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THE SESAR INITIATIVE Research paves the way for the Single European Sky EUROPEAN COMMISSION Directorate-General for Energy and Transport
THE SESAR INITIATIVE
Research paves the wayfor the Single European Sky
E U R O P E A NC O M M I S S I O N
Directorate-General for Energy and Transport
CONTENTS
FOREWORD 1
1 THE SINGLE EUROPEAN SKY FRAMEWORK 3
2 AIR TRANSPORT RESEARCH NEEDS 5
3 RELEVANT RESEARCH PROGRAMMES AND PROJECTS 7
4 RESEARCH RESULTS 8
5 BENEFITS GAINED FROM THE RESEARCH 15
6 EUROPEAN POLICY IMPLICATIONS 16
7 FUTURE RESEARCH DEVELOPMENTS 18
8 REFERENCES 19
GLOSSARY 20
This publication was produced by the EXTR@Web consortium on behalf of DG Energyand Transport.The information in this document has been collected by partners in theproject on the basis of material provided by DG TREN, Eurocontrol and other sources.
We would like to thank Eurocontrol for contributing to the review of the manuscript.
While the information contained in this brochure is correct to the best of our knowledge,neither the consortium nor the European Commission can be held responsible for anyinaccuracy, or accept responsibility for any use made thereof.
Additional information on transport research programmes and related projects isavailable on the Transport Research Knowledge Centre website on the EuropeanCommission’s Europa server:ec.europa.eu/transport/extra
In addition, a public e-mail enquiry service is available at:[email protected] on the wider transport activities of the European Union is available onthe internet. It can be accessed through the Europa server:ec.europa.eu/dgs/energy_transport/index_en.html
Manuscript completed by Wolfgang Helmreich, IABG, in April 2006.© European Communities, 2006
Photos courtesy of Airbus, Air Traffic Alliance, DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH,Eumetsat, Eurocontrol, MFF project, Wolfgang Helmreich
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
Printed in Belgium
THE SESAR INITIATIVE
SESAR, the implementation programme for theSingle European Sky (SES), is aimed atchannelling, co-ordinating and guiding effortsamong the aviation industry, the EuropeanCommission and Eurocontrol with a view toestablish a harmonised European air trafficmanagement network by the year 2020 withthe necessary performance to meet projectedtraffic growth.
The SESAR initiative complements SESregulatory and legislative frameworks by pavingthe way for the implementation of technical,operational and organisational changes andimprovements.
The initiative, which aims to reducefragmentation of European ATM systemsthrough synchronising and integrating plansand actions, will see two major steps to ensurethat organisational and regulatory SES conceptsas well as important advances in technology,research and validation are adequatelyaddressed:
• A two-year definition phase that is tasked withdevising an Air Traffic Management (ATM)Master Plan defining common goals and avision for the development of the European airtraffic control infrastructure. It is scheduled tobe finished by early 2008. The SESAR definition
phase is jointly co-funded through the TransEuropean Network Transport (TEN-T) schemeby the European Commission and Eurocontrol.The total budget of approximately 60 millioneuros will be funded by a 30 million eurocontribution from TEN-T, together with thesame amount from Eurocontrol, roughlyequally spread between cash, direct effortcontribution to the work contracted toindustry and own complementary activities.
• An industry-led development andimplementation phase, which will be basedupon the results of the definition phase, andwill establish the next generation of air trafficcontrol systems, synchronise their deploy-ment and implementation. This phase willspan from 2007 to at least 2020, and will bemanaged under a new governance scheme,which will unite the forces of differentstakeholders and institutions. This phase willbe itself divided into three consistenttechnological and functional packages, whichwill be implemented consecutively at aEuropean level.
In essence, all activities ranging from researchand technical development to operationaldeployment are covered in SESAR by taking intoaccount the conceptual, industrial, institutional,legal and regulatory perspectives.
1
FOREWORD
An independent study4 has estimated thelong-term economic benefits of the SESARdevelopment and implementation phase atsome 60 billion euros with the potential totrigger up to 200,000 new jobs in the aviationsector across Europe.
A European vision with a global perspective
Many developments under the Single European Sky scheme will involve collaboration with major
undertakings in other key regions of commercial aviation such as the United States of America,
Australia and China.
The US counterpart of the Single European Sky – known as the Next Generation Air Transportation
System (NGATS) – is currently devising its own framework for the definition and development of
advanced ATM architectures with the aim to ensure interoperability at a wider scale. In this
context, the European Commission and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) intend to
pursue close co-ordination of their two respective initiatives aimed at preparing air transport
systems for tomorrow's challenges. On the industry side, several major US companies such as
Boeing1, Rockwell Collins and Honeywell will be associated to SESAR's definition phase.
At the first EU-China aviation summit2 the intention was confirmed to engage "[…] in
negotiations in the coming months with a view to conclude an agreement relating to technical
co-operation in civil aviation including matters such as safety, security and air traffic
management and the related SESAME3 programme."
1. 'Global Interoperability: Prerequisite for future growth in air transport'; Position paper prepared by Boeing and the Air Traffic Alliance (a grouping of EADS, Airbus andThales); Maastricht, February 2005
2. Joint declaration on EU-China co-operation in civil aviation; EU-China aviation summit, Beijing 29 June - 01 July 20053. SESAME was the name of the SESAR initiative until autumn 2005.4. ’SESAME CBA and governance – Assessment of options, benefits and associated costs of the SESAME programme for the definition of the future air traffic management sys-
tem’; Steer Davies Gleave, London, draft final report, May 2005
This brochure covers ongoing activities ofSESAR's definition phase while also looking atthe implications of current undertakings such asthe forthcoming ATM master plan, recentresearch findings and industrial efforts to meetthe targets of the Single European Sky.
THE SESAR INITIATIVE
Though the last decade of the twentieth century hasseen considerable improvements in ATM systems,aircraft safety systems, airports' technical equipmentand organisational structures thanks to efforts byEurocontrol and the European Commission as wellas those by individual actors in the aviation industry,the desired breakthrough towards a highlyinteroperable, safe and cost-efficient air trafficregime remained pending.This is where the EC'stransport commissioner Ms de Palacio took initiativein 1999 and launched an ambitious scheme underthe title Single European Sky.
Besides the obvious need to address persistentlyrobust air traffic growth with its related implicationson capacity, safety, the environment and costs, theSES idea aimed to set the legislative and regulatoryfoundations for future actions, while at the sametime gathering together all relevant stakeholders ina field historically suffering from fragmentation oftechnology, national rather than operationalconsiderations and an unacceptable level of paralleldevelopments.
Four linked European Commissionregulations define the scope of activitiesneeded to set up the SES:
• The framework regulation5 establishes aharmonised institutional and regulatory frameworkfor the creation of the SES, requiring MemberStates to nominate ‘National SupervisoryAuthorities’ (NSAs), independent of serviceproviders. It creates a ‘Single Sky Committee’ anddefines how implementing rules are to be devel-oped through mandates to Eurocontrol.
• The service provision regulation6 establishesrequirements for the safe and efficient provision ofthese services in the Community that address,among other things, safety, quality, security andaccounting systems. It sets out the NSAs’ tasks andrequires the transposition of Eurocontrol SafetyRegulatory Requirements (ESARRs) intoCommunity law. It introduces a certification
mechanism for Air Navigation Services Providers(ANSPs) and the means of monitoring compliance,together with requirements for greater trans-parency and a new charging scheme for airnavigation services.
• The airspace regulation7 establishes theconditions and requirements for creatingtransnational functional airspace blocks (FABs), toensure the most efficient approach to airspaceorganisation. It also encourages the 'progressiveharmonisation' of airspace classification, based onthe simplified approach defined in the Eurocontrolairspace strategy.
• The interoperability regulation8 aims atachieving the interoperability of the European AirTraffic Management Network (EATMN), by definingessential requirements for it, and by expediting theintroduction of new operational concepts andtechnology.The regulation will be supported byimplementing rules, standards and Communityspecifications. Compliance with the regulation willbe assured by manufacturers ‘declarations ofconformity’, monitored by notified bodies.
2 3
1THE SINGLE EUROPEAN SKY FRAMEWORK
5. Regulation (EC) No 549/20046. Regulation (EC) No 550/20047. Regulation (EC) No 551/20048. Regulation (EC) No 552/2004
Originally conceived in 1999, key themes ofthe Single European Sky (SES) initiative –legally adopted in March 2004 – include theachievement of:
• The flexible use of airspace through civil-militaryco-ordination and improvements to air traffic flowmanagement;
• an airspace design building on the harmonisation ofairspace classification and design, and the definitionof a single European upper information region;
• functional airspace blocks key to rationalisation andconsolidation of service provision;
• an overall ATM system of reinforced andimproved safety;
• a common charging scheme for Air NavigationServices (ANS) including rules for both en-routeand terminal charges, support for functionalairspace blocks, incentive mechanisms, andorganised reviews of charges; and
• interoperability through a new approach tostandards building on high-level essentialrequirements, detailed through bindingimplementing rules or through voluntary industrystandards, and implementing rules enabling theintroduction of new equipment and proceduressynchronised between States, service providers andusers.
Implementation of SES defined regulationsand actions is under way, with the EC havingissued several mandates to Eurocontrol thatresulted in proposed implementation rules,such as:
• The Flexible Use of Airspace (FUA) which hasalready been implemented by most participatingStates;
• targeted rules on airspace design;
• the definition of criteria for the establishment ofcross-border Functional Airspace Blocks (FABs)which have already been subject of activediscussions in some cases; and
• a common air navigation charging schemecurrently being discussed among Air NavigationService Providers (ANSPs) and national authorities.
The SESAR initiative aims to reducefragmentation, co-ordinate and integrateplans and actions needed to fulfil the promiseof a single harmonised European airspace.TheEuropean Commission is supported andadvised in these actions by two importantgroups established in the frame of the SESregulation, namely:
• The Single Sky Committee comprised of MemberStates; and
• the Industry Consultation Body on which the ATMindustry and other professional stakeholders arerepresented.
After its formal kick-off in November 2005, theSESAR definition phase study – undertaken bya 30-partner consortium led by Air TrafficAlliance (ATA) – is now concentrating onpreparing six key deliverables intended to:
• Analyse the overall air transport framework;
• define performance objectives for the future ATMsystem;
• specify target concepts that will help meet theseperformance objectives;
• plan the deployment and implementationsequence of relevant solutions;
• draft a European ATM Masterplan summarizing therecommendations of the air transport industry; and
• define the concrete work programme for the firstphase of implementation.
A FAB initiative: towardsa united UK-Irish airspaceA recent study9 by independent consultantssuggests establishing a single Functional AirspaceBlock (FAB) in UK and Irish airspace by the year2008.The Anglo-Irish reorganisation of airspaceand related air traffic control tasks could helpreduce costs and improve quality of serviceaccording to stakeholders consulted.
The report, commissioned by the UK's National AirTraffic Services and the Irish Aviation Authority,recommends expanding the scope of FABs to theentire airspace above ground operations ratherthan following a division into lower and upperairspace with a somewhat arbitrary separation at28,500 ft or roughly 8,700 m (FL 285). On the basisof this study, the UK and Ireland applied for, andreceived, funding to further develop theestablishment of this FAB under the Trans-European Networks (TEN-T) programme.
9. 'Study into the issues and options associated with establishing a functional airspace block in UK and Irish airspace'; SolarAlliance, London, final report, June 2005
THE SESAR INITIATIVE
• safety and security concerns at airports as wellas during flight operations;
• rising environmental impacts and costs of airtransport; and
• an overall poor cost-efficiency ratio in air trafficoperations.
Though existing systems generally are able tocope with current air traffic – the postSeptember 2001 downturn in aviationcontributed favourably here – a capacity andsafety 'ceiling' could soon be reached. Hencethere is the need to:
• Come up with new operational structures andconcepts, and
• heavily invest in new technologies to support them(ATC, airports, route planning, safety and securitysystems, etc.).
This will allow to effectively tackle loomingdeficiencies through targeted research.
The SES implementation initiative SESAR coversdefinition, design, development and ultimatelydeployment of the future European airtransport system through a masterplan that isenabled by the aforementioned SES legislation.
Moreover, it is hoped SESAR willprovide institutionalarrangements needed to allow forwider harmonisation and co-operation across the ATMindustry leading to improveddecision-making. The ultimateoutcome should be a safe,efficient, seamless andharmonised air transport systembenefiting the whole of Europe.
4 5
2AIR TRANSPORT RESEARCH NEEDS
Air traffic growth has been steady over the pastdecades with a forecast annual increase in flightsof up to 3.4% per annum through to the year2025, meaning that air traffic demand is likely tomore than double by that date. At the same timeATM equipment in use is becoming increasinglyobsolete, suffers from poor technical andoperational interoperability, and is characterisedby considerable deviations in technical standards.The ATM industry has traditionally been highlyfragmented, driven by national interests and witha low level of co-operation.
The consequences of those principalconstraints are:
• Emerging bottlenecks at major Europeanairports due to lack of space, runway andtaxiway limitations, outdated ground controlequipment;
• the inefficient use of airspace due toconventional ATC procedures and supportingsystems, as well as legacy structures of upperand lower airspace which are no longer able togenerate enough extra capacity (while eventhe most up-to-date equipment cannotguarantee sufficient capacity);
Actual
Globalisation / rapid economic growth scenario
Business as usual scenario
Strong economies and regulation scenario
Regionalisation and weak economies scenario
IFR
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01970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030
Long-term traffic growth trends for Eurocontrol Statistical Reference Area (ESRA)
With a particular view to research anddevelopment, SESAR is meant to co-ordinate,synchronise and integrate all efforts thusallowing for the full exploitation of researchfindings. By bringing together all keystakeholders from industry, regulatoryauthorities and the institutional side, SESAR willensure that emerging organisational andtechnical issues are addressed in acomprehensive, cost-efficient and beneficialway.
The current SESAR work programme hencedirectly translates into areas of relevancefor ongoing and future research efforts bycomprising:
• A regulatory and business framework;
• performance requirements and assessmentcriteria;
• technical and operational changes to enablingATM systems;
• validation and simulation needs; and
• the top-level ATM master plan.
Research activities in the aviation sectorwill have to be judged against SESAR'sguidelines to produce outputs that arequantifiable, recognisable and in overallbeneficial to airspace users and theircustomers, and the ATM industry. Hencetargeted objectives are to:
• Achieve cost-efficiency through joining forcesin R&D and avoiding the presentfragmentation in system implementation andinfrastructure deployment;
• provide lower costs of ATM systemprocurement and maintenance based onbetter validated requirements, harmonisedstandards, certification and licensing;
• achieve industrial co-operation (and possiblyconsolidation) at the European level;
• establish European (or even global) standards;and
• speed up the deployment of standardised ATMcomponents and systems.
On the technical side, SES objectives translate intothe need for substantial investment in newtechnology, systems and training and changes toAir Navigation Services Providers' (ANSPs)operating concepts, procedures and chargingschemes.
For the 2005-2012 timeframe, research will haveto focus on validating already identified optionsto allow clear decisions on their deployment, andon achieving interoperability convergence bysupporting early specification of futurecomponents and systems. Interoperability in theSES regime will be progressively implemented,based on the SESAR outputs, and will be fullyachieved by the year 2020, with research intomore innovative solutions to face the challenge ofthe traffic increase.
These ambitious goals clearly imply that alot of efforts are needed to:
• Reduce the fragmentation of the Europeanaviation market;
• reduce unnecessary costs throughreorganisation;
• enhance compatibility and interoperability ofATM systems;
• reinforce and improve overall safety;
• foster technological innovation in airborneand ground systems through the opening-upof markets thus strengthening the entire ATMindustry;
• increase capacity to meet demand; and
• simplify the regulatory framework.
THE SESAR INITIATIVE
6 7
3RELEVANT RESEARCH PROGRAMMESAND PROJECTS
For many years research activities at theEuropean level have been looking into technicaldevelopments and organisational schemesrelated to a variety of aspects connected towhat evolved into the Single European Sky(SES) initiative. Notably, the EuropeanCommission, Eurocontrol and several nationalaviation authorities joined forces to develop,validate and later on implement a futureEuropean Air Traffic Management System(EATMS) building on Eurocontrol's original ATM2000+ strategy.
Drawing on valuable scientific findings,devised validation platforms andoperational concepts from the FourthFramework Programme's 'Transport RTDProgramme', the following on-goingresearch programmes are some examplesof activities which do significantlycontribute to the SES initiative:
• Fifth Framework Programme, Growth/KeyAction 4 'New Perspectives in Aeronautics';
• Sixth Framework Programme, Thematic PriorityArea 4 'Aeronautics and Space';
• Trans-European Transport NetworksProgramme (TEN-T); and
• Eurocontrol programmes.
Topics covered in projects from the aboveresearch programmes comprise:
• Improving airport infrastructures and airportoperations;
• validating ATM technical components anddevising more efficient airspace structures;
• developing aircraft systems that complementground infrastructures while complying withfuture air traffic control, guidance andnavigation equipment;
• enhancing human capabilities in progressivelytechnological advanced workingenvironments;
• addressing safety requirements for all phasesof air transport operation; and
• implementation strategies that address thelong-term character of the SES concept, callingfor its full availability by the year 2020.
4RESEARCH RESULTS
A wide range of research projects has dealt withthe need to come up with novel ATMenvironments, an open system architecture withlong-term growth potential, and a much moreefficient organisational framework forredesigning airspace use and related ATCservices.
Co-operative Air TrafficManagement for Europe
Past research activities have come up with awide range of novel architectures, technical andoperational solutions as well as organisationalaspects of Air Traffic Management. However, amajor challenge remains the integration ofindividual components into a co-operativefuture ATM environment such as:
• Communication Navigation and Surveillance(CNS) concepts;
• Airborne Separation Assistance System(ASAS) procedures;
• 4D Flight Management System (FMS)capabilities and trajectory planning;
• air-ground data-linkage;
• system-wide information management;
• advanced tools to support separationmanagement;
• flight data processing and flow management;and
• some initial system wide collaborativedecision-making applications.
This will be mainly achieved through acomprehensive simulation and validationprogramme with a target horizon of 2012 forinitial deployment of this major SESbuilding block.
8 9
Towards a collaborativeATM network
The operational ATM concept developed by theAFAS (Aircraft in the future Air TrafficManagement system) project has been basedon:
• Air-to-ground data-link exchanges and sharingof information among airports, airlines and airtraffic control (ATC); and
• the use of computed four-dimensional flighttrajectories for ATC operations exploitingadvanced Flight Management Systems (FMS)available in modern commercial aircraft.
This extension of the collaborative decision-making process has clearly improved thepredictability of flight trajectories leading tomore efficient flow management and airportoperations. Two technical and operationalvalidation exercises have confirmed:
• The high maturity of available avionicspackages; and
• a potential for significant ATM enhancementsthanks to better air-to-ground coordination.
Efficient and integratedoperations from gate to gate
Though extensive research efforts have beenundertaken to come up with highlyinteroperable, efficient and safe ATM conceptsand components, the complex validation of anintegrated gate-to-gate ATM operational concepthad not been done before. GATE-to-GATE, thebiggest and most ambitious air sector researchproject from Fifth Framework Programme (FP5)has been set up to undertake this research.
In order to prepare for the future, this project isproposing an integrated operational frameworkfor implementation from 2010 onwards. Linking
departure, en-route and arrival, GATE-to-GATE isaiming at an integrated operational conceptcomprising:
• Traffic flow planning managed prior and alongall flight phases, based on four dimensionalplanning (4D, including time) trajectoryexchange between stakeholders; and
• continuous optimisation of the planningprocess taking into account unexpectedevents, allowing for more anticipation duringall phases of flight plus some delegation oftasks from the controller to the pilot leading tobenefits in safety, capacity, cost efficiency andpunctuality.
THE SESAR INITIATIVE
Redesigning Europeanairspace
ONESKY (One non-national European sky), amajor study employing fast time simulationtechniques, has evaluated two differentapproaches to redesigning European airspaceacross national borders:
• A bottom-up development based on currentairspace design, proving the effectiveness ofredesigning even a limited amount of existingATM sectors; and
• a top-down, clean sheet design of ATM regionsdramatically increasing overall systemcapacity.
Both scenarios were investigated using theoperational concepts of flexible use of airspace(FUA), direct routing and reduced verticalseparation minimum (RVSM). Additionally, theimpacts of airspace controlled by the militaryhave been taken into consideration.
The bottom-up approach was developed forfour important ATM regions in Central andSouthern Europe, while the clean sheet design
looked into Scandinavian as well as Central andSouthern European control areas. The scenarioswere backed up by cost-benefit analyses whichproved the general viability of both approaches,though the radical concept promised moresubstantial economic and capacity benefits.
While many activities aim at enhancing
overall ATM capacity, it must not be
forgotten that ground infrastructures need
to cope with the forecast growth in aviation
as well. Hence, airports need to increase
their system capacity and enhance
operational safety, at the same time
addressing environmental impacts such as
noise in the vicinity. Moreover, large new-
generation widebody aircraft such as
Airbus A380, Boeing 777, Airbus A340 and
proposed growth versions of Boeing's 747
highlight the need to reassess aircraft
separation rules that increasingly prove to
be conservative thus unnecessarily limiting
airport and ATC capacity.
THE SESAR INITIATIVE
10 11
Keeping airports moving
Tackling looming capacity problems at airportshas been identified as a primary goal for manyyears. The development of Advanced SurfaceMovement, Guidance and Control Systems (A-SMGCS) has progressed significantly thanks toresearch efforts in recent FrameworkProgrammes.
To fulfil the promise of a highly efficient airtransport system that operates at much highersafety standards, premium punctuality andsignificantly reduced costs, A-SMGCS is seen asa promising comprehensive approach to boostairport performance through integrating itwith route planning, guidance and controlin ATM.
In a two-pronged approach, the EMMA project(European Airport Movement Management byA-SMGCS) will help validate and mature theexisting A-SMGCS architecture with a view toestablishing standards relating to technicaland operational procedures, safety andinteroperability. EMMA has also ensured acommon standardised validation method bydeveloping analysis and verification tools. Inaddition to simulation, in-situ trials at threemajor airports – Milan-Malpensa, Prague-Ruzyne and Toulouse-Blagnac – will help provethe suitability, comprehensiveness andreadiness of technical and operationalrequirements before Europe-wideimplementation of A-SMGCS commences.
Wake vortex prediction anddetection
A set of mature technologies to detect andpredict wake vortices generated by aircraft isnow seen to allow for the introduction offlexible separation minima dependent onpredictors as well as ICAO aircraft categories.
ATC-WAKE (Integrated Air Traffic Control wakevortex safety and capacity system) hasproposed:
• Determining separation modes for approachand departure with a forecast time of 20-40minutes, based on wake vortex behaviourprediction dependent on weather conditions;
• tactical controller decisions during approachfollowing the pre-determined separationmode using short term wake vortex predictionand detection information; and
• departure operations following the pre-determined separation mode, again usingshort term wake vortex prediction anddetection information, during take-off andclimb-out.
Moreover, the project has specified proceduresfor the transition from ICAO standardseparation to ATC-WAKE separation modes, andfor staggered approaches to closely spacedparallel runways like the two main runways atFrankfurt Rhein/Main airport.
Implementing noiseabatement procedures atairports
While many European airports are facing calls forcapacity growth and efficiency enhancements,their neighbourhoods expect measures to betaken against environmental impacts, with noisebeing the number one concern. Also, ICAO'sbalanced approach for a more environmentallyfriendly aviation industry stresses noisemitigation as an important action item.
SOURDINE II (Study of optimisation proceduresfor decreasing the impact of noise aroundairports II) has addressed the when, where andhow of noise abatement procedures to beconsidered in the context of:
• Reduction at source (e.g. favouring aircraftwith new technology engines);
• operational procedures (e.g. thrust setting andflight path);
• operating restrictions (e.g. curfews, limitationsin the size of aircraft); and
• land use control (affecting the vicinity ofairports).
The most promising operational procedures areaiming at considerable mitigation effects duringaircraft approach and departure throughchanged engine thrust settings and adaptedflight paths.
In addition, the study has investigated the rolesof stakeholders, such as nearby communities,airlines, ANSPs, airports and regulationauthorities.
The role of aircraft
To accelerate the move to greater aircraftautonomy, supporting the increasing demand forair travel in and around Europe, the MA-AFAS (Themore autonomous – Aircraft in the future Air TrafficMan-agement system) research project helped:
• Foster the more efficient and flexible use ofairspace;
• optimise the use of airport capacities andfacilities;
• allow for the more efficient use of aircraft throughoptimised 4D trajectory routing, employment ofAirborne Separation Assistance Systems (ASAS),enhanced fleet management and CollaborativeDecision Making (CDM) support; and
• enable weather independent operations.
Among the functions of ASAS systems that helpboost air traffic capacity are manoeuvres beingdelegated to aircraft en-route such as:
• Longitudinal spacing (remaining or mergingbehind leading aircraft);
• lateral spacing (passing behind other aircraft, orlateral offset for overtaking leading aircraft); and
• vertical crossing (coordinated crossing over orbelow other aircraft, then automatically resumingclimb or descent to designated flight level).
THE SESAR INITIATIVE
12 13
Complementing the required step change
of ATM organisation and operation over
Central Europe, advanced data link
technology and the automatic distribution
of ATC responsibilities to intelligent aircraft
are seen as viable and efficient ways of
improving ATM performance initially in less
congested control areas such as the
Mediterranean and Scandinavia.
Moreover, improvements to taxi movements onthe ground provide for better orientation,increased safety, enhanced situationalawareness, and fewer runway incursions.
Trialling free flight over theMediterranean
The MFF (Mediterranean Free Flight) project hascome up with consolidated results andrecommendations on Airborne SeparationAssistance System (ASAS) applications obtainedfrom a significant number of simulations, flighttrials and studies. It has investigated thepossibilities to establish free flight zones overthe Mediterranean Sea which constitutes atransition area from Europe's highly used butwell equipped ATM regime to Northern Africa'sless populated airspace with poor surveillanceinfrastructure. During three major real-timesimulations, ASAS Self Separation zones (FreeFlight) were found to:
• Be viable, with no insurmountable safetyissues in low traffic load areas;
• be well accepted by both pilots andcontrollers;
• effectively support the transition between‘Managed’ and Free Flight airspace throughintent information;
• yield benefits due to more direct flight pathsresulting in fuel savings and less radarsurveillance;
• result in only a small increase in pilotworkload; and
• be very beneficial for air transport operations.
A key enabler for ATMimprovement
The introduction of automatic dependentsurveillance (ADS-B) technology is set to changethe way flight operations are to be run in an
environment that promotes delegating moreresponsibilities to aircraft. The NUP II (NorthEuropean ADS-B network update programmePhase 2) project has looked into:
• Enhancing ATC capabilities through the use ofADS-B components – on the ground and onaircraft – with a view to operation in non-radarenvironments, and airport surface movements;and
• introducing air-to-air surveillance and controlcapabilities through installation of ADS-Bcockpit equipment.
The project's main task has been to ready keyADS-B systems for operational introduction in aEuropean ADS-B network by validating pre-operational ATM concepts. It has set up aninfrastructure comprising of over 30 ADS-Bground stations and more than 30 ADS-Bequipped aircraft and helicopters, as well asseveral types of ATC integrations of ADS-B.
The second stage of NUP II was to introducedown-linking of 4D trajectory data from theaircraft Flight Management System (FMS) to theground, on more than 20 SAS and AustrianAirlines aircraft, to give more predictabletrajectory information to airports, air navigationservice providers and airlines hereby:
• Facilitating improved air traffic managementefficiency;
• supporting better Collaborative DecisionMaking (CDM) processes; and
• enabling routine operational use of ContinuousDescent Approaches to reduce environmentalimpact (preliminary results show a reduction ofup to 100kg of fuel burn/approach)
The goal is to see if using 4D data to managearrivals more predictably can increase thenumber of operations that can be handled byone runway from the current 45 to 60.
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5BENEFITS GAINED FROM THE RESEARCH
Among the technological highlights fromcompleted research projects have beendevelopments such as:
• The standardised AVENUE validation platform forATM components needed to proceed from thedefinition and design phase to subsequentimplementation of future ATM systems andequipment;
• novel Communications, Navigation andSurveillance (CNS) applications related to precisionnavigation capability en-route and duringapproach, apron situational awareness and taxiguidance, in-flight situational awareness, enhancedATC surveillance, automatic terminal informationservice broadcast, and runway incursionmonitoring; and
• an extensive simulation and demonstrationcampaign proving the usefulness of AdvancedSurface Movement Guidance and Control Systems(A-SMGCS) through live trials at three majorEuropean airports.
Several research activities have proven thatmore integrated ATM systems comprising:
• State-of-the-art ground based ATC;
• intelligent aircraft on-board systems integratedwith flight management systems;
• autonomous surveillance and aircraft separationassistance technology;
• improved data link and communicationstechnology; and
• real-time exchange of important information forflight planning and operations.
These can substantially change the way ofproviding air traffic control, thus coping withgrowth demands and the need to maintain andimprove safety standards of the entire ATMsystem. This networking character of futuresystem architectures and technical componentscontrasts past developments that have oftenoptimised single technical systems but havefailed to generate synergies. The consequencehas been systems that cannot providethe desired major steps forward in terms ofefficiency, costs, reliability and safety.
The maturity of real-time data link technology,for example, has paved the way for pre-deploying Automatic Dependent Surveillance(ADS-B) technology, itself enabling theintroduction of free flight zones in lesscongested airspace in Scandinavia and over theMediterranean Sea. As similar schemes areunderway in the US and Australia, theimplementation of such a technology in Europeshows its importance on a global scale. While theintroduction of free flight zones has proven to bebeneficial under most circumstances, thetransition from conventional ATC (managed)sectors to free flight zones will require furtherinvestigation.
Another area where benefits gained from recentresearch activities have become apparent is theintroduction of integrated traffic flowmanagement, e.g. through the use of 4Dtrajectories for planning, monitoring andadjusting of flight plans. Looking at the entireflight service (from departure and climb, throughcruise, to approach to the destination airport)has led to considerable improvements incapacity, safety, cost efficiency, environment,punctuality and flexibility.
These results and many others from ongoingresearch activities will become cornerstones oftomorrow's single, harmonised Europeanairspace.
THE SESAR INITIATIVE
6EUROPEAN POLICY IMPLICATIONS
The definition phase of SESAR will by early 2008have devised the European ATM Master Plan anda detailed work programme for 2008-13. SESARwill become the most important industrialventure to pave the way for the implementationof the Single European Sky.
The major observed weakness of initiatives torevamp ATM in Europe over the past 20 yearshas been decision-making.While researchefforts of a wide group of stakeholders hasyielded considerable advances in technology –which in many cases is now available foroperational deployment – this is not enough andthe actual implementation has always laggedbehind.This is why EC policy has initiated thelaunch of SESAR which in the meantime is widelyaccepted as a unique opportunity to:
• Join forces with all stakeholders involved such asMember States, industry, ANSPs, airports, airspaceusers, the military, international, professional andtechnical organisations (Eurocontrol, ICAO, IATA,EURO-CAE, etc.) and possibly third countries;
• ensure a legislative, organisational and technicalframework for all activities;
• come up with a robust multi-player and long-running funding scheme;
• foster further advances in research anddevelopment of systems and components;
• pave the way for the incremental deploymentof new technologies over the next 15-20 yearsto meet operational, safety and efficiencyrequirements;
• provide for an appropriate managementumbrella; and
• ensure that relevant stakeholders mentionedabove 'remain around the table' throughoutthe entire development and implementationphase.
Clearly a massive task such as implementingthe vision of a harmonised Europeanairspace will require adequatemanagement, supervision and control at theEU level. An independent study10 into theoptions for governance of SESAR'sdevelopment and implementation phase hasconfirmed a Joint Undertaking – similar tothe one successfully pursued for the Galileosatellite navigation system – as the mostpromising contender. The right governancescheme is understood to be key to theoverall success of SESAR, focusing on thefollowing objectives:
• Efficient decision-making;
• co-ordination, synchronisation andharmonisation of all efforts across Europe;
• a holistic system-wide approach towardsintegrating all aspects of air transport, such asair and ground operations, into one trunk ofresearch and development activities;
• the efficient management and use of resourceswith a focus on strengthening synergies; and
• the appropriate participation of keystakeholders such as Member States, industryand Eurocontrol.
10. ’SESAME CBA and governance – Assessment of options, benefits and associated costs of the SESAME programme for the definition of the future air trafficmanagement system’; Steer Davies Gleave, London, draft final report, May 2005
THE SESAR INITIATIVE
16 17
The European Commission has proposed a JointUndertaking for inclusion in the SeventhFramework Programme that asks for a wide co-operation and consensus among mentionedkey players, and secures targeted funding at theEU level. Financing will have to exploit EU RTDand TEN-T funding as well as significantindustry contributions. All these fundingstreams need to be merged into acomprehensive, consistent and programme-oriented multi-annual budget to ensure the
effective development and implementation ofthe future European ATM environment.While the SESAR initiative gathers together keystakeholders in its current definition phase –securing a harmonised European airspaceframework and ATC environment with a widerglobal view to interoperability of future systems– a lot of responsibility for actual developmentand deployment of SES building blocks will beassigned to States, ANSPs, airspace users andairports supported by industry.
The current way of ‘doing’ ATM is not sustainableand will not provide the necessary levels ofcapacity, safety, efficiency and cost effectivenessthat will be required to enable the air transportsystem to function efficiently and effectively from2020 onwards. It is generally accepted that thefuture ATM system needs to be radically different,based on a collaborative ATM process with greatersystem automation and wider exploitation ofaircraft capabilities. Precision navigation, coupledwith data link capability, will enable a moreeffective planning process and a delegation ofresponsibility for separation to the cockpit. Theground ATM system should ensure overall systemefficiency and organise traffic to maximise systemcapacity, whilst the aircraft should assumeresponsibility for ensuring separation from otheraircraft and arriving at ‘the right place at the righttime’, as agreed between the ground ATM, theairline and the airport through ‘collaborativedecision making’ processes.
The Single European Sky legislation has laid theregulatory basis for a radical restructuring of ATM inEurope and the R&D activities carried out providethe key elements for future system development.These two threads are brought together by theSESAR programme which, in the Definition Phase,will establish a common agreed position by all theATM actors on the required performance andnecessary development of the future European ATMsystem to satisfy future traffic growth.The main focusfor R&D in Europe for the 2008-13 time period will bethe SESAR Development Phase: the realisation ofthe future system through the development andvalidation of the overall system design and itsconstituent components to be implemented in theDeployment Phase between 2014 and 2020.
The main thrust of this work will be to:
• Validate that the selected concept from the SESARDefinition Phase will meet the required systemperformance requirements;
• carry out the necessary research and developmentto ensure that the required systems and sub-systems have the required performance and areavailable as and when needed;
• provide the necessary information for the decisionmaking process to support implementation; and
• explore and prepare the longer term solutions forlater system performance upgrades.
Even the achievement of this research will beradically different from the past, where national andEuropean level research (European Commission andEurocontrol) have tended to be conducted inisolation, even if there has been a certain degree of‘co-ordination’.The characteristic of ATM research forthe future will be that it will be carried out in a fullyintegrated manner where all European and nationalinitiatives will be channelled through a single‘programme office’ in the form of a SESAR JointUndertaking which will regroup the EuropeanCommission, Eurocontrol and national and/orindustry funding to the level of 300 million euros peryear to achieve the SESAR Development Phase.
7FUTURE RESEARCH DEVELOPMENTS
THE SESAR INITIATIVE
18 19
• AFAS 'Aircraft in the future Air Traffic Management system'; 5th Framework Programme research project,www.euroafas.com/afas
• ATC-WAKE 'Integrated Air Traffic Control wake vortex safety and capacity system'; Framework Programme researchproject, www.nlr.nl/?id=502
• C-ATM Phase 1 'Co-operative Air Traffic Management – Phase 1'; 6th Framework Programme research project,www.c-atm.com
• EMMA 'European airport movement management by A-SMGCS'; 5th Framework Programme research pro-ject,www.dlr.de/emma
• GATE TO GATE (G2G) 'Validation of a European ATM gate to gate operational concept for 2005-2010'; 5th FrameworkProgramme research project, www.g2g.isdefe.es
• MA-AFAS 'The more autonomous – Aircraft in the future Air Traffic Management system'; 5th Framework Programmeresearch project, www.ma-afas.com
• MFF 'Mediterranean free flight'; 5th Framework Programme research project, www.medff.it
• NUP II 'North European ADS-B network (NEAN) update programme Phase 2'; Multi-annual Indicative Programme (MIP)research project, www.nup.nu
• ONESKY 'One non-national European sky'; 5th Framework Programme research project, www.oneskysite.net
• SOURDINE II 'Study of optimisation procedures for decreasing the impact of noise around airports II'; 5th FrameworkProgramme research project, www.sourdine.org
• 'SESAR – Single European Sky ATM Research'; Eurocontrol brochure, February 2006
• ‘SESAR: Air Traffic Alliance and partners sign contract for Definition Phase with Eurocontrol’; Air Traffic Alliance (ATA)press release, 17 November 2005
• Memo:‘The SESAR programme: Making air travel safer, cheaper and more efficient’; November 2005
• Joint declaration on EU-China co-operation in civil aviation; EU-China aviation summit, Beijing 29 June - 01 July 2005
• 'Study into the issues and options associated with establishing a functional airspace block in UK and Irish airspace';Solar Alliance, London, final report, June 2005
• ’SESAME CBA and governance – Assessment of options, benefits and associated costs of the SESAME programme forthe definition of the future air traffic management system’; Steer Davies Gleave, London, draft final report, May 2005
• 'SESAME – Single European Sky implementation programme'; Eurocontrol brochure, April 2005
• 'Global Interoperability: Prerequisite for future growth in air transport'; Position paper prepared by Boeing and the AirTraffic Alliance (a grouping of EADS, Airbus and Thales); Maastricht, February 2005
• ’An Alliance for seamless air transport’; Air Traffic Alliance (ATA) brochure, 2005
• 'Financing of ATM to achieve the Single European Sky'; Steer Davies Gleave / Solar Alliance, London, final report,August 2004
• Regulation (EC) No 552/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2004 on the interoperabilityof the European Air Traffic Management network ('The interoperability regulation')
• Regulation (EC) No 551/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2004 on the organisationand use of the airspace in the Single European Sky ('The airspace regulation')
• Regulation (EC) No 550/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2004 on the provision of airnavigation services in the single European sky ('The service provision regulation')
• Regulation (EC) No 549/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 March 2004 laying down theframework for the creation of the Single European Sky ('The framework regulation')
• ‘The Single European Sky – Implementing political commitments’; DG TREN brochure, ISBN 92-894-8104-8, EuropeanCommunities, 2004
• ‘Single European Sky – Results from the transport research programme’; DG TREN policy brochure, ISBN 92-894-1550-9, European Communities, 2001
8REFERENCES
GLOSSARYAutomatic Dependent Surveillance (Broadcast)Air Navigation ServicesAir Navigation Service ProviderAirborne Separation Assistance SystemsAdvanced Surface Movement, Guidance and Control SystemAir Traffic Alliance, industrial grouping of EADS, Airbus and Thales, contracted for the definition phase of SESARAir Traffic ControlAir Traffic ManagementCollaborative Decision MakingCommunications, Navigation and SurveillanceEuropean Commission, Directorate-General for Energy and TransportEuropean Aeronautic Defence and Space CompanyEuropean Air Traffic Management NetworkEuropean Air Traffic Management SystemEuropean CommissionEuropean Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation(US) Federal Aviation AdministrationFunctional Airspace BlockFlight Level, given in hundred feet above sea levelFlight Management SystemFlexible Use of Airspace(European) Global Satellite Navigation SystemInternational Air Transport AssociationInternational Civil Aviation Organization(US) Next Generation Air Transportation SystemReduced Vertical Separation MinimumSingle European Sky air traffic management research;Definition phase consortium (www.sesar-consortium.aero) partners include:• Airspace users: Air France, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Iberia, Association of European Airlines
(AEA), European Regions Airline Association (ERA), International Council of Aircraft Ownerand Pilot Association (IAOPA), International Air Transport Association (IATA), KLM.
• Airport operators: Aéroports de Paris (ADP), Aeropuertos Espanoles y Navegacion Aérea(AENA), Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, British Airport Authorities (BAA), Fraport AG,Luftfarts verket (LFV), Munich International Airport.
• Air navigation service providers: Aeropuertos Espanoles y Navegacion Aérea (AENA),Austro Control GmbH, Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH (DFS), Direction des Services deNavigation Aérienne (DSNA), Società Nazionale per l’Assistenza al Volo (ENAV), Luftfartsverket(LFV), Air Traffic Control The Netherlands (LVNL), National Air Traffic Services (NATS),NAV Portugal.
• Supply industry: Airbus, Air Traffic Alliance, BAE Systems, EADS, Indra, Selex Sistemi Integrati,Thales ATM,Thales Avionics.
• Associated partners: Air Traffic Controllers European Union Co-ordination (ATCEUC), Boeing,Civil Aviation Authority UK, Dassault, ECA, ETF, European ATM Military Directors Conference(EURAMID), International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Associations (IFATCA),International Federation of Air Traffic Safety Electronics Association (IFATSEA), Honeywell,Rockwell-Collins.
• Research centres: AENA, DFS, DLR, DSNA/DTI/SDER, INECO, ISDEFE, NLR, QinetiQ Ltd.,SICTA, SOFREAVIA.
Single European SkyTrans-European Transport Network
ADS(-B)ANS
ANSPASAS
A-SMGCSATA
ATCATM
CDMCNS
DG TRENEADS
EATMNEATMS
ECEurocontrol
FAAFAB
FLFMSFUA
GalileoIATA
ICAONGATS
RVSMSESAR
SESTEN-T
SESAR, the Single European Sky implementation programme jointly funded by
the European Commission and Eurocontrol through the TEN-T scheme, is the
unique opportunity to make the vision of a Single European Sky in air transport
become a reality by the year 2020. One of its definition phase milestones will be
to devise an Air Traffic Management masterplan by early 2008, defining common
goals and required developments of European air traffic control infrastructures.
This brochure highlights SESAR's scope and its impact on the overall Single
European Sky scheme by looking at recent research, live trials, studies and
advances in technical equipment, as well as its legislative and organisational
framework.
