Weekly review #142 - 23rd March

Market news

• Indra upgrades the navigational aids at Dubai airport - Indra will supply a landing system with a unique ultrawide antenna system, Normarc Ultrawide Localizer, that allows the airport to improve capacity by safely reducing the separation between taxiing aircraft. A similar system was installed in 2017 at the southern runway and is used at other pioneering international airports such as Heathrow and Zürich.
• Flight Procedure Design for International Airports in Bosnia and Herzegovina - CGX AERO is proud to announce that the BHANSA has selected our consortium, partnered with TE2C and ECOPLAN, for the procurement of flight procedure design services, both conventional and satellite-based, for the international airports of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• Systems Interface Install ATC Comms and Met at Berbera International Airport, Somaliland - Systems Interface Ltd has successfully completed the ‘Turnkey’ contract awarded to them by Berbera International Airport Company for the Design, Supply, Installation and Commissioning of a new VHF Communications system and Solar Powered Automatic Weather Observation System to enhance the safety and efficiency of air traffic operations at Berbera International Airport, Somaliland.
• Procurement and installation of satcom atc at kuala lumpur ATC, sepang - Translated: Suppliers are invited from companies registered with the ministry of finance malaysia in the relevant field codes and relevant criteria as follows: description of offer: procurement and installation of satellite communication system air traffic control (satcom atc) at kuala air traffic control center lumpur, sepang.

Context information

• Studying, using and improving operational performance - CANSO - Improving Air Traffic Management performance is on a lot of Air Navigation Service Providers’ minds these days. As global air traffic heads back to its previous levels, it is important that air traffic services are delivered in a way that minimises delays to its customers and also reduces the impact of aviation on the environment.

Reports and data

• EUROCONTROL Data Snapshot #27 - The 27th EUROCONTROL Data Snapshot focuses on how an 8th European airline entered the top 40 airline groups.
• Air traffic control improves environmental performance - Air traffic control improves environmental performance as shown in a new environmental report by Skyguide. Skyguide implements its environmental strategy in the two fields of action of air traffic operations and infrastructure.
• Number of flights 2020 to 2021 Kuwait Airport - Total traffic of flights operated from and to Kuwait International Airport in 2021 amounted to 48257 flights, compared to 46062 flights in 2020.
• Airport Authority Announces Traffic Figures of Hong Kong International Airport for February 2022 - Cargo volume and flight movements recorded 272,000 tonnes and 8,330, respectively in February, representing decreases of 12.2% and 1.9% compared to the same month in 2021.

Research and innovation

• Enhanced customer service trial confirms benefits for aircraft operators and the technical and operational feasibility of the concept - Eighty-seven aircraft operators, London Heathrow Airport, seven air navigation service providers and the EUROCONTROL Network Manager teamed up in 2021 to trial a unique customer service, the so-called Customer Initiative.
• How airports can prepare as hydrogen aviation advances - As hydrogen aviation advances, Vincent de Haes considers the fundamental changes in airports’ fuel supply infrastructure and operations that are required.
• SESAR 3 JU members test satellite-based precision aircraft landing - SESAR JU members and partners of the DREAMS large-scale demonstration project conducted live trials of a series of satellite-enabled solutions at Twente Airport in The Netherlands aimed at reducing the noise of aircraft landing at airports, as well as reduced taxi time.
• Explainable artificial intelligence why it matters for air traffic management - Artificial intelligence holds great promise for enabling Europe to sustainably manage growing air traffic and an increasingly complex airspace. Mobyen Uddin Ahmed, Associate Professor in Artificial Intelligence/Computer Science at Mälardalen University, Sweden, and project coordinator of ARTIMATION is working on a project to realize understandable AI.

UAV and UTM

• EASA publishes a means of compliance for Special ‘light UAS’ for consultation - Unmanned airspace - The European Aviation Safety Agency has published for consultation a means of compliance that will allow demonstration of the safety of design of a drone through a Functional Test based approach. This will increase flexibility by allowing drones manufacturers to use the in-service experience accumulated by its fleet instead of demonstrating compliance by designing the drone using standards.
• GUTMA publishes Position Paper on EU’s Drone Strategy 2.0 - Global UTM Association - GUTMA announced publication of the Position Paper on the European Commission’s Drone Strategy 2.0. The paper is the result of fruitful debates among the members of the Policy Task Force established by GUTMA at the end of 2021.
• ORKID partners with Unifly to integrate drones safely into Colombian airspace - To ensure a safe and secure integration of drones into the airspace as well as successfully conduct Beyond Visual Line of Sight missions, ORKID has partnered with Unmanned Traffic Management technology provider Unifly, in a series of test operations.
• How, where and when to launch the first U-space eco-systems - The first step is always the hardest. From standards to market: Can we get a competitive U-space services market? U-space services providers, regulators and commercial drone operators from Europe and beyond discussed how, where and when the first commercial U-space services to support automated beyond visual line of sight drone operations will be implemented in Europe

Calls for tenders

• AWOS semi-automatic weather observation system at 16 airports - Romatsa - The Contracting Authority acquires the AWOS System to replace the existing semi-automated systems at airports (ROMAWOS) due to physical and moral wear and tear as well as due to the limited support from the software application provider for future developments; the purchase will be made from a specialized economic operator selected in accordance with the law.
• EUROCONTROL Air Transport Operational Innovation Expert Committee - EUROCONTROL Innovation Hub is setting up an Air Transport Operational Innovation Expert Committee to get expertise to ensure this close and permanent connection with the operational field. The committee will be formed of operational experts of the following operational stakeholders, namely: Airspace Users (three experts), Airport Operators (two experts), ANSPs (two experts), Military (one expert). The purpose of this Call for Tenders is to get five (5) individual experts coming from the Airspace Users and Airport Operators domains (only two out of the four listed above)