First up this week, the air navigation service providers (ANSPs) of Canada, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and the United States have worked together to successfully conclude a lab demonstration of the world’s first-ever multi-regional trajectory-based operations (TBO), a big step forward in making cross-regional air traffic management a reality. Currently, ANSPs provide air navigation services to aircraft separately and independently, only as and when aircraft traverse within the Flight Information Region(s) under their respective responsibility.
Next, Raúl Medina, the new Director General of EUROCONTROL, has confirmed the Agency’s full commitment to supporting its Member State, Ukraine in a visit to the capital Kyiv where he met the Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine, Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development, Mr Oleksandr Kubrakov as well as a number of other senior figures in the Ukrainian aviation sector.
In other news, at the start of the year, the iNOTAM (Integration of digital NOTAMs) project was launched, involving three project partners. Under the consortium leadership of HFC Human-Factors-Consult and in collaboration with project partners m-click.aero and Berlin-Brandenburg Airport, the creation, processing, and provision of NOTAMs (Notice to Airmen) will be digitized. NOTAMs are brief, manually created messages for pilots and airport operations personnel regarding flight operational restrictions, such as construction sites, maintenance, or other equipment failures.
Finally, in close cooperation with European air navigation service providers, EUROCONTROL and EASA have released two reports on measuring air navigation service providers’ environmental impact and offered guidance on how these organisations can reduce their carbon footprint. The aviation sector seeks to reduce its emissions by 55% by 2030 and reach climate-neutrality by 2050. The documents are the result of two years of close cooperation among sustainability experts from air navigation service providers and other organisations who joined a Working Group on Air Traffic Management/Air Navigation Service Environmental Transparency as part of the EUROCONTROL-EASA joint work programme.
ANSP news
- Project to jointly manage cross-regional air traffic results announced - The air navigation service providers of Canada, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and the United States have worked together to successfully conclude a lab demonstration of the world’s first-ever multi-regional trajectory-based operations, a big step forward in making cross-regional air traffic management a reality.
- NAV CANADA advances its Digital Facility Initiative - NAV CANADA is pleased to announce that Kingston, Ontario has been selected as the site for a digital facility under its multi-year Digital Aerodrome Air Traffic Services program.In place of a traditional out-the-window view from flight service stations and air traffic control towers, digital facilities will use high resolution optical sensors, external microphones, and other sensors to capture what is happening at an airport.
- ANS CR secures training of Norwegian air traffic controllers - The Czech Air Navigation Institute succeeded for the second consecutive time in a tender for provision of air traffic controller training for the Norwegian national air navigation service provider AVINOR. The initial contract with AVINOR was signed in 2018 framing a three year training cooperation plus a 1 + 1 year call option.
- First official visit of the new EUROCONTROL Director General: Mr Medina visits Kyiv, confirms Agency support to Ukraine - Raúl Medina, the new Director General of EUROCONTROL, has confirmed the Agency’s full commitment to supporting its Member State, Ukraine in a visit to the capital Kyiv where he met the Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine, Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development, Mr Oleksandr Kubrakov as well as a number of other senior figures in the Ukrainian aviation sector.
Airports news
- Digital NOTAMs for BER airport - Human-Factors-Consult - On January 1, 2023, the iNOTAM (Integration of digital NOTAMs) project was launched, involving three project partners. Under the consortium leadership of HFC Human-Factors-Consult and in collaboration with project partners m-click.aero and Berlin-Brandenburg Airport, the creation, processing, and provision of NOTAMs will be digitized.
Market news
- Stauning Airport chooses Insero solutions to support their growth plans - The regional Danish airport, Stauning Airport, has chosen Insero as the supplier for automatic weather observation and flight data processing solutions, i.e. Insero AWOS and Insero AIMS, in support of their growth plans which requires EU-373 compliance.
Context information
- Coordination talks on activating Phase 1B of the Doha Flight Information Region - The State of Qatar, represented by Qatar Civil Aviation Authority, participated in the coordination meetings held with its neighboring States, to discuss all details related to the activation of Phase 1B of the Doha Flight Information Region, and ways of coordination between these States regarding this activation, under the supervision of the ICAO.
- EUROCONTROL and EASA release report on environmental transparency for air navigation service providers and step-by-step guide to improve - In close cooperation with European air navigation service providers, EUROCONTROL and EASA have released two reports on measuring air navigation service providers’ environmental impact and a guidance on how these organisations can reduce their carbon footprint as the aviation sector seeks to reduce its emissions by 55% by 2030 and reach climate-neutrality by 2050.
Research and innovation
- EUROCONTROL’s PRC publishes Performance Insight #7: Reorganising ATS with Virtual Centres - EUROCONTROL’s Performance Review Commission has published its seventh release of Performance Insight, looking at how ATM capacity and scalability will be impacted by the technical transformation process and new operational concepts, taking the example of virtualisation in general and virtual centres in particular.
- Airport Airside and Runway Throughput (AART) Open Day - BULATSA and Leonardo are organising an open day to present the results from the SESAR 2020 project "PJ.02-W2 Airport Airside and Runway Throughput project on the “integration and enhancement of surface management services”.
- EUROCONTROL Data Snapshot #38 on the path to recovery for intra-European and intercontinental flights - The aviation industry has faced huge challenges in recovering from the impact of COVID-19, including disruptions to travel and changes in health and safety protocols. Despite these challenges, data from EUROCONTROL show that the industry is overall steadily recovering, with flights at most airports progressively returning to pre-pandemic levels.
- Airbus UpNext and Acubed Test New Technologies for Pilot Assistance - A wholly owned subsidiary of Airbus, called Airbus UpNext, announced recently that it has started testing new pilot assistance technologies with an A350-1000 test aircraft. Automated emergency diversion in cruise, automatic landing, and taxi assistance are the three technologies undergoing evaluation.
- Using AI to help military aircraft fly PBN approaches - EUROCONTROL - One of the major challenges that military aircraft operators face today is to demonstrate that military capabilities on board their aircraft, such as the Global Positioning System Precise Positioning Service, are compliant for flying using Performance-Based Navigation. Using GPS PPS as the navigation sensor to perform PBN is crucial when State aircraft need to fly in a general air traffic environment which relies on such a system.
UAV and UTM
- Airbus UTM’s USim “can provide digital twin of each components of a UTM ecosystem” - Unmanned airspace - Airbus UTM has released more information about its development of a proprietary simulation environment called USim and how it provides “a digital twin of each element in the UTM ecosystem to allow UTM stakeholders to test individual services and verify interoperability between existing ones – all without the real-world consequences of system failures.”
- National Strategy for drones presented to the UK Government - The UK Government has been presented with a landmark national strategy for drone technology across land, sea and air to rapidly, safely and efficiently accelerate growth by capitalising on an industry estimated to be worth over £45 billion to the UK alone by 2030.
