial iteration of thisservice is now available through theNetwork Manager Operations Portaland EUROCONTROl is planning todevelop the service so all target off-block-times and target start times willbe available from A-CdM equippedairports.

And A-CdM is also now startingto spread beyond Europe, withairports in the Middle East, such asdubai, considering implementationand Asia, where Singapore and hongkong are examining the benefits ofintroducing A-CdM. These hubs arelooking at both the EUROCONTROlconcept and the Federal AviationAdministration’s own CdMprogramme and an ICAO task forcehas been set up to see whether it willbe possible to harmonise the twoconcepts for global implementation.

It will not necessarily be an easytask because A-CdM is more than justa simple piece of software that allowsANSPs, airports, airport stakeholdersand air traffic flow managementdynamic database operators to sharethe same set of data. Each airport isdifferent with different degrees ofcomplexity, much of which isproprietary information. Theeffectiveness of the system relies inlarge part on cultural change – inmoving away from data silos – as wellas new technology. The good news isthat, in Europe at least, the last fewyears have seen some of the largestand most complex hubs successfullyintroducing the concept, which willbe the building-block to improving airtraffic flows in the air and on theground throughout the continent.

A-CDM integrates processes and systems in use by aircraft operators, airports, air navigationservice providers, ground-handling agencies and the Network Manager involved in airportaeronautical operations. It focuses particularly on the aircraft turn-round and pre-departuresequencing phases, which allows the ATM Network to run more fluently. A-CDM is essentiallyabout partnerships, working together more efficiently and transparently in sharing data. It allowsbetter decision-making, based on more accurate and timely information, with all airport partnershaving the same operational picture. There are several benefits:

• For the airport operator: improved use of stands/gates

• For the ground handler: more accurate arrival times and planning. Better use of resources

• For the aircraft operator: improved awareness about the status and location of the aircraft,more accurate fleet predictions. Significant decrease in fuel costs

• For the environment: less noise and lower CO2 emissions

• For the air traffic controllers: reduced workload due to a greater predictability of traffic

• For the passenger: reduced delays and probability of missed connections, better reliabilityon flights meaning improved customer satisfaction

• For the Network Manager: more up-to-date and accurate information leading to betternetwork planning

Airport collaborativedecision making: theessentials


FOCUS 21

With demand for air travel starting to increase again in Europe, the continent’s airports needto find new ways to manage their limited airside resources more efficiently; there’s an off-the-shelf solution just waiting to be implemented.

A quick way to add capacity at

congested airports

In December 2015 Paris Charles de Gaulleairport is scheduled to become the firstEuropean airport to deploy a new separation

standard for aircraft on approach to, anddeparting, the airport. The “Re-categorisation ofthe International Civil Aviation Organization(ICAO) Wake Turbulence Separation Minima” (orRECAT) is a relatively simple procedure which will

significantly increase the airport’s capacity at peakhours and could become an important driver inEurope’s busiest airports’ future ability to handlemore aircraft through a limited number ofrunways.

The procedure and the concept may be simplebut the research and science behind RECAT isextensive and complex.

©M

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22 FOCUS

Until now separation distancesbetween aircraft on final approachhave mainly been determined by

standards drawn up byICAO over 40 years ago,which set fixed separationdistances for threecategories of aircraft –Light, Medium and Heavy.These categories cancover a large range ofaircraft – the Mediumcategory, for example,encompasses aircraft fromthe size of a Boeing 757down to a Beech 1900.Since 2002EUROCONTROL has beenworking with the world’smost capable researchers

to determine the exact behaviour andstrength of wake vortices generated byindividual aircraft on final approach.New measuring technologies, such asthe two Light Detection and Ranging(LiDAR) sensors currently in operation,have given EUROCONTROL greaterinsights into how these vortices shiftand dissipate in different windconditions and what the subsequenteffect will be on following aircraft.

The result of this research is RECAT-EU, which divides the ICAO Mediumand Heavy categories each into twocategories and creates a Super Heavycategory for the Airbus A380. InOctober 2014, following a thoroughstakeholder consultation and detailedreview of the safety assessment, theEuropean Aviation Safety Agency(EASA) confirmed that the RECAT-EU

safety case provides theassurance necessary fordeployment.

“EUROCONTROL is in aunique position, havingthe most comprehensivewake vortex database inthe world covering datafrom Frankfurt, Charles deGaulle and Heathrow,” said

Robert Graham, Head of AirportResearch at the Agency.

There are some very unusualaspects to the RECAT programme. Thecost-benefit analysis for its introductionat a capacity-constrained airport isextraordinarily positive. It requires aminimum of technology change. It isvery cost-efficient. And, somewhat

counter intuitively, theevidence so far suggests thatrather than adding tocontroller workload RECAT-EUwill make life easier in thetower.

“It’s low cost in the sense itis 95% procedural and theonly system changerequested is to adapt theflight strip to allow thecontroller to have the newcategory on strip and theradar screen,” said VincentTrève, RECAT-EU ProjectManager. “There is the aspectof training to consider alsoand a small change to the flight planmanagement system. You would thinkthat moving from four categories to sixwould add to the workload but wehave found the reverse to be true. Thetwo new categories are actuallyapplied quite rarely and the totalnumber of separations doesn’t changefundamentally, but the added capacityRECAT brings gives you much moretime to manage the overall trafficworkload. Our simulator work hasshown that with the new categoriesmore runway throughput is possibleand the whole TMA (terminalmanoeuvring area) is less constrained.”

The simulation research suggeststhat Paris Charles de Gaulle will see anincrease in peak departure capacity of6% following the deployment ofRECAT-EU. EUROCONTROL airportexperts suggest there are between 10and 12 congested European airportswhere the new procedure could makea real difference and half of these aretalking to the Agency about thepossibilities of introducing the system.

“Within the next two years there willprobably be two to three airportsintroducing RECAT-EU and two to threemore in the following two years,” saidVincent Trève.

The next few years will see otherRECAT developments asEUROCONTROL research into this area,which has now been taken up withinthe Single European Sky ATM Research(SESAR) programme, seeks to extendthe benefits of applying more flexibleseparation criteria. This means workingwith new partners – including airnavigation service providers (ANSPs),ACI Europe and Dubai airport, which

has already implemented a part ofRECAT-EU. The future direction of workhas been driven by a number ofdifferent factors, including the need tolook closely at whether and howseparation distances between theleader and following aircraft can bedefined pairwise (RECAT-2) andresearch into whether separatingaircraft dynamically – based onprevailing weather conditions – on thebasis of time, rather than distance, canimprove both safety and capacity.Collectively this research is calledRECAT-3.

“Time-based separation has been inuse since March at London Heathrow,”said Vincent Trève. “With this conceptthe dynamic basis of separation is afunction of weather, such asheadwinds, and we are talking to otherairports about the concept which willallow them to increase departurecapacity in specific strong windconditions so that they don’t need atwo-minute delay after a Heavydeparture. This can be both a tacticalprocedure – based on the actual windconditions – and a more strategicprocess which, together with moreaccurate wake and weathermonitoring, should mean in the longterm the strategic management of therunway operations and accurateforecasting methodologies willbecome integrated within the flowmanagement system.”

“We are starting to share this richknowledge and to develop it furtherthrough additional data collection orvia strategic partnerships such as ouragreement with Dubai, which willprovide a comprehensive set of Heavy

“We are talking to otherairports about the conceptwhich will allow them toincrease departurecapacity in specific strongwind conditions so thatthey don’t need a two-minute delay after aHeavy departure.”Vincent Trève, RECAT-EU Project Manager,EUROCONTROL

“EUROCONTROL is in aunique position, havingthe most comprehensivewake vortex database.”Robert Graham,Head of Airport Research,EUROCONTROL


FOCUS 23

aircraft type data including the AirbusA380, so important to Emirates at itshome base in Dubai,” said RobertGraham. “The big deal about our wakedata is its re-usability for differentairports and one focus we have is thenext step beyond RECAT-EU, which willprovide airports such as Heathrow withadditional runway throughputcapability with its ever-increasingnumber of A380 movements. This workis now underway in SESAR with ourpartner NATS.”

“We’re building upon the researchand development (R&D) activity that’sbeen undertaken with RECAT-EU andwe know the benefits that will comeand Paris Charles de Gaulle is the firstexample of a deployment,” said PaulAdamson, Head of Airports atEUROCONTROL. “We see RECAT-EU asthe first stepping stone along a seriesof improvements that can be made.”

The capacity-enhancing benefitswhich RECAT can bring are particularlyimportant now for European airportsand the entire ATM network, as traffic isstarting to grow again after many yearsof decline and stagnation.

“From our most recent Challengesto Growth study, we need nineadditional runways in Europe betweennow and 2035,” said Paul Adamson. “I don’t think we’re going to see themand anything that can help will bewelcomed. The study forecasts that by2035 there will be 20 or 21 airportsoperating at the levels that we now seeat Heathrow so we need to be ready forthat and these 20 airports will needsolutions like RECAT-EU.

“For airports, RECAT delivers twobenefits – a local benefit, which they

will see immediately, and anetwork benefit, which willreinforce and compound theimmediate benefit. We want togenerate further capacity fromthe network and havingcapacity enhancements duringthe day will help the networkrecover more quickly from any adverseconditions.”

Local benefits will be in terms ofoverall runway capacity, with potentialincreases of 6% or more. Significantly,these capacity increases will bedelivered during peak periods and areset to increase as the traffic mixevolves towards larger aircraft. Fromboth the local and networkperspectives RECAT-EU also brings thepotential of a more rapid recoveryfrom adverse conditions, withsimulations indicating a potentialreduction in delay of more than 20%.As we move towards RECAT-2 andRECAT-3 these benefits may of coursebe enhanced even further.

“We now have a product that canbe customised for an individual airporttraffic mix and is the baseline for thenext step which will provide furtherbenefit for those airports that willdeploy time-based spacing in thecontext of the SESAR deploymentprogramme,” said Robert Graham.

Researchers are already lookingbeyond RECAT-2 to RECAT-3. RECAT-2will define separations for each pair ofaircraft from a matrix of 115 by 115aircraft. This will cover separations formore than 95% of the most commonglobal aircraft types. Similar researchwork is underway in the USA, wheredifferent categorisation standards

currently apply, and EUROCONTROLresearchers are working towardsdeveloping a common US/EuropeanRECAT-2 package to be put beforeICAO for incorporation into theProcedures for Air Navigation Services –Air Traffic Management (PANS-ATM)Document 4444. RECAT-3 will create adynamic pair-wise separation scheme,which gives an extra level of flexibilityin applying separations by usingmeteorological data from ground andair system sensors to identify whenseparations can be further refined.

“There is a risk that people thinkthat the ultimate solution is RECAT-2and they want to wait for that,” saidPaul Adamson. “But in fact it’s astepped improvement and the biggestimprovement comes with the initialdeployment of RECAT-EU, after whichwhen further refinements emergefrom the R&D world they will berelatively easy steps for people tomake.”

“We have a package that is startingto gain international recognition,starting with Dubai, and it isunderpinned by the in-depth quality ofthe safety case and technicalassessment supported by EASAendorsement,” said Robert Graham.“This recognition is building amomentum of support for theupdating of ICAO PANS-ATM wakevortex separation minima.”

“We’re building upon the research anddevelopment activity that’s been undertakenwith RECAT-EU and we know the benefits thatwill come and Paris Charles de Gaulle is thefirst example of a deployment.”Paul Adamson, Head of Airports, EUROCONTROL

© Mathieu Marquer ©M

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24 FOCUS

RECAT to improve life for aircraftoperators, the travelling publicand airportsDubai Air Navigation Services (DANS), the air navigation servicesprovider (ANSP) responsible for managing Dubai and NorthernEmirates airspace and providing air traffic management services forprestigious airlines and airports, signed an agreement withEUROCONTROL earlier this year to collaborate on RECAT activities.

The Emirate of Dubai is expecting an influx of over 20 million visitorsaround Expo 2020 and more than 5,100 daily aircraft movements areforecasted to operate in and out of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by2030. With the forecasted growth expected to occur, largeconglomerates within the aviation sector such as Emirates Airlines andDubai Airports have announced massive expansion plans.

In order to cater to this growth, DANS is implementing variousinnovative and cutting-edge solutions which will enable it to enhanceair traffic movement capacity. From the several cutting-edge tools andsolutions being implemented, the organisation is preparing to test theRECAT concept as one of the possible solutions to achieve its strategicgoals of enhancing air traffic movement capacity.

The nature of wake turbulence generated in the UAE is very differentfrom the wake generated from aircraft operating in other parts of theworld. This comes as result of environmental differences in weatherand temperature. DANS is the only organisation in the Middle East and

North African (MENA) region currently conducting research in wakevortex, where wake behaviour is being studied and analysed through3D LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) sensors only present in Dubai,thus providing efficient and exclusive intelligence that will support theorganisation in implementing the RECAT solution. Currently theseparation levels being considered between aircraft are at theproximity of below 2,000 feet. In addition, the organisation isdeveloping a wake vortex programme that will help to identify thebest wake mitigation procedure to avoid wake encounter and increasecapacity.

Once implemented, the benefits of this new procedure will be quitesignificant, as it will enable DANS to increase air traffic movementcapacity thus catering for growth in the sector, simultaneouslydecreasing delays while maintaining the same level of safety in itsoperations. This will result in the added benefit of reduction in costsand taxi time for airlines, airports and aircraft manufacturers.

Under a collaborative agreement signed with EUROCONTROL, DANS isproviding the Agency with LiDAR data to support EUROCONTROL’sanalysis in the scope of RECAT and work together to preparediscussions for the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)change of wake vortex categorisation.

The view from the Dubai AirNavigation Services

© Emirates Airlines© Dubai International Airport

© Emirates Airlines

assuming new significance. “Our role is changing,” said Captain

Johan De Smet, an air traffic controlofficer with the Belgian Air Force. “For 10 years most of our job wasconcerned with air traffic control anda small part was dedicated to airspacemanagement. Now airspacemanagement plays a far moresignificant role.”

EUROCONTROl’s flexible use ofairspace (FUA) concept has been amajor component in ensuring that,

Europe’s largest aircraft operatoris not Air France-klM or Ryanair,but the combined fleets of the

continent’s defence departments.Europe’s airspace managers have tofind room for 3,365 combat aircraft,949 large military transports, 1,390smaller transports and 3,733helicopters alongside the 9.6 millioncivil aircraft movements handled bycivil air traffic controllers annually.demand for more military airspace isincreasing. The capability of combat


FOCUS 25

aircraft to automatically engage anenemy hundreds of miles away isgrowing and exotic new forms ofdefence systems, such as remotely-piloted air systems (RPAS), are takingto the skies, requiring uniqueseparation procedures.

Airspace is a finite resource and asairline traffic has started to increase itis not surprising that airspacemanagement – rather than air trafficcontrol which is concerned primarilywith the safe separation of flights – is

The last few months have seen an acceleration in the work to deploy a much-neededintegrated civil/military airspace planning tool throughout Europe.

LARA supportgathers momentum

© UK MOD


26 FOCUS

despite growing pressures, both civiland military aircraft operators havethe airspace they need to operatewith increasing levels of safety andefficiency. At the heart of FUA is theidea of implementing more dynamicand flexible airspace structures and amore efficient and transparentdecision-making process, so civil andmilitary aircraft can share airspace assoon as it becomes available. Thismeans developing tools which willallow civil and military airspaceplanners to share a picture of availablecapacity and work together tomanage it in the most efficient waypossible.

EUROCONTROl’s lARA – the localand sub-Regional AirspaceManagement Support System – does

exactly that. Using lARA allowsmilitary aircraft operators to reserveblocks of airspace for exclusive militaryuse while coordinating the openingand closing of reserved areas withtheir civil counterparts. Controllers cansee immediately when airspace will beactivated and when it will bedeactivated, along with requests forreserving airspace for militaryoperations – or cancellations – as soonas they are generated.

lARA has been in use for severalyears but is now undergoing a majordevelopmental surge. The number ofStates using it is growing rapidly – upfrom six at the start of 2015 topotentially 18 by early 2016 – whilethe system itself is evolving rapidly sothat by the end of this year there

should be full interoperabilitybetween all stakeholders and theNetwork Manager (NM).

“The main idea is to bring moretransparency, more confidence in theway airspace is used and managed inEurope,” said François Cervo, lARATechnical Manager at EUROCONTROl.”The second objective is to improveefficiency in the way airspace is used.”

From the start, EUROCONTROl hastaken a ‘bottom-up’ approach tolARA’s development. “we had astepped approach, to ensure the buy-in of our stakeholders, becausealthough EUROCONTROl has beencoordinating the activity we wantedthe States to lead the development,”said François Cervo. “The second ideawas to bring automation into airspacemanagement because we had alreadyidentified the different levels ofcoordination which would be neededin our work with FUA.”

EUROCONTROl’s challenge was todevelop a single automated systemwhich would do away with thepaperwork and phone calls needed tocoordinate civil and military airspaceplanning through all phases ofoperations, from strategic long-termplanning to day-to-day tacticaloperations. “The idea was to find waysto automate and smooth the process,to bring together the planning, pre-tactical phase, which we call level two,with a tactical phase – the flexible useof airspace, or level three,” saidFrançois Cervo. via lARA, militaryairspace planners input planning datawhich is then disseminatedthroughout the system without theneed for re-keying, thus reducingmistakes and increasing transparency.

Each State has very differentrequirements when it comes tocoordinating civil and militaryairspace. Some, for example, alreadyhave their own airspace managementsystems in place, so EUROCONTROllARA specialists have developedinterfaces to connect their militaryairspace planning system with lARAand the Network Manager. In someStates coordinating these activitiestakes place at a regional level, while inothers coordination takes placecentrally. The number of organisationswho need to access the planningprocess can also vary from State to

LARA ops-deployment

LARA pre-deployment

LARA exp-deployment

LARA under consideration

LARA users


FOCUS 27

State so there are major technicalissues to be overcome before trainingand support processes are put inplace. “This also takes time becausestakeholders need to understand thecapabilities of the product,” saidFrançois Cervo. “you really need tohave people involved so there is aclear continuity between localimplementation and strategiccoordination activities at the Statelevel.”

“lARA’s prime benefit to the Uk’sJoint and Integrated AirspaceManagement Cell is the much-needed collaborative interface,accessed by co-located staff,” saidJohn Morton, Head of the AirspaceManagement Function at UK airnavigation service provider NATS.“Requests for shared airspace arebrought together in graphic formwhich then provides the backdrop forenhanced civil/military collaborativedecision making (CdM). Anotherimportant facet that lARA provides isthe simplified booking process.Requests for Special Use Airspace(SUA) are entered using an easy-to-use template, and once approved thebooking becomes part of theconsolidated Uk Airspace Use Plan(AUP). Our start-to-finish process timefor the AUP has been drasticallyreduced from approximately 60minutes to around 15 minutes. Thismeans we can now update our AUPwhenever the airspace plan changesresulting in increased airspaceefficiency.”

And each stakeholder has differenttechnical requirements which need tobe addressed.

“Flexibility is the most importantaspect for us but we also need toolswhich will give us a good overview ofthe airspace plan and its actual status,”said Captain Johan de Smet of theBelgian Air Force. “we have that nowwith lARA but we had to ask forseveral changes to the hMI (humanmachine interface) as, with mostcountries, we have a large airspace tocover and it doesn’t fit on a singlescreen. Before, there was a lot ofscrolling needed but now we havenew filters and we can get a goodview of the airspace picture in a farmore efficient way.”

Another key component of lARA is

its interface with the NetworkManager. If individual stakeholdersagree, they can pass their airspaceplanning schedules directly to theNetwork Manager who can, throughthe military coordinating officer(MIlO), look at how airspace can bereconfigured for the benefit of thewhole ATM network – this is still at theconcept phase and is being graduallyimplemented, said François Cervo. “Ithink efficiency is also improvedbecause everyone has a commonview of the airspace picture,” he said.“Then there is the safety benefitbecause you have real-timeinformation and everyone has thesame view of that information. Andwe also now have harmonisedairspace data, to ensure there isconsistency between airspace datahosted by the Network Manager andthe local data.”

At the same time lARA has beendesigned to ensure that everystakeholder manages its owndatabase – national databases areconnected cross-border with otherdatabases but they are always underthe control of the local user. Indeveloping the tool, EUROCONTROlhas used all the experience gained inthe application of FUA alongsideresults from the Single European SkyATM Research (SESAR) programmeand other work the Agency hasundertaken as part of developing theAdvanced Flexible Use of Airspace(AFUA) concept.

For many airspace planners inEurope, the role of lARA is likely tobecome even more significant withthe implementation of AFUA as partof the Single European Sky, especiallythe implementation of the next stepswith the pilot common project (PCP)regulation and EUROCONTROl’sCentralised Service Four (CS4)”Advanced Flexible Use of AirspaceSupport Service (AFUAS).”

“AMC Switzerland decided in 2012to produce and publish the AirspaceUse Plan (AUP)/Updated Airspace UsePlan (UUP) with the lARA tool,” saidOliver Kim Krause, Head of the AirspaceManagement Cell at Swiss air navigationservice provider skyguide. “One of themain reasons was to fulfil theEuropean Single Sky Implementation(ESSIP) Plan AOM19-ASP05 (implement

interoperability of local ASM supportsystem with NM system) and AOM19-ASP09 (deploy automated ASMsupport systems). during theimplementation phase of lARA, CS4initiatives from EUROCONTROl alsopersuaded us that lARA will be theright tool for us for future changes inthe European Civil Aviation Conference(ECAC) area. Since March 2015 theAMC Switzerland has been publishingthe AUP and UUP via B2B towards theNetwork Manager.”

“with lARA, AMC Switzerland hasan airspace management tool whichfulfils international and nationalrequirements,” said Oliverkim krause, “and thisreduces media breaks,operational workflow andworkload. Anotheradvantage is that four outof five FABEC (FunctionalAirspace Block EuropeCentral) members arealready part of the lARAuser group and steeringgroup which take anactive role by developingthe system andmonitoring the changes,which have a directimpact on the ASMprocedures and tools,made by the ERNIP PartASM handbook.”

“Interoperability isensured between CS4 andthe local/regional lARAtool, as lARA togetherwith othernational/regional tools willbe a key building block ofCS4 implementation,” saidFrançois Cervo. “lARA is aEUROCONTROl productwhich means that italready belongs to thestakeholders and will bedeployed and maintained at no extracost to EUROCONTROl stakeholders.At the end of the year we will have fullinteroperability betweenEUROCONTROl and their own NMservices which will mean that thosebusiness-to-business communicationswhich are currently working on asmall scale will be fully implementedby the end of the year. This is a majormilestone.”

“The main idea is tobring moretransparency, moreconfidence in the wayairspace is used andmanaged in Europe”François Cervo, LARA Technical Manager,EUROCONTROL

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clearly a priority for most, if not all,countries. This should also help makethe transition more acceptable for thestaff and unions.

As to timescale, SES will be anevolving process that will continue for along time. However, that does not meanthat there is no urgency. On thecontrary, there is a pressing need toimprove the performance of EuropeanATM, not least because we are nowstarting to see growth in traffic. Theperformance benchmark with theFederal Aviation Administration (FAA)and the one underway with Chinaclearly show the deficiencies of ourEuropean system in terms of cost.

What’s your take on the complexityof the European AtM governance,with an increasing number oforganisations with responsibilities

parallel in each country. So it was not surprising that when

we started looking for services for whicha centralised, market-driven approachwould yield significant benefits insupport of the Single European Sky, itwas a relatively quick process to find 18such services, which now form theCentralised Services programme.However, the potential for new businessmodels goes much further; for example,joint operation or joint procurement byseveral ANSPs also on a regional levelcould again result in major cost andoperational benefits. Here, the technicalchanges that are now becomingavailable will help as much better dataexchange and communication acrossthe network become a reality. That willmean that ANSPs can improve theirperformance while at the same timeretaining their control centre locations –


34 INSIGHT

Indeed, the most difficult challengesthat we face in implementing theSingle European Sky are to do withchanging the mind-set and achievingacceptance that we need to becomemore competitive. In order to moveforward, we need to change the way welook at ATM. The technical challengesare there but are more readilyovercome.

The greatest changes will come fromall the players in ATM embracing a newapproach to our service provision. Thisnew approach will entail moving awayfrom seeing ATM as something largelyperformed at a national monopolisticlevel, with each air navigation serviceprovider (ANSP), often each controlcentre, being independent and entirelyself-sufficient. Instead, ATM is made upof a number of activities and it does notmake sense for all of them to be run in

What are, in your view, the key challenges facing the Single European Sky implementation? how far are we from achieving it?The Single European Sky (SES) has the potential to continue to change ATM in Europe. Indeed, it has alreadystarted to do so with a much greater focus on performance and a growing acceptance that we need a clearand coherent route map for the way forward. That is in itself a real achievement in a continent with so manycountries, each with their own systems and each with their own challenges and priorities.

Frank Brenner,Director General ofEUROCONTROL

“We need tochange the waythat we look atATM”

In this issue of Skyway we have a new section ‘InSIght’, in which we ask key decision makers to give us their views on issues offundamental importance to the air traffic management (ATM) and wider aviation communities in Europe. In this issue, we explore thetopic of institutional change and ATM service provision. The following pages include viewpoints from Mr Frank Brenner, DirectorGeneral of EUROCONTROL, Mr Haydar Yalçin, Provisional Council President, Mr João Aguiar Machado, Director General of theEuropean Commission’s DG MOVE, who leaves his post in October 2015, and incoming DG MOVE Director General Mr Henrik Hololei.


intensive cooperation with the EC, theStates and EUROCONTROL.

What is Europe’s role in globalinteroperability? how can Europeconcretely contribute towards theachievement of this key aviationgoal?

The importance of aircraft being ableto fly around the world without havingto carry multiple systems for interactingwith ATM in each continent is wellestablished. Nobody disputes theconcept of global interoperability and itis a clear priority for the InternationalCivil Aviation Organization (ICAO).Europe has a strong role at ICAO for anumber of reasons. First, the complexityof the airspace in Europe and thedensity of the traffic mean that our ATMsystems have to be among the best inthe world. As more and more SESARdevelopments become available, wewill be implementing cutting-edge newtechnology and new procedures, basedon system-wide informationmanagement (SWIM) architecturesincluding a couple of CentralisedServices, that will help shape the futureof ATM, not just in Europe but aroundthe world. This is reflected in the ICAOGlobal Air Navigation Plan – a plan inwhich Europe devoted considerabletime and effort in order to make surethat it tied in with developments in thiscontinent.

The second reason why Europe has aparticularly strong role is that we havemanaged in the past to organiseourselves to speak with a single, clearand expert voice. This has been aconsiderable achievement when oneconsiders the number of countries andinternational bodies involved. Inparticular, the ability to contributeat the detailed, technical, expertlevel has been essential and is wellrecognised. I am proud of the rolethat EUROCONTROL has played inthis process, together with our

colleagues from the EuropeanCommission, the European Civil AviationConference (ECAC), EASA and ourMember States.

The third and last reason I wouldgive for the importance of Europe’s rolecomes from our industrial base. We haveworld-leading companies based hereand they recognise the importance ofpromoting and developing the positionof Europe on a global stage.

While interoperability is mostlyviewed in terms of the ability of aircraftto interact with ground-based systems,we also need to consider the interactionbetween ground-based systems.EUROCONTROL already exchanges real-time operational information with theFAA so that each organisation can havea clear picture of traffic heading towardsthem well before they even startcrossing the Atlantic. As airspacebecomes busier and as we movetowards an operational concept ofprecise 4D trajectory management, theneed to exchange this kind ofinformation will grow in importance –not just between Europe and NorthAmerica but between all the regions ofairspace around the world. Here weneed to include not just ANSPs but alsoairspace users and airports.

This means making sure that thesystems being developed around theworld can talk to and understand eachother. It is an exciting challenge and onethat will become ever more pressing astraffic grows rapidly,connecting Europe to otherparts of the world, such asthe Gulf and Asia.

INSIGHT 35

for different aspects of AtM? What’syour vision for the future and howdo you see the current institutionalcontext further evolve?

European ATM is becoming hugelycomplex. Within each country, we nowhave a transport ministry, a regulatoryauthority and an ANSP, each with itsown voice – as well as the military, theairspace users, the airports and theunions. Functional Airspace Blocks addan extra level, as do the other groupingof ANSPs that we now see. At Europeanlevel, we now have, in addition toEUROCONTROL, the EuropeanCommission (EC) creating continuouslynew entities such as the EuropeanAviation Safety Agency (EASA), theEuropean Defence Agency (EDA), theSingle European Sky ATM Research(SESAR) Joint Undertaking (SJU) andnow the Deployment Manager.

Much of this added complexitythrough new organisations beingcreated is for perfectly good reasons; forexample, we can expect moregroupings of ANSPs to develop as jointprocurement and joint operationbecomes more common. However, it issomething that we need to recogniseand to reduce where possible. Wecertainly should not continue to addnew bodies, duplicating work, withoutcarefully considering beforehand whatthey will do and whether any of thoseactivities are already performed by otherbodies in a brilliant way. We need to askthe question of whether and why a newbody needs to be created or to take onnew roles. What will be the advantage?Is there a fundamental problem withhow that activity operates now?

There is an issue which needs to beaddressed as several of the new bodiesare being created by the EuropeanCommission and are very muchfocused on the 28 States of theEuropean Union (EU28). While somecountries have agreed to adoptelements of the SES, the new bodies donot necessarily cover the whole ofEurope. More significantly, the non-EUcountries have understandableconcerns that they are left behind, notbeing represented in the governanceand decision-making processes forthese new bodies. The Single EuropeanSky is the future of European aviation. Itmust be our goal to create a pan-European Single Sky through an

What are, in your view, the keychallenges facing the SingleEuropean Sky implementation?how far are we from achieving it?Pan-European airspace is divided along nationalborders rather than traffic flows. The Single EuropeanSky (SES) is an initiative to remove these boundariesin the air in order to create a continuum of airspace.In my opinion, the big challenge is to persuade allthe stakeholders/countries who have a wide range of perspectives, cultures, financial capacities andresources to work together to achieve this goal.

only truly be achieved if all EuropeanStates – including all 44 European CivilAviation Conference (ECAC) MemberStates – participate in the SingleEuropean Sky. To achieve this, theEuropean Commission (EC) shouldfollow an inclusive approach rather thanexcluding some States or stakeholders.

It could be argued that we are faraway from achieving SES goals at thispoint, but if we tackle these issues in acooperative and collaborative manner,then we will be very close to a brilliantfuture for European ATM.

What’s your take on the complexityof the European AtM governance,with an increasing number oforganisations with responsibilitiesfor different aspects of AtM? What’syour vision for the future and howdo you see the current institutionalcontext further evolve?

Indeed, when we tackle ATM inEurope we have several organisationssuch as the EC, EUROCONTROL,

Another issue is that today’sEuropean air traffic

management (ATM) is largelybased on technologies designed

in the 1950s which are out-dated.The SES ATM Research (SESAR)

programme aims to modernise ATM inEurope so as to meet futureperformance targets, but there are also anumber of challenges that MemberStates face in meeting these EuropeanUnion (EU)-wide performance targets.

There are also political challenges forSES, too. Some countries have beenblocking the aviation files in the Councilfor many years now as there is nocommon position on sovereignty issues.

Last but not least, there is a socialdimension: there may well be resistanceto SES. People fear that they will losetheir jobs, as well as their social benefits.They fear that their salaries will be cut asa result of reorganisation or in meetingperformance criteria and task-sharingwith neighbouring services. On theother hand, in my point of view, SES can

36 INSIGHT

Haydar Yalçin,EUROCONTROL’sProvisionalCouncil President


“The big challenge is to work together”

INSIGHT 37

ECAC, is to implement and harmonisethe International Civil AviationOrganization’s (ICAO’s) rules. Actually,this is also valid for EASA.

At present, Europe activelycontributes to the development ofICAO’s provisions and internationalstandardisation efforts in supportingaviation’s global interoperability.European States and institutions make apositive contribution to the work donein the ICAO framework; institutions suchas EUROCONTROL have somecooperative activities with otherregions/states such as China and theUnited Arab Emirates.

Meanwhile, Europe contributes toglobal interoperability in its researchand development (R&D) activities, suchas the SESAR programme. Europe isaligning its SESAR programme with theUSA’s NextGen, and Japan’sCollaborative Action for Renovation ofAir Traffic Systems (CARATS)programmes.

If we all work together, we cancontribute to global interoperabilitythrough coordinated EU-US-Japansupport.

In the midst of this complexity, we needto think in more collaborative terms. Thiswill benefit ATM across the entirecontinent only if all actors think and actas one, if they adopt a successfulcollaborative/constructive approachand if they enhance the sharing ofinformation between all players.

I believe that SES will be mostsuccessful if its tools and procedures areopen to all ECAC States and theirneighbours.

What is Europe’s role in globalinteroperability? how can Europeconcretely contribute towards theachievement of this key aviationgoal?

The world is becoming increasinglysmaller with increasing mobility andconnectivity; aviation is also a globalbusiness. Global interoperability andharmonisation are prerequisites for theaviation community. An interoperableaviation network is a key component ofthe Single European Sky.

The rationale behind the foundationof the two important Europeanorganisations, EUROCONTROL and

European Aviation Safety Agency(EASA), Functional Airspace Blocks(FABs), the SESAR-Joint Undertaking (S-JU), the newly-appointed A6 Allianceand local authorities.

At first glance, this number oforganisations could be seen asexcessive. However, if we look at theirfunctions and expertise, as well as theadded value they bring to the system,you cannot call it excessive. On theother hand, Europe is one of the mostcrowded and complex traffic zones inthe world. This is a reality.

Besides, it is evident that the EU’sincreasing activities in the ATM domainhave created duplication in certain areas.EUROCONTROL, for the sake of theEuropean aviation community, has takensome backward steps. This should notlead to dissolving EUROCONTROL, whichwould be a catastrophe for Europe.

In order to overcome this dilemma,there is a need to align the variouspositions and set a clear roadmap forEUROCONTROL and the EU (EC/EASA).

The main goal of ATM is to achieve ahigh degree of safety, cost-efficiency,capacity and environmental protection.

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What are, in your view, the key challengesfacing the Single European Skyimplementation? how far are we from

achieving it?The key challenge in the implementation of the Single EuropeanSky (SES) is the optimisation of air navigation services (ANS).Airspace fragmentation along national boundaries results inenvironmental, operational and economic inefficiencies. ThePerformance Review Body judges the level of additional fuelburn, emissions, and longer flight time to amount to €3billionper year. Moreover, the needs of both civil and military users are

not yet optimised, with further work to be done in balancing theneed for restricted airspace against the uptake of such airspace

when released by the military. Equally, most ANS providers supplyall services, including air traffic control and the technical

infrastructure on which it is laid. This leads to a multiplicity ofprovision and network benefits, but economies of scale and seamlessfunctional evolution expected in the Single European Sky have notyet fully materialised.

simplified, made less burdensome andhence more effective. We are on anopen-ended course of improvement,keeping in mind that ambitious SESobjectives are at stake. We will continueto move towards a vision of optimisedairspace and service provision thatallows fair and equitable access at thehighest level of safety and assurance. Allof this while encouraging growth in theair transport sector to continue itssignificant contribution (around 1.6%) toEuropean gross domestic product(GDP).

What’s your take on the complexityof the European AtM governance:increasing number of organisationswith responsibilities for differentaspects of AtM? And, what’s yourvision for the future and how do you

While the SES is delivering greaterinteroperability, transparency of costsand improvements in safety, moreremains to be done. European air trafficmanagement remains more fragmentedand less efficient than it could be.Improvements are essential in light offorecast traffic increases in Europe andthe continuing economic crisis affectingthe international aviation market.

A renewed determination towardsthe reform of Europe's air traffic controlsystem is therefore required, both toreach the overall SES objectives1 and tosupport an efficient European aviationsector. This was the objective of theproposal of the Commission on SES2+.In addition, while the institutionalframework and the regulatory systemhave delivered the progressesmentioned above, they could be

38 INSIGHT

see the current institutional contextfurther evolve?

Several institutions coexist andcooperate at European level onregulatory, ANS provision, research anddevelopment and deploymentmatters – the European Union (EU), theEuropean Aviation Safety Agency (EASA),EUROCONTROL, the Network Manager,the Single European Sky ATM ResearchJoint Undertaking (SESAR-JU),Deployment Manager, etc. Coordinationand decision-making between them canbe challenging. Further streamlining ofinstitutional arrangements wouldimprove the efficiency of European ANSand reduce the burden on all interestedparties. Specifically, the implementationof SES tools such as the performanceand charging scheme has proven to be acomplex and lengthy exercise.

“Interoperability is anabsolute necessityfor aviation”


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regions and are unable to satisfymultiple and uncoordinated technologyprogrammes. A situation that wouldlead to increased safety concerns.

Aircraft operators rightly demand acommon service. Aircraft are becomingincreasingly technical with significantlymore automation and yet greaterresponsibility passed from groundservices to the flight deck. It is criticaltherefore that fleets operated by usersare able to rely on greaterinteroperability between ground-basedservices and their interaction with theflight-deck. This increases usersoperational flexibility, reducespurchasing costs and eases engineeringsupport. All those gains are passedthrough to those for whom the veryservice exists – the ticket-buyingcustomers.

The Commissionhas been very clear from the outsetof the SES programme – whateverdirection the European region takes inrespect to technology developments,we will follow the plan laid down byICAO. For that reason, and on theunderstanding that the US (NextGen)system is at a comparable level ofmaturity, the EU has developed andagreed Memoranda with the US at bothpolitical and technical levels, reinforcingthat cooperation through agreementsrelevant to the respective technologyprogrammes of SESAR and NextGen.Those agreements have been furtherdeveloped and built upon with closercontact and cooperation with otherregions and their technologyprogrammes, such as the CollaborativeAction for Renovation of Air TransportSystems (CARATS) programme fromJapan. In essence, Europe has gained aleading position at the global level and

retains a strong voice at theInternational Civil Aviation Organization(ICAO) on the matter, enabling a raisedprofile for SESAR specifically and inpromoting European industry on theglobal market.

Cooperative agreements andcommon activities with many otherthird countries have been pursued andhelp to further spread the value ofgreater interoperability. Indeed, manythird countries are already associated inthe development and demonstrationphases of the SESAR programme.Current and future success is largelydependent on the two main

drivers ofSESAR: a consistent SES legalframework containing legallybinding instruments and strong,evolving partnerships, allowing theinvolvement of stakeholders from anyEU and non-EU state in the differentprocesses. Ultimately, the betterEuropean industry works together andcombines its efforts, the faster we candevelop and deploy standards whichcan have influence at the ICAO level.

1Halving of ATM costs; 10 fold increase in safety;tripling of available ATM capacity; 10% reductionof aviation’s impact on the environment.

Furthermore, there is a high regulatorycompliance load on the PerformanceReview Body (PRB), national supervisoryauthorities (NSAs) and EASA, whileairspace users (that ultimately bear allANS-related costs) feel they have littleinfluence in ANS decision-making.

From the Commission’s perspective,these actors have clear and exclusiveroles and responsibilities at EU level: theCommission is the ‘owner of SES’ and thelegislator; EASA is the sole safetyorganisation; the PRB is the soleperformance advisor; the NetworkManager is operationally important toensure coherence in all the changesoccurring in the network; the SJU clearlyhas the research and developmentfocus with the Deployment Managerproviding follow-up deploymentsynchronisation. Member States andtheir air navigation service providers(ANSPs) of course retain national andsovereign responsibility.

This inevitably leads to the questionof EUROCONTROL's role for the EU andfor its non-EU Member States.Historically, EUROCONTROL has heldresponsibility for some of the abovetasks and handled them with its widelyrecognised expertise. Within the newlandscape of the SES – which is by theway expanding to an increasing numberof non-EU States – it must nowreposition itself to exploit its expertise insupporting others. A key element in thisre-positioning will be aspects ofgovernance and efficiency. In theCommission's view EUROCONTROLshould continue to provide added valueand high-quality services to the wholeindustry. When doing this, it shoulddevelop the capacity to focus onsupporting both its EU and non-EUmembership in accordance with theirspecific individual and collective needs,and ensure that the appropriategovernance mechanisms are applied toimplement each of these tasks.

What is Europe’s role in globalinteroperability? How can Europeconcretely contribute towards theachievement of this key aviationgoal?

Patently, interoperability is anabsolute necessity for aviation becauseof the global nature of this business.Those plying this trade circumnavigatethe earth operating in each of the ICAO


João Aguiar Machado was Director General of theEuropean Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobilityand Transport (DG MOVE) until September 2015.

aviation chain. This has to contribute tostrengthening the European aviationsector and to creating new jobs and tofostering growth.

We should also strive to develop agenuine Transatlantic Aviation Area andit would be equally important tocontinue to forge comprehensiveEuropean Union (EU) agreements withour global partners – aviation is a globalbusiness and needs strong leadership.The International Civil AviationOrganization (ICAO) holds that role atthe global level, and the EU holds it atthis regional level. For the business todevelop, we need to be brave andadventurous. The EU is a powerful groupof influential States and we mustharness that status to drive progress andgrowth forward in the region.

Secondly, it is important to furtherdevelop the European internal aviationmarket and make better use of theworld’s most demanding and mostdeveloped aviation market.Consolidation and connectivity are keyelements in this process. I will also domy utmost to make advances in theSingle European Sky (SES) work – I amwell aware that the Functional Airspace

It is good to reconnect with old friendsand to become involved again in oneof the most innovative, vibrant andessential industries, i.e. the Europeanaviation industry.

There are three particular issues Iwould like to underline as my priorityareas.

Firstly, and most importantly, wehave to see the bigger picture and it isessential for the European aviationindustry to tap into the global growth inaviation. Since the number of flights isgoing to double in the next 20 years orless – and most of this growth will comefrom outside Europe – we must be thereto benefit from it. For that purpose, workon the aviation strategy was initiatedthrough our open consultation earlierthis year and it is expected that we willbe able to agree on a final version bythe end of the year. That strategy is toset its own priorities: more and betterconnectivity; profitability of the aviationchain based on state-of-the-artinfrastructure and performance; highlevels of safety, security, social, businessand environmental standards;worldwide level playing field andinnovation in all segments of the

40 INSIGHT

Blocks (FABs) have progressed little inrecent years. De-fragmentation ofairspace and service provision is theroute to greater efficiency in all areas –cost, environmental, productivity andcapacity – and we need toacknowledge that having signed Stateagreements, we now have to deliver thebenefits so keenly sought.

We all know that safety is central toall we do in aviation, and the EuropeanAviation Safety Agency (EASA) isperfectly placed to take on moreresponsibility in ensuring a yet greaterunderstanding of the effect andinfluence of perpetual change andgrowth; its legal basis will be adaptedaccordingly. I would like to see theMember States (both EU and non-EU)develop stronger relationships withEASA.

Thirdly, I believe it will be veryimportant to promote the wholeaviation value network in the globalcontext, be it our solutions in air trafficmanagement (SES ATM Research,SESAR), or our safety standards, or oursecurity standards, or our experience inbuilding up the internal market inaviation. This means equally to promote

“Betterconnectivity

andprofitability”


What will be your first priority in the field of aviation when youassume the directorship of Dg MOVE?My first priority is to reconnect with all key players of the European aviation Industry. It is now almost twoyears since I left the transport sector to become Deputy Secretary General of the European Commission andI am very honoured and humbled that Commissioner Bulc and the College trusted me to take up the job asDirector General of DG MOVE.

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that they will do what is required toprovide the service that the airlines (andfare-paying passengers) deserve. I amabsolutely convinced that bringing newtechnology, new work practices, newairspace structures and new enthusiasmfrom the airlines together will producegreat benefits for both the passengerand the European aviation industry.

As for airports, we need MemberStates and airport operators to makeserious efforts and take tough decisionsthat will promote growth potential andallow Europe to seize the initiative andretain its place as a significant player inthe commercial aviation world.

how do you see the cooperationbetween EUROCOntROL and theEuropean Commission evolve in thenear future?

For me it is crucial that all key playersin European aviation work closelytogether. This is essential for the wholeEuropean aviation industry and forcreating new synergies. Europe shouldbe the world leader in aviation and forthat purpose, all the key players must beclosely associated.

The cooperation betweenEUROCONTROL and the EuropeanCommission goes back a long time andwe need to make sure that those twopartners are there to support andrespect each other. EUROCONTROLbrings a great deal of experience andexpertise to the table and, with theCommission‘s lead role in regulationsetting, a substantial partnership isessential and can be used to serve bothparties. EUROCONTROL‘s pan-Europeannature positions it perfectly to help

spread the messages and influence ofSES and wider EU aviation policy to ourclose partners in Europe‘s directneighbourhood.

The future of airspace and serviceprovision should be enabled through aseamless relationship between all thosewho are able to contribute: from theairlines, airports and air navigationservice providers (ANSPs) at the frontend, to the EU, EUROCONTROL, EASA,the Network Manager (NM) and SESARoperating harmoniously to allow theindustry to do what it does best.

EUROCONTROL in particular duringits current deliberations on its futureroles and responsibilities mustacknowledge where it can offer greatestbenefit. It has a more difficult decisionto make in how it can serve both its EUand its non-EU members; both arecontributors to the EUROCONTROLbudget and both must achieve the bestpossible cost/benefit balance. TheCommission will continue to supportEUROCONTROL and hopes to seeexisting agreements between the twoorganisations continuing to bear fruit.

EUROCONTROL and the Commissionare tied together in European aviationsupport and development – throughtheir High Level Agreement, theNetwork Manager and the SJU; it istherefore incumbent on bothorganisations to go beyond simpledifferences of opinion and moveforward as one.

our aircraft manufacturers and morespecifically the aerospace industry andavionics – a cluster that reflects a realEuropean crown jewel. Europe has a lotto give and promote in the globalcontext and we should be fully utilisingthis strength.

What are the key challenges facingEuropean air traffic management inthe short and long term?

For me there are three challengesfacing European air traffic managementtoday: firstly, delivering the SingleEuropean Sky, secondly, delivering theSingle European Sky and thirdly,delivering the Single European Sky!

In good cooperation between thedifferent entities, we have rightlyidentified a number of issues that will bekey to realising a truly single Europeansky – drawing those issues togetherunder a change managementperspective will be our optimum routeto success. Fragmentation – of airspacestructures, of air navigation serviceprovision and of technologyapplications – prevents universal (ornetwork) gains from being achieved.With the advent of the SESAR JointUndertaking (SJU) in 2008, and itsanticipated move to SESAR 2020 laterthis year, as well as the establishment ofthe SESAR Deployment Manager (SDM),we now have a coherent chain todefine, develop and deploy newtechnology. We now need to properlytackle the issue of airspace design andoperations as a single continuum.

Functional Airspace Blocks are apositive step, but from theCommission‘s perspective, more couldbe done. As the Performance Schemeand its associated targets settle into aroutine, or business as usual, we wouldexpect to see more tough decisionsbeing made by service providers and


Henrik Hololei takes over as Director General of DG MOVE,the European Commission’s Directorate-General forMobility and Transport, from 1 October 2015.

Airports

Airlines

ANSPs

EUROCONTROL

collaboraTIoNDeliveringSESIndustry

t h a l e s g r oup . c om

TopSky – ATM solutionsWherever safety and security matter, we deliver

Millions of critical decisions are made every day in aerospace. Thales isat the heart of this. Our TopSky-ATM solutions are trusted by key ATM professionals across 180 nations and our components, systems and services are integral to the SESAR and NextGen programmes. With an impressive two out of every three planes around the world landing and taking off with the help of Thales, we give decision-makers the information and control they need to make more effective responses in critical environments. Every moment of every day, wherever safety and security are critical, Thales delivers.

LONG-TERM SUPPORTBenefi t from a complete range of extended services

SAFER SKIESIncrease air traffi c effi ciency, adapt essential new solutions

OPTIMISE CONTROLLER WORKLOADSProvide integrated technology enabling controllers to focus on their primary roles

CYBER SECURITYEnsure data integrity protection against cyber threats

GREENER ATMOptimise fl ight profi les with reduced holding patterns, cutting carbon emission and fuel consumption

The aviation industry faces the difficultchallenge of balancing continuedgrowth in demand for flight services,

the ever-present requirement for safety,increasing environmental regulations and themarket forces which constantly press foreconomic efficiency. North America andEurope are more than two decades into thisbattle and have exhausted the ‘simple’ solutions(airspace sectorisation, reduced vertical andhorizontal spacing, precision landing aids, etc).Other regions of the world, Asia, Middle Eastand Latin America in particular, now face thesame challenge as a result of recent years ofrapid economic expansion and aviation growth.Fortunately, a new generation of flowmanagement and sequencing tools offers aneffective capability to manage this challenge.

While en-route congestion exists, there isgenerally adequate airspace to find safe andreasonably efficient solutions to satisfy demand.The most substantial and pervasive demandcapacity imbalance issues emanate from airportand terminal manoeuvring area capacityconstraints at the world’s busiest airports.Demand at these facilities approaches, or evenexceeds, nominal capacity during peak periodsof the day. Thus, any perturbation in capacityresults in a shock to the local system whichoften ripples to other facilities in the highlyinterconnected aviation network. Grounddelays, airborne holding and cancellationsfollow.

Today, regional aviation planning functions,such as EUROCONTROL’s Network Manager,effectively optimise aviation operations withinthe limits of long-term predictability.Unfortunately, many of the phenomena which



Advancedmanagement toolsfor air traffic flowmanagementTodd Donovan – Thales

About the AuthorTodd Donovan is Thales’s VP of Strategy &Marketing for Air Traffic Management. Inthis role, he is responsible for leading thecompany’s initiatives, investments andpartnerships in support of increasedsafety, capacity and efficiency of theglobal aviation system.

impact airport capacityare not predictable, withhigh certainty, far inadvance. Thus, tactical airtraffic controllers areoften forced to react tounexpected imbalance.They employ many goodtechniques andprocedures to safelymanage the real-timeoverload, but often withnegative consequencesto efficiency and environmental metrics.

In recent years, advanced arrival anddeparture management tools, such as Thales’sMaestro, are deployed to precisely manageairport resource utilisation. At the airport andapproach control facility, these tools providepre-tactical sequencing and meteringcapabilities which enable air traffic control toensure all available capacity is fully andefficiently utilised taking into account airspaceuser preferences. Once the airport and terminalarea are optimised, there remains a need to linkthe pre-tactical airport plan to the strategicregional situation.

Precise management and optimisation ofaircraft flows to and from the terminalmanoeuvring area ensures capacity is not lostand avoids excessive efficiency/environmentalcost. At the en-route facility, local traffic flowmanagement tools, such as Thales’sECOSYSTEM, create this operational linkage.Utilising SWIM to collect all relevant data andmodern Big Data techniques to interpret it,these tools predict demand/capacity balanceissues, alert the centre supervisor or flow

manager and enable the assessment ofpotential solutions. Decision-making movesfrom ad hoc ‘guestimates’ to data-drivendecisions utilising accurate predictions of eachsolution’s impact on key performance measures(workload/complexity, flight delay,environmental, cost).

While demand/capacity imbalances willalways exist, Thales continues to deliverinnovative solutions to help ANSPs effectivelymanage them.

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nicolas hinchliffehas worked in Marseille asen-route controller and flowmanager, and holds aMasters in Air TrafficManagement. During hiscareer, he was involved atvarious levels withEUROCONTROL as Europemoved from ATFM to AirTraffic Flow and CapacityManagement. Mr Hinchcliffe works in theAirspace ManagementOptimisation Office of theICAO Air Navigation Bureau,where he is, among otherthings, in charge of activitiessupporting the developmentof ATFM.

© ICAO

global air traffic flow management(ATFM). That simple title alone almostsounds like a mantra. One may think

that this commercial motto could apply to somany things and that it is, in fact shallow.Well…that would be wrong. Because behindthe sparkling, fancy appellation lies a very realambition that will make it possible for airtransport to grow.

Flow management is an essentialcomponent to aviation safety. As such, itsdevelopment needs all the support the aviationcommunity can give it. ICAO’s role is to securethat support. And to ensure it is global.

What is the situation today?It is one of extreme diversity. Some States

have had ATFM for years, while others are justacquiring ATFM capabilities. Some have veryadvanced systems, others focus on basiccapabilities. The other striking perspective, froma worldwide point of view, is that these systemsdo not really communicate with one another.Sometimes exchanges of messages occur, but


vIewpoINT 45

in other cases, they do not. And in any case,nothing is standardised.

And is that an issue?At first, one might think that it is not. After

all, managing capacity over an airport is a localproblem, right? Well... not quite. Because if oneaircraft is delayed on departure or if it isassigned speed control, or rerouted, it will affectevery ATFM unit that will control it. Managingtraffic flows is an activity that by its very naturetranscends borders and ignores boundaries ofany kind. Any ATFM action sends ripple effectsthat span way beyond the terminal area or thecontrol sector where it is applied.

My next question is obvious, then: whatcan ICAO do about it?

Our action must be twofold. On the onehand, we need more ATFM. We must go onencouraging States to implement ATFM, and toinvolve the right stakeholders (neighbouringStates, airlines, military authorities). The numberof States implementing ATFM is on the rise: it is

Global air traffic flowmanagement – ICAO’sperspectiveAn interview with Nicolas Hinchliffe of the Air Traffic Management/Air Navigation Bureau at the InternationalCivil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

already a very positive achievement, moreStates see the quick wins that flowmanagement avails. But we need to do more:demand for air transport increases, and wemust be able to handle it safely, all around theworld. On the other hand, we need morecooperation for ATFM. In simple terms, itbasically means that we must ensure that thevarious ATFM systems talk to one another,which is not systematically the case (see “Weneed to talk – lessons learnt”). We must definethe pieces of information that need to beexchanged, and define the language to do so.

In short, our strategy in ICAO aims athelping States to implement more ATFM, andmore cooperation in ATFM.

You mentioned AtFM brings a quick win:what do you mean?

Managing flows is a very efficient way tomake air navigation safer and more efficient. Ithardly requires any investment to begin with.Every provider who has implemented it will tellyou the same tale. The only things you need to

46 vIewpoINT


Robust regulationsThe first pillar relates to regulations. ICAO provisionsrelated to ATFM must be consistent and up-to-date. Doc 9971, the Manual on Collaborative ATFM, became areference the moment the second edition was released.Drafted by experts from various States and internationalorganisations (the Civil Air Navigation ServicesOrganisation (CANSO), EUROCONTROL, the FederalAviation Administration (FAA), the International AirTransport Association (IATA), Thailand, Japan, etc), it definesmethods, and basically provides a common reference forall stakeholders. More than a reference, however, thatmanual must be maintained as a vector of ATFMimplementation. To that end, it will be revised periodically.

The next amendment will focus on the ATFM language. We need to ensure that methods, taxonomy anddesignations are universally recognised, understood andcan be processed by ATFM systems, automated or not. Thework will focus on two distinct elements: the ATFMmessage set, covering messages between systems, andATFM-related phraseology. Even though the need forexchange between pilots and controllers related to flowmanagement may seem limited, some constraints, such asspeed restrictions to comply with an estimated time over,for example, are becoming more and more frequent. Thephraseology will therefore have to cover some aspect ofATFM operations, all the more so as they trigger actionsand impact air traffic control.

Regional supportOnce a reference such as Doc 9971 is established, the focusmust then shift from central to regional levels. Regionalsupport is the second pillar of our action. Almost all of theICAO regional offices have produced or are producing aregional concept of operations related to ATFM. Customtailored to the needs of the States of a region, thoseregional concepts ensure that the international dimensionof ATFM is not lost on individual States as they beginimplementing ATFM. The work conducted by the regionaloffices in that regard is crucial, because they can supportthe States in their early implementation projects whileawakening them to the importance of regionalcooperation. To further support that effort, ICAO will

organise ATFM global conferences. The next one will beorganised with the support of CANSO, EUROCONTROL,the FAA and IATA, in November 2016 in the United ArabEmirates.

Direct implementation supportThe last pillar of the approach consists of assistance fordirect implementation for the States who request it. Theconcept would be similar to that of the PBN Go Teams. A State, or a group of States getting started on ATFM, oraiming at progressing a given aspect of ATFM, should beable to request the assistance of ICAO, which would thenassemble a team of ad hoc experts drawing on theexpertise of EUROCONTROL, FAA and other voluntaryorganisations with experience in ATFM. The team wouldorganise its mission so as to deliver a ready-to-useproposal, with preliminary meetings to facilitate earlyand rapid implementation organised on site. The Staterequesting assistance would cover the costs of the Go Team mission.

three pillars for AtFM:the ICAO strategy

begin implementing ATFM are a telephone line,a pencil and a sheet of paper. (In fact, I wouldeven add that it must start like this). And withthat small an investment, you can increasesafety and efficiency. The ratio of initialinvestment/benefits accrued in that situation ishard to match.

So, helping more States implement AtFMand encouraging regional or internationalcooperation. how challenging is that?

It is very challenging. The challenges, fromour perspective, are twofold. ATFMimplementation needs to be timely and doneconsistently. Timely because ATFMimplementation must begin before the needfor flow management becomes too stringent.Consistently because ATFM solutions, evenimplemented locally, will have ripple effectsthat will be felt all over the network, and in theoperations of neighbouring States. We have, sofar, been successful in raising the awareness ofStates to the need of ATFM. In itself, that risingawareness is already a measure of success. Ithowever increases the challenge ofconsistency. Because the greater the number ofsystems, the greater the difficulty of ensuringthat they cooperate. Consistency is not anoption that can easily be added to the systemonce it is up and running.

Our responsibility, in ICAO, is to think global.

We need totalk – lessons learntAs traffic demand increases, so do thecapabilities of ATFM systems we use tomanage it. And so does the need foradvanced information on flight status and situation updates.

One example: US/Europe. Both systemshave extremely advanced capabilities andexchange, daily, various pieces ofinformation. But the level of data theyexchange does not yet match thecapabilities of their respective systems.Why? Because the features allowinginformation from other ATFM units to beprocessed was not built-in right from thestart in their respective conceptions. Thatis a lesson we can all learn from. In ATFMas in life, the younger one starts, theeasier it is to learn a language.

We must help the States and the providers todevelop systems that will communicate witheach other. Our entire strategy is designed tofoster cooperation between States, withinregions and even between the regions of theworld.

And that is global AtFM?Well yes! First of all, we saw that the term

global applies to what we are trying to achievein ATFM (see “When the dictionary says it all”).But there is another reason why we like theexpression global ATFM: because it reflects thenotion that ATFM is not a stand-alone concept.We need to ensure that ATFM is integrated intoair traffic management as a whole.Implementing ATFM over badly-designedairspace, or without involving the rightstakeholders is an exercise in futility. And that iswhy ATFM was identified, alongsideperformance based navigation (PBN),continuous descent operations (CDO) andcontinuous climb operations (CCO), as one ofthe priorities of the Air Navigation Bureau.


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ATFM today: Various nodes of ATFM operate around the world. Extremely diversein nature (they range from full-blown systems such as the European, or theAmerican systems to systems centered on a single airport), they have been custom-built and designed to answer the specific needs of the provider(s) they serve. Theyoperate next to one another. Exchanges of information between nodes occur, butthey are, overall, rare and are not standardised in any way. Despite the fact that thevery nature of ATFM transcends the notion of borders (between systems or States)ATFM systems are, today, mainly self-centered.

ATFM tomorrow: The various nodes of ATFM interoperate around the world.Designed along the same basic principles, they are capable of exchangingstandardised, relevant pieces of information and operate using a global set of ATFMmeasures and procedures.

ICAO strategy –walking AtFM fromtoday to AtFMtomorrow

When the dictionary says it allGlobal: Adjective. (a) Relatingto or encompassing the whole ofanything or any group of things,categories, etc.; comprehensive,universal, total, overall.Copyright: Oxford English Dictionary

this single definition capturesthe essence of ICAO’s approach toAir traffic Flow Management.Comprehensive: because ICAO’sresponsibility is to ensure that Statesunderstand the need for ATFM. That theyrealise how simple it is, in its inception, yethow fundamental it is.

Universal: because the nature of ATFMtranscends borders and limits of any kind.Which implies that its principles must berecognised and adhered to worldwide.

Total: because there is no turning backfrom going into ATFM. Once a State begins,it will never stop. ATFM instantly becomes agame changer, one that is there to stay.

And overall: because ATFM both supportsand overarches ATM at large.

When was EASA first involved in aircraftwake turbulence separation? While the Airbus A380 aircraft was being developed, the issue ofwake turbulence for such a heavy and large aircraft was raised. An international group, initially involving the International CivilAviation Organization (ICAO), the US Federal AviationAdministration (FAA), the former Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA)and EUROCONTROL, was formed to assess potential additionalseparation minima. In 2006, ICAO published the initial guidancematerial for A380 wake turbulence separation.

Following the completion of the A380’s airworthinesscertification, EASA took over the role of the JAA in theinternational group. The technical activities started with theorganisation of subsequent flight tests and the consolidation ofthe overall safety case. EASA’s test pilots encountered more than100 instances of wake vortices during the test flights.

48 VIEWPOINT

EASA’s role in waketurbulenceseparation standards


Emmanuel Isambert, Strategy & SafetyManagement Directorate

Alain Leroy, Head of Department, Certification Directorate

Andrea Boiardi, Chief Expert, Certification Directorate

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The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is the European Unionregulatory authority for aviation safety. In the context of RECAT-EU, itsrole is to assess the proposed changes to the ICAO standard for aircraftwake turbulence separation as proposed by EUROCONTROL and itsstakeholders for pan-European adoption.

In parallel, EASA joined ICAO’s WakeTurbulence Study Group (WTSG), whichwas in charge of preparing newinternational standards in this field. In 2011,EASA took part in the review of the firstproposal made by the FAA andEUROCONTROL for the revision of the ICAOwake turbulence categories and separationminima (which had not evolved since the1970s).

As no consensus in both the A380 groupand the ICAO WTSG could be reached,several European members – representingsafety authorities, service providers, aircraftmanufacturers and research organisations –undertook the development of a revisedaircraft categorisation and its associatedminima. They took the results of extensiveresearch activities conducted in Europe,combined with the latest results from A380flight tests, into account.

The proposed new wake turbulenceseparation scheme for application atEuropean airports is known as RECAT-EU. InOctober 2014, EASA satisfactorily concludedits independent safety review of RECAT-EUand informed its Member States accordingly.

What is the role of EASA in this domain?The application of aircraft wake

turbulence separation is the responsibility ofAir Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs); theiroperational procedures are based on ICAO’sATM standards and approved by theirrespective safety authorities.

The determination of safe waketurbulence separation minima follows theassessment of the manufacturer’s data foraircraft design and performance (both with

the aircraft as a wake generator and as trailingaircraft), wake vortex characteristics, air trafficsafety and operational data.

Having as its main mission thedevelopment and maintenance of pan-European aviation safety standards, EASA’srole here is to oversee this risk assessment foraircraft wake turbulence categorisation andseparation minima.

For new Heavy aircraft, such anassessment can be carried out either in thedevelopment or certification phase. Recently,for the Airbus A350, EASA supervised thework of a joint team of EU experts involvingthe manufacturer, EUROCONTROL andresearch organisations, for the assessment ofthe aircraft categorisation in both the ICAOand RECAT-EU separation schemes.

Following the experience gained withnew heavy aircraft and RECAT-EU, our focus isnow on developing common technical andsafety standards for the determination ofminima, their implementation in ATCprocedures and systems and the continuoussafety monitoring of operations.

Our regular exchanges with Europeanstakeholders, such as National AviationAuthorities (NAAs) and Air Navigation ServiceProviders, are of prime importance and areused to establish common EU positions onthe changes needed for ICAO’s internationalATM standards in this domain.

Furthermore, we foster the developmentof cooperation with non-EU organisations,such as the FAA, in order to harmonisebilateral work processes between aviationauthorities.

In addition, EASA is also monitoringseveral research initiatives addressing aircraft

wake turbulence, e.g. the SESAR programme,with the aim of drawing on the latestscientific developments in order to supportits decision-making processes and to adviseresearch teams on the development of newstandards.

What are the next steps, following theacceptance of RECAT-EU categories andminima?

Following the notification of EASA’sacceptance for RECAT-EU, a dedicatedimplementation project is being run at ParisCharles de Gaulle (CDG) airport; it is being ledby the French DGAC. The completion of thisimplementation will be an important step inprogressing European standards in this field.

EASA recently concluded a workingarrangement with the Civil Aviation Authorityof Singapore (CAAS) for evaluating theimplementation of RECAT-EU at Changiairport. A similar technical cooperation willalso begin with the UAE General Civil AviationAuthority (GCAA).

The development of a new revised ICAOstandard, called RECAT-2 and planned foradoption in 2018, is being actively pursuedthrough cooperation between the SESAR andUS NextGen programmes. EASA is taking partin this development with the aim of ensuringthe smooth transition from RECAT-EUstandard and for preparing the associatedsafety management system for such newstandard.

©Ai

rbus

S.A

.S

(CPDLC) technology, which can furtherimprove flight safety and increase the capacityof air navigation services through using datacommunications.

On 3 April 2014 the Hungarian ANSP wasfirst in the world to control civil aviation flightsfrom a distance of 700 km, in the Kosovo Force(KFOR) Sector. The re-opening of the airspacethat had been closed for 15 years was madepossible by exemplary internationalcooperation. The realisation of the projectcontributed to the normalisation of aviation inthe Western Balkans and enabled a more cost-efficient and environmentally-friendly use ofairspace in the region. The number of aircraftoverflying the sector continues to increase andalthough not all flights are using this airspaceyet, it is important to acknowledge that traffichas been smooth and undisturbed each daysince the reopening.

It took a year to prepare for the abolition ofthe complete ATS route network over Hungary.The introduction of HUFRA was preceded by

highly coordinated planning. On anearly daily basis HungaroControl’sATS specialists consulted legal expertsand colleagues engaged inaeronautical information services,technical development and thepreparation of simulation training.Among Hungarian organisationsthere was outstanding cooperationwith the Civil Aviation Authority, theMinistry of National Development incharge of Hungarian transportmatters, and with certain units of theHungarian Defence Forces, whileinternationally an excellentrelationship was formed withEUROCONTROL, the EuropeanNetwork Manager.

According to the EuropeanCommission’s regulation 716/2014,the implementation of free routes willbe mandatory above 9,000 metres for

Kornél Szepessy is Chief ExecutiveOfficer of HungaroControl, theHungarian air navigation serviceprovider. A Hungarian engineerand crisis manager, under hisleadership a thoroughlystructured development projecthas been on-going atHungaroControl since July 2010.

Previously he worked in thetransport industry and has gainedexperience in all major fields ofaviation. He has participated in thereorganisation of several majorHungarian transport companies.

On 5 February 2015, HungaroControlbecame the first air navigationservice provider (ANSP) in Europe to

abolish its entire air traffic services (ATS) routenetwork, enabling aircraft to use Hungarianairspace freely, without any restrictions. The up-to-date air traffic control concept of HungarianFree Route Airspace (HUFRA) allows aircraft tofly the shortest possible direct flight pathbetween entry and exit points in Hungarianairspace.

There are four performance areas aimed atimproving the European air trafficmanagement (ATM) system’s efficiency, but theEuropean Commission is mainly focused onimproving cost efficiency and cost cutting. Thistrend can be seen, among other areas, in the

target values set for the second referenceperiod, from 2015 to 2019. HungaroControlassigns a high priority to developments aimedat efficiency improvement and cutting costs toairlines. This is why HungaroControl has alwaysbeen a trailblazer in the adoption of newtechnologies. The Hungarian ANSP was the firstin the world to use complex processing andgraphical displays of downloaded aircraft dataas a result of introducing advanced Mode Stechnology. In the Central European region,HungaroControl’s system was the first tomanage the new call-signal-basedidentification system, which will be mandatoryin Europe by 2020. HungaroControl is also inthe vanguard of developing Europeancontroller-pilot data link communications

HungaroControl has become the first European air navigation serviceprovider to introduce free route airspace across its entire network,explain the organisation’s Kornél Szepessy and József Bakos.

50 vIewpoINT

Hungary pioneers fullfree route airspaceoperations


József Bakos has been Head ofthe Air Traffic Services Division,HungaroControl, since January2002, when the new Hungarianair navigation service providerwas established.

He is a qualified air trafficcontroller with a degree inengineering and has worked inBudapest ATC Centre (ACC) formore than 20 years, during whichtime he has gained experience inthe development and installationof the new MATIAS Hungarian airtraffic management system.


vIewpoINT 51

ANSP has fulfilled these requirements wellahead of the deadline. The concept put intopractice on 5 February 2015 enabled the use offree airspace without temporal and spatiallimitations over the entire territory of Hungary;aircraft can now fly the optimum routesbetween entry and exit points. There werenearly 700,000 aircraft handled in the region in2014, therefore the length of overflight routesover Hungary could decrease by 1.5 millionkilometres per year. As a result, airlines couldsave nearly $3 million of fuel each year andreduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than16 million kilogrammes.

The implementation of HUFRA wasfacilitated by the continuous upgrading of theMagyar Automated and Integrated Air TrafficSystem (MATIAS), the ATM system used byHungaroControl, as a result of whichHungarian air traffic controllers now use one ofthe most modern ATM systems in Europe.

The start of HUFRA was preceded by severalweeks of validation simulations inHungaroControl’s Centre of Research,Development and Simulation (CRDS). Expertsfrom the top 20 airlines that use Hungarianairspace gave their preliminary opinions aboutthe concept. Favourable and unfavourableexperiences of the already-operational freeroute airspace concepts in several Europeancountries (for example, Portugal, Ireland,Denmark and Sweden) were also taken intoconsideration in the course of elaborating theconcept details. The Aeronautical InformationPublications (AIP) of these countries werestudied for the compilation of the AIP tosupport HUFRA. Experts from theEUROCONTROL Network Manager OperationsCentre (NMOC) worked in cooperation withHungaroControl on the setting up and testingof the integrated flight plan processing system,so that from the start, a large percentage offiled flight plans complied with HUFRA rules. Itis indicative of the success of HungaroControl’splanning that very few questions have beenreceived from airlines and aeronautical dataproviders about the new arrangements. Thepublication of the HUFRA AeronauticalInformation Service (AIS) was also carried outin collaboration with EUROCONTROL experts.

Experts who worked on theimplementation of the concept believe thatHUFRA is a classic and successful example ofthe ‘lesson learnt’ principle. They decided toabolish the complete route network overHungary because a significant number ofairlines still refer to ATS routes in their flightplans for countries where free routes havebeen implemented, but the fixed routenetwork is still kept or the free route operation

has time or spatial limits.Experience gained since the

implementation has fully confirmedexpectations. The main traffic flows overHungary remain the same, that is, fromwest/north-west to east/south-east and thereverse. It is mainly long-distance flights thathave taken advantage of the opportunity offree selection of entry and exit points. In thesecases, where the upper wind speed anddirection play a significant role, the reductionof flying time can be half an hour or more.

One of the main benefits of using HUFRA isincreased predictability. Airlines can planshorter routes and accordingly carry less fuel.While 90% of flights were, before HUFRA,regularly given a direct routeing over Hungarythis was not guaranteed. Therefore duringrefuelling, for safety reasons, aircraft had toprepare for flying the strictly-specified routerather than the shorter route. With more directroutes, free route operations are easier to plan;more cargo or passengers can be carried ratherthan unnecessary fuel. Thus flight capacity andutilisation can also improve.

Since the implementation of HUFRA,airlines have started to fly between entry andexit points where previously no ATS route wasdesignated.

The HUFRA concept ensures the seamlessconnection for traffic inbound to, or outboundfrom, Budapest and for traffic using airports inthe close vicinity of Budapest flight informationregion (FIR) such as Vienna.

When the ATS route network was abolishedthere were some problems at the outset withflight planning, especially for flights operatingto/from airports close to the FIR border. As partof the post-implementation monitoring

process we have managed to eliminate theseproblems. Now 100% of airspace users fill intheir flight plans according to therequirements between entry and exit points.

The free choice of entry and exit points isnot the only change as a result of launchingHUFRA: new flights have appeared overHungary. New flights that can be easilyidentified are mainly those that depart from, orarrive at, airports close to the borders ofHungarian airspace. There is now an AustrianAirlines flight from Vienna to Zagreb overflyingHungarian airspace three times a day since thestart of HUFRA, and a new flight from theAustrian capital to Malta. Ryanair’s flights fromRome to Bratislava also started appearing inHungarian airspace after 5 February this year.We have received a good number ofconsultation requests for the summertimetable flight-planning – such as a requestfrom FLY NIKI for flights between Vienna–Dubrovnik and Vienna–Split over Hungarianairspace. This clearly demonstrates that everysingle mile saved is important for airlines, evenwith the currently low fuel prices.

Reports received from the localcompetence assessors within the ATC centreconfirm that working in the new HUFRAenvironment has become a daily routine for airtraffic controllers. Another factor which hasbecome clear is the importance of appropriatetiming of implementation. With the Februarystart controllers have had no difficulty in safelyserving increased traffic needs for the summerschedule.

Imag

es: ©

Hun

garo

Cont

rol

A step change in ATM performance will comethrough the greater integration of airborne andground systems and between ground systems.This will require the implementation of a high-performance infrastructure supporting air/groundand ground/ground communications.

One cornerstone of ATM transformation is themove towards trajectory-based operations. Thiswill be enabled by downlinking airborne trajectorypredictions by means of ADS-C (AutomaticDependent Surveillance – Communications) overATN B2 communications networks.

In the navigation domain, automatic approachand landing, based on augmented GPS, is an

What new technologies/procedures offer the greatest potential for improvingair traffic management (AtM) performance?

52 vIewpoINT

important technological enabler for avoiding theconstraints associated with instrument landingsystem (ILS) signal protection and for developingbetter operations. It is also expected that theaircraft’s enhanced capability for dealing withtime constraints (4D navigation) will become anenabler for more efficient arrival flows.

In the surveillance domain, ADS-B-In (AutomaticDependent Surveillance – Broadcast-in), whichallows surrounding traffic to be displayed in thecockpit, and aircraft automation for spacingapplications (under the supervision of air trafficcontrol), are the new technological andprocedural enablers.


views on aTm transformation, by marc Hamy, vice-president air Transport and public affairs at airbus SaS

© Airbus S.A.S

“A step change in ATMperformance

will come throughgreater

integration”

Safety of airport surface operations will beenhanced by runway overrun protection,airport moving maps with assistance to taxi,and surface situation awareness with alerts forpreventing runway excursions and incursions.

What airborne systems are not being fullyused to improve overall AtM and airlineefficiencies? how can we better exploitairborne technologies?

Most of the main airliners equipped withperformance-based navigation, leveragingexisting aircraft Required NavigationPerformance (RNP) capabilities, as well asenhanced approach procedures (curvedapproaches, displaced thresholds), will providefuel savings, environmental foot print reductionand increased airport capacity.

Runway occupancy time prediction andreduction systems which already exist are alsokey enablers for increasing runway throughputat congested airports.

The current European mandate forsurveillance performance and interoperabilityrequires aircraft to be equipped with ADS-B-Outcapabilities. But the way it will be used to reduceground surveillance infrastructure or improveflight efficiency is not yet defined.

On the communications side, the difficultiesand delays (in the implementation of the datalink) associated to the lack of VDL (VHS Data Link)Mode 2 network management prevent a verylarge number of aircraft which are alreadyequipped from taking advantage of theircapabilities.

how would you assess the differentregional demands for air traffic flowmanagement (AtFM) services in theMiddle East, Far East and north America?

ATFM services support the efficient andeffective use of the available capacity of

aviation resources. Demands for ATFM servicesare present where demand/capacityimbalances, whether persistent or dynamic,impact on the operational efficiency of thestakeholders and the economic growth of theregion. Existing ATFM services in North America,Europe, South Africa and Australia have provento be effective and environmentally beneficial.

The demand for ATFM services is expectedto remain high in North America. Thesignificant growth in aviation projected for theMiddle East and the Far East is a strongindicator that the demand for ATFM services inthese regions will continue to grow. Existingresearch and operational trials in these regionsdemonstrate that this need is recognised bystakeholders.

Other ATM modernisation efforts associatedwith the International Civil AviationOrganization (ICAO) Aviation System BlockUpgrades (ASBUs) will also improveoperational efficiency. ATFM and collaborativedecision-making (CDM) provide a cost-effective means for sustaining growth andmaintaining efficiency with ever-increasingdemand. Additionally, the use of ATFM servicescan ease the introduction of other advancedtechnologies, infrastructure changes andprocesses.

What benefits can Airbus bring, as anaircraft manufacturer, to the introductionof flow management, RnP and other AtMtechnologies – how differently do youapproach the market from, say, an airnavigation service provider?

Airbus has a unique combination of skillsets in this domain: we bring in-depthknowledge on aircraft systems and we knowfrom our customers the challenges the airlineoperators are facing daily. In addition, basedon years of working in the domain of ATM, we

understand the environment of ANSPs,regulators and airports.

This experience allows us to approachprojects like RNP, ATFM or flight tracking fromall angles, taking the challenges faced by allstakeholders in the aviation business intoaccount. We can guide and support allaviation partners to ensure a successful end-result with implementations that are tailor-made, so as to maximise the benefit for everystakeholder.

What role should EUROCOntROL(continue to) play in the future toadvance improving AtM performance?

Airbus is not directly involved in thepolitical and organisational aspects ofEuropean air navigation service provision, butAirbus appreciates EUROCONTROL as aneffective and advanced service provider insome of Europe’s most crowded upperairspace (Maastricht), supporting thedevelopment of advanced concepts such asExtended Projected Profile (EPP), the downlinkof the aircraft’s 4D trajectory; as a key actorthat provides the most advanced central flowmanagement for all European airspace,featuring some development capabilities ofcentralised services concepts/elements inwhich Airbus demonstrates some interest;and as a key organisation with a high level ofexpertise to support ATM research anddevelopment in Europe and to facilitate theimplementation and harmonisation of newsystems, new procedures and new standardsto improve ATM performance.


vIewpoINT 53

© Airbus S.A.S

We arethe air navigationservice providerin Spain, Planet Earth.

enaire.es

ENAIRE is the result of the separationof Aena, Aeropuertos Españoles yNavegación Aérea into two

companies, Aena and ENAIRE, following theapproval by the Government of Spain in2014 of a new regulatory framework thatliberalises airport management (Aena) anddecouples it from the air navigation activity(ENAIRE). Currently, ENAIRE is also theprincipal shareholder of Aena S.A. with 51%of the airport manager following its flotationon the Stock Exchange last February.

With more than 1.8 million flights peryear, ENAIRE controls an airspace of over2,000,000 km2, which covers the IberianPeninsula (except Portugal), the Canary andBalearic islands, part of the north Atlantic andthe western Mediterranean.

It provides its services through five controlcentres, 22 control towers and five regionalair navigation directorates: North-Centre, East,Canaries, South and Balearic, whoseheadquarters are respectively in the controlcentres (ACCs) of Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilleand Gran Canaria, and in the terminal areacontrol centre (TACC) at Palma de Mallorca.

ENAIRE today is a financially viablecompany, which has been able to remaineconomically efficient, being in fact amongthe best of all European air navigation serviceproviders.

the priority of EnAIRE is safetyMaintaining the highest levels of safety in

aeronautical operations is a strategic priorityfor ENAIRE, which concentrates all its efforts

on driving a culture of safety in theorganisation and promoting the principles of‘fair culture’ which stimulates safetynotification and research.

Quality of service is another of thestrands of action of EnAIRE

ENAIRE is one of the European providersthat has saved airlines the most minutes ofdelay. Between 2011 and 2014 the en-routedelay per flight fell by 80% in our country,reaching its best value of the last decade.Relationships with its customers, airportmanagers, airlines, airspace users and societyin general is another of the main strands ofaction, enabling the Spanish air navigationmanager to occupy an important place in anever more competitive market.

Innovation and technological excellenceENAIRE maintains its prestige and

leadership in air navigation management atEuropean and world levels, driving researchand the continuing improvement process inR&D+I. It also takes an active part in all theleading-edge initiatives involved in thechallenge of the evolution of the ATMsystem. To do this, it has the human andmaterial resources necessary to make themost of the new opportunities in the sectorand provide services related to air navigationto emerging markets, both domestic andinternational.

Indeed, ENAIRE participates in anoutstanding and active way in all theEuropean Union projects related to the


aDverTISemeNT feaTure 55

EnAIRE: a newidentity for the airnavigationmanager in SpainA new phase which will let us identify our activity more clearly and makeour services known more effectively.

Angel Luis Arias, General Directorof ENAIRE.

ENAIRE is the leader in Spain in air navigationservice provision and the fourth largest in

Europe by air traffic volume.

implementation of the Single Sky andperforms a crucial role in carrying out theSESAR 2020 programme. It is alsoparticipating in the future implementation ofnew concepts based on satellite navigationlike EGNOS and GALILEO; ENAIRE has drivenforward the use of satellite navigation sinceits early days and today holds a leadershipposition in putting procedures using thistechnology into operation (EGNOS, GBASand PBN provisioning) at airports.

With regards to sustainability, ENAIREtakes as a priority reconciling efficiency in airoperations with prevention and mitigationof the environmental impact of its activity,


56 ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

and along these lines, it has saved over 3 million nautical miles in flight distance,35,000 tonnes of fuel and the emission of111,000 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.

ENAIRE, a company with aninternational vocation

Present in the principal consortia,especially the European ones, it is engagedin intense activity to reinforce collaborativelinks even more and open up new lines ofwork with its international counterparts.

• Member of the SESAR Joint Undertakingconsortium in which we participate inover 60 projects

• Member of, and currently chairing, theconsortium iTEC Group with DFS, NATSand LVNL, developing the newgeneration of controller workingpositions

• Member of the SESAR DeploymentManager consortium responsible fornew European ATM technologydeployment activities

• Member of, and currently chairing, theA6 Alliance group, one of the foremostEuropean air navigation serviceproviders, which participates actively inconsolidating the initiatives relating toimplementing the Single European Sky.

• Member of the EAD Group for theoperation of the European AIS(Aeronautical Information System)Database

• Participant in the operation andprovision of the EGNOS services aimedat increasing satellite navigation

• Participant in the constitution of PanEuropean Network Services, PENS.

With the arrival of the Boeing 747in the 1970s the InternationalCivil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

implemented three wake vortex categoriesbased on aircraft tonnage and the associatedseparation distances required betweenaircraft on final approach. During the lastdecade further general studies on the subjectwere undertaken and one dedicated to theAirbus A380 has been commissioned. In 2008Europe and the USA launched a commoninitiative to agree new categories of aircraftand safely reduced wake separations.Although this was a joint programme the firstoutputs of this work were separateimplementations of two different types ofcategorisation: RECAT-FAA implemented in2012 at Memphis airport comprising six newwake categories (followed by other USairports during 2013-2014); and RECAT-EUdeveloped by the European Aviation SafetyAgency, also with six categories, in October2014, based on tonnage and wingspan.

Direction des Services de NavigationAérienne (DSNA), the French air navigationservice provider, has from the start beenclosely involved in this process withEUROCONTROL (in the Wake Vortex TaskForce) and with ICAO (in the Wake VortexStudy Group). It provided major support toEUROCONTROL during 2012 to 2014, tofinally achieve the endorsement of RECAT-EU.DSNA experts, especially Paris Roissy Charlesde Gaulle (CDG) airport controllers, haveparticipated regularly in work on the safetycase led by EUROCONTROL. Moreover, DSNA,through the voice of the French GeneralDirector of Civil Aviation Patrick Gandil, gave astrong commitment to EUROCONTROL in2013 to implement the new validated

Philippe Barnola is Head of Paris Charles de Gaulle and le Bourget Air Traffic Service at the Direction desServices de Navigation Aérienne (DSNA), which has been a pioneer in the programme to re-categoriseaircraft based on wake vortex performance, in order to optimise separation distances at busy airports.

vIewpoINT 57

RECAt will be a majorcapacity enhancer atParis CDG airport

RECAT-EU at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport,contributing to ensuring the robustmonitoring of the first implementationperiod with the aid of Light Detection andRanging (LiDAR) equipment.

The RECAT-EU initiative was fullyconsistent with a wider performanceprogramme launched in September 2013 byDSNA Chief Executive Officer MauriceGeorges, with Paris Charles de Gaullecollaborative decision making (CDM)stakeholders Aéroports de Paris and AirFrance. This 2020 strategic roadmap set atarget of increasing by 7% to 8% peak hourarrival throughput at the airport by 2017 andmore than 10% by 2020.

One of the key issues identified ascontributing to this first 2017 milestone wasthe safe reduction of wake spacing betweenaircraft on approach. Given the traffic mix atthe airport, the main challenge is tosignificantly reduce spacing between AirbusA320-family aircraft and the Boeing 777,787/Airbus A330, A340, A350 types. Thesetwo aircraft types represent more than 70%of the arrival traffic mix at the two morningkey peak hours and match with the newRECAT-EU Upper Heavy and Upper Mediumcategories, respectively B and D, betweenwhich the new minimum wake spacing willbe four nautical miles (Nm) compared with5Nm between the current H and M Heavyand Medium categories.

The RECAT-EU new distance-basedseparation minima will lead to significantquick wins with the airport’s current fleet.These wins are moreover expected toincrease in the future with A, B, D categories –the Airbus A320Neo, the Boeing 737Maxfamily, and the Boeing 777/787 and

“The RECAT-EU new distance-based separation minima willlead to significant quick winswith the airport’s current fleet.”Philippe Barnola, Direction des Services de navigationAérienne (DSnA)


© DSNA

Airbus A350/330 – expected to growstrongly at major airports.

New time-based separation minimawill also be implemented in a secondphase for departures.

Operating a new separation minimaand aircraft category matrix in a majorterminal manoeuvring area (TMA) suchas Paris and an airport such as Charlesde Gaulle involves a real systemicchange for both controllers and pilots.To manage this change, threeprerequisites were identified.

The first has been a robust safetycase trusted by operational staff.EUROCONTROL experts dedicated tothis task delivered a thorough safetycase based on a robust database ofwake vortex data, aircraft data and thedetermination of safety risk indicators.This huge body of work has enabledthe European Aviation Safety Agency(EASA) to confirm in a Letter to theStates on 10 October 2014: “The safetycase report provides the assurance thatthe RECAT-EU wake turbulenceseparation scheme can be used byMember States as a basis to updatecurrent schemes.”

The second has been thedevelopment of a clear regulatoryframework. Following the EASAframework, the Air TransportDirectorate (DTA), the French regulationdirectorate within the Civil AviationAuthority (DGAC), adopted the nationalregulation during summer 2015.

The third prerequisite is a consistentimplementation method. Besides thenormal risk assessment covering the changein the local air traffic management (ATM)functional system which will be validated inOctober 2015, the Paris-CDG 2020Performance Roadmap also gives a widerframework of safe and consistentimplementation. The global CDM initiativegives an opportunity for pilots and controllersto cooperate closely and gives enhancedpilot-oriented information about particularoperational projects – among them, RECAT-EU. Providing pilots with relevant informationis a key element to the success of such achange, given the involvement of humanfactors. The second benefit of implementingRECAT-EU within this wider programme is theconsistency obtained through asimultaneous implementation with the HighIntensity Runway Operations (HIRO)programme. This is the logical counterpart ofreducing spacing within the TMA arrival

sequence, ensuring the highest safetystandards during simultaneous parallelrunway operations.

During HIRO periods of activation, andnotified by the Automatic TerminalInformation Service (ATIS), pilots flying intoand out of Charles de Gaulle will be expectedto ensure a minimum runway occupancytime (MROT), particularly for landingoperations, by selecting the appropriate andachievable Rapid Exit Taxiway with 50 knotsdesignated speed. The implementation ofHIRO in September 2015, just before theRECAT-EU introduction in December 2015,gives a measure of confidence that the 2017performance target will be delivered.

The DGAC and DSNA will maintain theirinvolvement in ICAO Procedures for AirNavigation Services – Air Traffic Management(PANS-ATM) updating process, and in therelevant Wake Turbulence Study Groups.

A global ‘RECAT-2’ matrix is still the finalambition.

Meanwhile, this first 2015 RECAT-EUchange in Paris Charles de Gaulle is a reallandmark given the significant performancegains it will deliver. This is because it is beingimplemented within a CDM frameworkwhich will confirm that DSNA’s CDM modelhas reached the highest internationalstandard. It is also a testament to the veryclose cooperation between the French ANSPand EUROCONTROL which will pave the wayfor further common projects, notably withinthe Single European Sky ATM Research(SESAR 2020) programme.

AN-124 A380

AA332

M

B744

MD11 B763

BB738 A320

EE190 AT45

SSF34 LJ35

B

AN-124 A380

AA332

M

B744

MD11 B763

BB738 A320

EE190 AT45

SSF34 LJ35

B

RECAT-EU Categories

SuperHeavy

UpperHeavy

LowerHeavy

UpperMedium

LowerMedium

Light

58 vIewpoINT


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