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Weekly review #179 - 14th December

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Posted December 14 2022 by Vincent Lambercy

First up this week, the Avinor Board has approved the construction of a new Bodø Airport. A partnership between the municipality of Bodø, the Norwegian Armed Forces and Avinor has led to the decision that will see Avinor build a new airport that is scheduled for completion in 2029. The cost for Avinor’s development project is NOK 7.2 billion at 2022 prices, not including the purchase of land and excluding financing costs. This afternoon, Avinor Group’s Board of Directors approved Avinor’s financial contribution to the project in the amount of NOK 2.6 billion.

 

Next up, BHANSA and Slovenia Control have signed an agreement which represents a formal basis for joint work and cooperation in a number of areas of mutual interest, such as: maintenance and development of the Data Processing System, Safety Management System, capacity optimization, protection and contingency measures in the field of communication, navigation and surveillance, cooperation with competent authorities in certification procedures, continuous compliance and implementation of Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/373.

 

In more airport news, Saudi Arabia intends to construct a modern airport in Riyadh, which will become one of the largest in the world and will be able to serve up to 185 million passengers a year. The airport's area will be ​57 sq. km. and will be built by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF). The new air harbor will be equipped with six runways, thereby serving up to 120 million passengers by 2030 and 185 million passengers by 2050. All the electricity needs will be provided by renewable sources.

 

Finally, are you interested in what AI has to say about ATM? This post on our blog shows a little discussion I had with ChatGPT, an AI-based chatbot open to the public at chat.openai.com. Topics started with the obvious, what is an air traffic controller doing, all the way to more complex issues such as how ATC training could be improved. And obviously, will AI replace ATC?

 

ANSP news

  • BHANSA and Slovenia Control sign the Letter of Agreement - The agreement represents a formal basis for joint work and cooperation in a number of areas of mutual interest, such as: maintenance and development of the Data Processing System, Safety Management System, capacity optimization, protection and contingency measures in the field of communication, navigation and surveillance, cooperation with competent authorities in certification procedures, continuous compliance and implementation of Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/373.
  • NAV CANADA launching public consultations on airspace enhancements around Vancouver International Airport - NAV CANADA, in collaboration with Vancouver Airport Authority, has launched a public consultation on a proposal for airspace modernization surrounding Vancouver International Airport.
  • LVNL and DFS Aviation Services intensify cooperation on ATM system - At the end of November, DFS Aviation Services and LVNL signed a multi-year framework agreement for the further development of the PHOENIX ATM system. The aim of the project is to further develop and maintain the PHOENIX systems that are being used and implemented by LVNL, specifically the integral backup system for enroute and approach in the Amsterdam center.
  • Baltic FAB council meeting - The fifth meeting of Baltic Functional Airspace Block Council took place in Warsaw on December 8, 2022. This year the Baltic FAB is celebrating 10th anniversary and the meeting provided good opportunity to overview current achievements as well as define the direction of further development.
  • The Qatari airspace witnesses a high operational intensity during the World Cup - With the start of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, air traffic at both Hamad and Doha International Airports witnessed a significant increase. Many Gulf carriers began operating shuttle flights to the State of Qatar. In addition, airlines from Arab countries and the rest of the world enhanced their services to Doha in order to provide Integrated air transport for tournament fans.
  • Thales and DSNA unveil a new vision of ATM with 4-FLIGHT - As part of the modernization of France's air-traffic management system (ATM), Thales and the Direction des Services de la Navigation Aérienne (DSNA) inaugurated, in the presence of Clément BEAUNE, the French Minister of Transport, the first operational commissioning of the 4-FLIGHT system at the Reims ACC, the first deployment site for the program. This system, which takes into account the most recent regulatory requirements in terms of cybersecurity and safety, is one of the most advanced stripless Air Traffic Control systems in Europe.

Airports news

Market news

  • Altitude Angel and Saab to partner on Digital Tower technology - SAAB have partnered with Altitude Angel, integrating GuardianUTM with r-TWR digital tower solution to digitally manage crewed and uncrewed flights.
  • FREQUENTIS to deliver largest military voice communications system in the Middle East - Multiple Defence Forces, including Air Force, Joint Operations, Navy Operations, Air Defence, and National Guard, will receive Frequentis secure communication technology and will create the largest military communications system in the region.
  • CAAi to review the Kyrgyz Republic’s State Safety Programme - The Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Kyrgyz Republic has entered into an agreement with the CAA International (CAAi) to review and update the country’s State Safety Programme (SSP) per ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices. The project commenced this week with an onsite visit by CAAi Technical Advisors. Funded by the World Bank’s International Development Association, the project forms part of the Kyrgyz Republic’s goal to develop and grow the country’s aviation sector.
  • MovingDot supports Schiphol-sector with sustainable taxiing - Schiphol and partners have started conducting follow-up sustainable taxiing trials. On 6 December 2022, an aircraft taxied from Schiphol-Centre to a platform near the Zwanenburgbaan, without the aircraft engines running. This was made possible by using a TaxiBot, which is a semi-robotic taxiing system. The objective of this way of taxiing is to reduce fuel consumption and therefore CO2, nitrogen and ultrafine particle emissions.

Context information

Reports and data

  • EUROCONTROL Data Snapshot #37 on aviation connectivity across Europe - Based on door-to-door journey time, EUROCONTROL offers indicators providing a deeper understanding of the level of connectivity at major European cities. The flight choice indicator provides an understanding of the various booking options from a certain origin. To measure the connectivity between a specific city and the other European countries all departure airports within 90 minutes’ drive from the city are considered in the analysis.

Research and innovation

  • SESAR partners demonstrate conflict detection and resolution system - After successfully completing a thorough validation session, SESAR partners, BULATSA in collaboration with Airbus Defence and Space held an open day to demonstrate the capabilities of the conflict detection and resolution system TESLA (Tactical Encounter SoLver Assistant).
  • Towards more environmentally friendly approach profiles - DYNCAT is a two-year exploratory research project that aims at demonstrating how to take into account environmental factors like CO2 and noise when optimising 4D trajectories, enabling safer, more cost-efficient and more environmentally sustainable operations in the terminal manoeuvring area (TMA).
  • SESAR makes progress on virtual centre technologies - SESAR JU - SESAR research partners have successful completed a new series of tests on virtual centres and the delegation of air traffic management service provision. The tests were conducted by COOPANS and Thales as part of SESAR project PJ.10-W2 PROSA, under the lead of German air navigation service provider, DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung.
  • Oceanic transformation scoops industry team award - Global air traffic management changed forever in 2019 with the introduction of Space-Based ADS-B surveillance over the North Atlantic. For the first time in history, it became possible to monitor transatlantic traffic in real-time, enabling the safe reduction in separation standards to increase access to the most fuel efficient trajectories. At a stroke it made the world’s busiest oceanic airspace safer, more predictable, more fuel efficient and environmentally sustainable.

UAV and UTM


    • How to demonstrate that U-space regulations have been applied correctly? Results of the mapping of ASTM standards - Global UTM Association - One thing is to know the law. Another thing is to demonstrate that the law was applied correctly. Here is where standards come in. Standards are the tools that provide proof of compliance. Complying with the standard means to automatically apply the requirements in the law. This is the case when standards are “correctly” established. A good standard is assessed against all the details of the regulatory requirements. That is what “mapping” is all about.
    • Cargo drone conducts final CORUS-XUAM test flights - Partners in the SESAR CORUS-XUAM very large-scale demonstration ran their final flight tests using a cargo drone from Volocopter and testing deconfliction between crewed and unscrewed aircraft. Taking place in Germany at DLR's National Experimental Test Centre for Unmanned Aircraft Systems at Magdeburg-Cochstedt Airport, the tests simulated two research scenarios for urban areas in London and Frankfurt/Main for the first time.
    • Matternet launches 5km BVLOS drone medical delivery route above Zurich - Unmanned airspace - Drone operator Matternet has begun test operations on a five-kilometer BVLOS (beyond-visual-line-of-sight) route over the city of Zurich, Switzerland. Matternet says this route is the world’s longest drone delivery route over a major city and will be used to transport diagnostic samples between the Triemli and Waid Hospitals – both a part of Stadspital Zürich, a municipal central hospital owned by the city of Zurich.