First up this week, France has now reached a 100% SSR A1000 compliance level for all its airspace and aerodromes, allowing for a parsimonious usage of this scarce resource and for a reduction of workload (no code change when crossing boundaries with compliant adjacent ANSPs). DSNA is very proud of this achievement in participating to this collective effort towards a seamless airspace.
Next up, Lithuanian airport operator Lietuvos Oro Uostai has received a grant from the European Commission (EC) to build a new passenger departures terminal.
The operator has been allocated €14.28m under the EU State aid rules.
Construction of the new terminal will help the airport address future passenger volume, reduce congestion and support operational safety. The terminal building will be a two-storied structure built between the existing departures and the VIP Terminal and Conference centre.
In other news, ACAMS has secured a delivery contract of 4 D-ATIS systems to Kenya. Following a tender from Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, KCAA, a contract to supply 4 D-ATIS systems has been secured. ACAMS won the contract in cooperation with the local partner Broadband Communications Networks.
The contract includes supply, delivery installation, configuration, and commissioning of D-ATIS systems.
Finally, the 106th edition of the EUROCONTROL Network Manager’s European Network Operations Plan (NOP) – Rolling Seasonal Plan – is now live.
An updated version of the Plan is published every Friday, covering a rolling six-week period and consolidating data from 350 airlines, 68 area control centres (ACCs), 55 airports and 43 States. It is then reviewed every Monday by operational stakeholders in the Ad hoc Enlarged NDOP Recovery Cell.
On the lookout for a new episode of Radar Contact? This week we spoke to Anna von Groote, the director general at EUROCAE. We spoke about Air Traffic Management standardization and virtual centers, the technical difference between a virtual center versus existing air traffic management (ATM) systems, and much more. You can listen to the episode here, or check out the transcript over on our blog.
ANSP news
- France is 100% A1000 - France has now reached a 100% compliance level for all its airspace and aerodromes for A1000
- FABEC Council welcomes Belgian presidency in annual change of leadership - Functional Airspace Block Europe Central has welcomed Belgium to the role of FABEC Council Presidency, taking over from the Federal Republic of Germany in the annual change of leadership.
- Preparing for a UK space launch - NATS Blog - As we’ve all been avidly following in the news, Virgin Orbit has just attempted the first orbital space launch from the UK, an important milestone for the country’s space industry, despite the anomaly that occurred after the rocket had left the Earth’s atmosphere. While public attention has largely been on the development of the rocket and its payload, we have been working hard in the background for over a year, along with partners across multiple countries, to ensure that the necessary airspace was clear for the launch.
Airports news
- Vilnius Airport operator gets EC funding for new terminal - Lietuvos Oro Uostai, the operator of Vilnius airport in Lithuania, has received a grant from the European Commission (EC) to build a new passenger departures terminal.
Market news
- 4 D-ATIS to Kenya - ACAMS has secured a delivery contract of 4 D-ATIS systems to Kenya. Following a tender from Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, KCAA, a contract to supply 4 D-ATIS systems has been secured. ACAMS won the contract in cooperation with the local partner Broadband Communications Networks.
- Sopra Steria - Egis consortium is awarded contract to support the Digital European Sky - The SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking, has awarded the Sopra Steria-Egis consortium the SESAR 3 Development Support Service (S3DSS) contract. The objective of this project is to support the programme management activities for the implementation and monitoring of the organisation’s research activities.
- Romania - Egis to support the Strategic Airport Infrastructure Development Program at Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport - Egis in Romania has been appointed by Bucharest Airports National Company to provide consultancy support with accessing funds for ongoing implementation of the Strategic Airport Infrastructure Development Program at Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport.
Context information
- European Network Operations Plan 2023 Rolling Seasonal Plan - EUROCONTROL - An updated version of the EUROCONTROL Network Manager’s European Network Operations Plan - Rolling Seasonal Plan is published every Friday, covering a rolling six-week period and consolidating data from 350 airlines, 68 area control centres, 55 airports and 43 States.
Reports and data
- Traffic in Brussels Airport - The number of flight movements in 2022 increased by 51% compared to 2021, totalling to 178,930 flight movements, but remaining 24% below the pre-crisis 2019 figures.
- skeyes closes 2022 with excellent safety figures - In 2022, skeyes guided nearly 900,000 flights safely in the Belgian airspace and at domestic airports. Air traffic is picking up again since the health crisis. But for skeyes, the most important figures are the indicators in terms of safety. In this area, skeyes had an excellent year.
- Berlin Brandenburg Airport traffic up by 9.9 million passengers - A total of 164,293 aircraft took off and landed at the airport last year, up from 105,740 in 2021.
- Gatwick Airport Served 32.8 Million Passengers in 2022 and Begins 2023 by Boosting its Long Haul Network - There were 213,952 total aircraft movements at London Gatwick in 2022, which is 76% of the number in 2019 (281,000). 52,000 aircraft arrived or departed the airport in 2021.
- London Heathrow Airport Reports Highest Festive Traffic Figures Since 2019 - British Aviation Group - Heathrow was able to report a 90% year-on-year increase in passengers in December 2022, having handled a total of 5.9 million that month. This made it LHR's busiest festive period since 2019, with the airport reporting that transatlantic travel, which would have been minimal last time around, played a key role.
- Still challenging times for aviation in 2022 - The Avinor Group - There were 47,196 aircraft movements in December 2022, 2 per cent fewer than in December 2021. For all of 2022 there were 618,600 aircraft movements, compared to 462,400 in all of 2021, which is an increase of 34 per cent. Compared to 2019, there was a decline of 9 per cent.
Research and innovation
- Pioneering Partnership Celebrates 15 Years of Advancing Aviation Safety - MITRE - A collaborative safety analysis and data sharing initiative has transformed aviation safety over the last 15 years. MITRE was there from the start.
- First meeting of the Working Group 125 on #NGAP (Next Generation of Aviation Professionals) - Today marks a historic day for the aviation industry as we kick off the first meeting of the #EUROCAE Working Group 125 on #NGAP (Next Generation of Aviation Professionals).
- Airbus Validates Computer Vision-Based Technologies to Increase Safety Through Automation - Throughout Airbus’ robust history, the aviation giant has pioneered automation technologies, such as fly-by-wire, to increase safety and provide pilots with the necessary tools to react strategically on a day-to-day basis and during unlikely incidents. With increased air travel, these functionalities are continually more vital. As part of its unwavering commitment to safety, Airbus has developed technology in alignment with human skills to assist operations for increased safety, reliability and efficiency.
- LDACS - The future of ATC communications - LDACS is set to be the worldwide standard in ATC communications, opening up entirely new use cases for airlines and communications service providers. Rohde & Schwarz has been working with research partners to develop the new L band digital aeronautical communications system, a new ATC communications system that significantly increases bandwidth and allows modern IP-based communications.
UAV and UTM
-
-
-
-
- Deep Blue and EASA set out SHEPHERD research goals to improve drone standards and regulations - Unmanned airspace - Deep Blue has set out the aims of a new research project SHEPHERD, funded by EASA, whose purpose is to technically assess the suitability of Unmanned Aircraft Systems standards to comply with the EU drone regulations.
- NASA to work with Northrop Grumman on integrating large UAS in the National Airspace System - Unmanned airspace - Northrop Grumman Corporation is collaborating with NASA to develop and test solutions for integrating large, uncrewed aircraft systems into the National Airspace System. The effort will focus on air cargo operations and is part of NASA’s Air Traffic Management-eXploration Pathfinding for Airspace with Autonomous Vehicles subproject.
-
-
-