Weekly review #118 - 29th September

We’re hearing about major advances in the Air Traffic Flow Management of the Dominican Republic. The Instituto Dominicano de Aviacion Civil awarded Metron Aviation the ATFM system contract, thanks to Metron’s Harmony system. Harmony manages demand and minimises delays, as well as maximising both airport space and airspace, all whilst reducing CO₂ emissions. So it’s good news for the environment, too.

There’s also great news coming out of Lithuania. Indra and Oro Navigacija have deployed the iTEC air traffic management system at the Vilnius en route control centre. This means controllers will be able to calculate the position of each aircraft throughout its entire route and flight phases, anticipating conflicts to prevent delays. And it allows airlines to choose the most convenient route, so they can reduce costs and emissions.

From Canada, we’re hearing that Adacel have extended their subcontract with Leidos for the FAA’s Advanced Technologies & Oceanic Procedures (ATOP) Program. This comes shortly after the FAA extended its contract with Leidos to support the ATOP Program for a further 12 years. Among its many features, the ATOP system includes fully integrated flight and radar data processing, conflict detection between aircraft, reduced fuel burn and carbon emissions, and more airspace capacity.

Interesting developments are happening in Afghanistan with PASSUR announcing that they have expanded their contract with the International Air Transport Association to launch the new Global ITOP. This will support safe flight operations, and is already playing an important role in responding to fast-moving developments in the country.

More innovations in Europe are expected as EUROCONTROL announce a strategic partnership with Indra and Atos-Cronos. The plan is to digitally transform the EUROCONTROL Network Manager’s operational systems for European aviation, with all current EUROCONTROL NM operational systems being replaced with new products that harness big data, AI and cloud computing.

And this week we have a brand new podcast episode for you. Our special guest Marek Bekier, Senior VP at ACR, sat down and talked with us in detail about private ANSPs and new ANSPs. You can listen to the full discussion here.

ANSP news

• Indra and Oro Navigacija move forward in the implementation of the European Digital Sky in Lithuania - Indra and Oro Navigacija have deployed the iTEC air traffic management system at the Vilnius en route control centre, integrating it with the lower and Vilnius tower airspace for seamless air traffic management
• Oro Navigacija management met the representatives of PANSA - The management of state enterprise Oro Navigacija met the representatives of the Polish air navigation service provider PANSA. The challenges related to launching “U-Space” system, cooperation within iTEC alliance and other relevant issues were discussed during the meeting.

Airports news

• Metron Aviation awarded contract from Dominican Republic - Metron Aviation has been awarded an air traffic flow management system contract from República Dominicana, Instituto Dominicano de Aviacion Civil. IDAC selected Metron Aviation because its Harmony air traffic flow management system proactively and collaboratively manages demand to minimise delays. In addition, it maximises airport space and airspace throughput, reduces CO2 emissions, and enables aircraft operators to manage their business needs while meeting IDAC’s ATFM requirements.

Market news

• ADB SAFEGATE announces appointment of COO and EVP Airfield - ADB SAFEGATE announces the appointment of Joe Pokoj to Chief Operating Officer of its global organization, as well as Executive Vice President of its airfield business line. He will also retain his current role as CEO Americas, a position he has held since 2013.

• Adacel announces extension of ATOP Contract - Adacel announced the extension of its subcontract with Leidos for the FAA’s Advanced Technologies & Oceanic Procedures Program. This follows on the heels of the FAA extending its contract with Leidos to support the ATOP Program for another 12 years.

Context information

• SESAR Joint Undertaking - Called launched for series of pilot Digital Sky Demonstrators - The European Commission has launched a new call under the Connecting Europe Facility, containing provisions for a series of pilot SESAR JU Digital European Sky Demonstrators in the areas of green aviation and urban air mobility.

• PASSUR’s ariva platform is used to support safe and secure flight operations in Afghanistan through the launch of IATA’s global itop service - PASSUR announced that it has expanded its contract with the International Air Transport Association, to launch the new Global ITOP, the industry platform for global contingency coordination, collaboration, and operational advisories.

• EUROCONTROL enters into new partnership with Indra and Atos-Cronos to design the next generation of network management operational systems - EUROCONTROL entered into a new strategic partnership with technology companies Indra and Atos-Cronos joining EUROCONTROL’s established business partners Cegeka, EUROCITY, Sopra Steria and Thales to digitally transform the EUROCONTROL Network Manager’s operational systems for European aviation.

Reports and data

• EUROCONTROL Data Snapshot #17 - The 17th EUROCONTROL Data Snapshot is here, looking at the fluctuation in flights of heavy aircraft due to COVID-19 and its impact on air traffic control revenue.

• Aeronautical Radio of Thailand LTD - Flight Volume in August 2021 - In August AEROTHAI totally accommodated 16,077 flights categorized into 5,849 international flights, 1,969 domestic flights, 2,698 overflying flights and 5,561 flights for official and security missions.

UAV and UTM

• Unmanned airspace - European Commission invites U-space and UAM demonstrators to participate in latest EUR60 million call for proposals - The European Commission has launched a new call under the Connecting Europe Facility, containing provisions for a series of pilot SESAR JU Digital European Sky Demonstrators in the areas of green aviation and urban air mobility.

• Unmanned airspace - German D3 Technologies cooperates with Walle Mobility on the roadmap to UAM operations in Italy - D3 Technologies and Walle Mobility have agreed to collaborate in exploring opportunities for Urban Air Mobility in the Italian market. The two companies will create a state-of-the-art recognized concept of operations with D3 technologies focusing on the air traffic management part, with Walle Mobility providing the air taxi service, says a joint press release.

• Unmanned airspace - French ministries of transport and armed forces invite projects to accelerate U-space implementation - The French transport ministry in partnership with the Defense Innovation Agency has launched a call for projects to accelerate the implementation of the “U space” programme first introduced in 2018.